Fifty Shades of Grey

The book:

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It is the first installment in the Fifty Shades trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM). Originally self-published as an ebook and a print-on-demand, publishing rights were acquired by Vintage Books in March 2012.

The second and third volumes, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, were published in 2012. Fifty Shades of Grey has topped best-seller lists around the world, including those of the United Kingdom and the United States. The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into 52 languages, and set a record in the United Kingdom as the fastest-selling paperback of all time. Critical reception of the book, however, has tended toward the negative, with the quality of its prose generally seen as poor. Universal Pictures and Focus Features produced a film adaptation, which was released on 13 February 2015 and also received generally unfavorable reviews.

Plot:

Anastasia “Ana” Steele is a 21-year-old college senior attending Washington State University in Vancouver, Washington. Her best friend is Katherine “Kate” Kavanagh, who writes for the college newspaper. Due to an illness, Kate persuades Ana to take her place and interview 27-year-old Christian Grey, a successful and wealthy young entrepreneur in Seattle. Ana is instantly attracted to Christian, but also finds him intimidating. As a result, she stumbles through the interview and leaves Christian’s office believing it went badly. Ana consoles herself by thinking they will never meet again. However, Christian appears at the hardware store where she works. While he purchases various items including cable ties, masking tape and rope, Ana informs Christian that Kate would like some photographs to go along with her article about him. Christian gives Ana his phone number. Later, Kate urges Ana to call Christian and arrange a photo shoot with their photographer friend, José Rodriguez.

The next day José, Kate, and Ana arrive for the photo shoot at the Heathman Hotel where Christian is staying. Christian asks Ana out for coffee. He asks if she’s dating anyone, specifically José. Ana replies that she is not dating anyone. During the conversation, Ana learns that Christian is also single, but he says he is no romantic. Ana is intrigued but believes she is not attractive enough for Christian. Later, Ana receives a package from Christian containing first edition copies of Tess of the d’Urbervilles, which stuns her. Later that night, Ana goes out drinking with her friends and ends up drunk dialing Christian, who informs her that he will be coming to pick her up because of her inebriated state. Ana goes outside to get some fresh air, and José attempts to kiss her, but he is stopped by Christian’s arrival. Ana leaves with Christian, but not before she discovers that Kate has been flirting with Christian’s brother, Elliot. Later, Ana wakes to find herself in Christian’s hotel room, where he scolds her for not taking proper care of herself. Christian then reveals that he would like to have sex with her. He initially says that Ana will first have to fill out paperwork, but later goes back on this statement after making out with her in the elevator.

Ana goes on a date with Christian where he takes her in his helicopter, Charlie Tango, to his apartment. Once there, Christian insists that she sign a non-disclosure agreement forbidding her to discuss anything that they do together, which Ana agrees to sign. He also mentions other paperwork, but first takes her to his playroom full of BDSM toys and gear. There Christian informs her that the second contract will be one of dominance and submission and that there will be no romantic relationship, only a sexual one. The contract even forbids Ana from touching Christian or making eye contact with him. At this point, Christian realizes that Ana is a virgin and agrees to take her virginity without making her sign the contract. The two then have sex. The following morning, Ana and Christian once again have sex. His mother then arrives moments after their sexual encounter, and is surprised by the meeting, having previously thought Christian was homosexual because he was never seen with a woman. Christian later takes Ana out to eat, and he reveals to her that he lost his virginity at fifteen to one of his mother’s friends, Elena Lincoln, and that his previous dominant/submissive relationships (Christian reveals that in his first dominant/submissive relationship he was the submissive) failed due to incompatibility. They plan to meet up again and Christian takes Ana home, where she discovers several job offers and admits to Kate that she and Christian had sex.

Over the next few days, Ana receives several packages from Christian. These include a laptop to enable her to perform research on the BDSM lifestyle in consideration of the contract, as well as for the two of them to communicate, since she has never previously owned a computer, and a more detailed version of the dominant/submissive contract. She and Christian email each other, with Ana teasing him and refusing to honor parts of the contract, such as only eating foods from a specific list. Ana later meets up with Christian to discuss the contract, only to grow overwhelmed by the potential BDSM arrangement and the potential of having a sexual relationship with Christian that is not romantic in nature. Because of these feelings, Ana runs away from Christian and does not see him again until her college graduation, where he is a guest speaker. During this time, Ana agrees to sign the dominant/submissive contract. Ana and Christian once again meet up to further discuss the contract, and they go over Ana’s hard and soft limits. Ana is spanked for the first time by Christian; the experience leaves her both enticed and slightly confused. This confusion is exacerbated by Christian’s lavish gifts, and the fact that he brings her to meet his family. The two continue with the arrangement without Ana having yet signed the contract. After successfully landing a job with Seattle Independent Publishing (SIP), Ana further bristles under the restrictions of the non-disclosure agreement and her complex relationship with Christian. The tension between Ana and Christian eventually comes to a head after Ana asks Christian to punish her in order to show her how extreme a BDSM relationship with him could be. Christian fulfills Ana’s request, beating her with a belt, only for Ana to realize that the two of them are incompatible. Devastated, Ana leaves Christian and returns to the apartment she shares with Kate.

The movie:

Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2015 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson with a screenplay by Kelly Marcel. Based on British author E. L. James’ bestselling novel of the same name, the film stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, a college graduate who begins a sadomasochistic relationship with young business magnate Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan).

The film was written following the huge success of the books selling over 100 million copies and being translated into 30 countries.

The film premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on February 11, 2015, and had a wide theatrical release on February 13, 2015, by Universal Pictures. Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was an immediate box office success, earning more than $411 million. A sequel is planned for a 2016 release.

By early 2013, several Hollywood studios were keen to obtain film rights to the New York Times bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy of novels. Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, Universal and Mark Wahlberg’s production company put in bids for the film rights. Universal Pictures and Focus Features secured the rights to the trilogy in March 2012. Author James sought to retain some control during the movie’s creative process. James chose The Social Network producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti to produce the film. Although American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis publicly expressed his desire to write the screenplay for the film, Kelly Marcel, screenwriter of Saving Mr. Banks, was hired for the job. Patrick Marber was brought in by Sam Taylor-Johnson to polish the screenplay, specifically to do some “character work”. Universal hired Mark Bomback for script doctoring. Mark Bridges served as the costume designer. Entertainment Weekly estimated the film’s budget as “$40 million-or-so”.

‘TeamFifty’ with director Sam Taylor Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson & E.L.James at the London premiere’ 

Fifty Shades of Grey is already available to order on DVD and Blu-ray

Cast:

Dakota Johnson as Anastasia “Ana” Steele

Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey

Eloise Mumford as Katherine “Kate” Kavanagh, Anastasia’s best friend and roommate

Jennifer Ehle as Carla Wilks, Anastasia’s mother

Marcia Gay Harden as Grace Trevelyan Grey, Christian’s adoptive mother

Victor Rasuk as José Rodriguez, one of Anastasia’s close friends

Luke Grimes as Elliot Grey, Christian’s adopted brother

Rita Ora as Mia Grey, Christian’s adopted sister

Max Martini as Jason Taylor, Christian’s bodyguard and head of his security

Callum Keith Rennie as Raymond “Ray” Steele

Andrew Airlie as Carrick Grey, Christian’s adoptive father

Dylan Neal as Bob Adams, Anastasia’s step-father

Anthony Konechny as Paul Clayton, the brother of the owner of Clayton’s Hardware Store

Emily Fonda as Martina

Rachel Skarsten as Andrea, Christian’s assistant