14 DAY TRIAL // Some time ago, one of the producers on the upcoming “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie was hinting that the first installment might be released in 2 versions, one R-Rated and the other with the NC-17 rating, with the latter being the truest to the source trilogy by E.L. James. It turns out that this was just an overstatement.
Producer Michael De Luca was in Sundance for the Film Festival the other day and, on the topic of the film getting such a limited release as the one imposed by an NC-17 rating, he said that the approach would not allow for it.
In other words, instead of focusing on the one thing that made the three novels such a hit (i.e. the kinkiness), the film will focus on the love story between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele.
“We’re very conscious of not making anything gratuitous or exploitive while being faithful to the stories of the book and to the fans of the book,” De Luca told Deadline at Sundance.
He says fans will get “what they expect,” adding that this would be an intense and sensual love story.
“Obviously the film can’t be as explicit as the book. A picture is worth a 1000 words [which] means I think an image is going to have way more power than reading the words on a page. Not to sound corny, but it is, at its heart, a young love story. I think those things always work,” he noted.
As De Luca sees it, the reason the books were such a hit wasn’t because of the carnal acts depicted in them but because the readers connected to the characters on “a deeper level.” Millions of readers with some basic knowledge in literature would strongly disagree with that statement.
“Fifty Shades of Grey” comes out on Valentine’s Day next year and stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as leads. Dornan’s role was initially cast to Charlie Hunnam of “Pacific Rim” and “Sons of Anarchy,” but he dropped out after a while.