So this "Fifty Shades" Thing Might Actually Happen After All...

Some heads were turning when Universal Picture acquired the rights to E.L. James' sexually explicit Fifty Shades of Grey back in March of 2012.  The globally bestselling novel (and eventual series) that chronicled the S&M-tinged relationship of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele has become a hot-button Hollywood curio since the announcement, with the running joke seeming that due to the extreme sexual nature of the book that no top tiered filmmaker or performer would come anywhere close to the job.  Considering the tepid reviews of the novels, the nearly inevitable factoring of a possible NC-17 rating and, you know, the damned American prudishness, it didn't seem that the spawn of Twilight fan fiction was ever going to see a movie screen in the near future.  Now it appears that it's a go...

The announcement of director Sam Taylor-Johnson in the directors chair changed all of that.  The filmmaker, who only has one feature film to credit-- the little seen John Lennon boyhood biopic Nowhere Boy-- and who has made more headlines for marrying the barely legal Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the up and coming actor of Anna Karenina, Savages and the upcoming Godzilla reboot fame on the set of Nowhere Boy.  The choice of a female director of such sexually explicit material seems like a good choice, especially in the wake of the fantasy porn debates weathered over such material like the recent Palme D'Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color, however the story behind the scenes and back and forth director and casting decisions have made such amusing fodder in the recent months, it's almost sad to see that go.  A few months back director Gus Van Sant lobbied for the film, while Atonement director Joe Wright was flirted with the idea before reportedly turning it down, as was the case of Darren Aronofsky.

Casting will be the next major hurdle for the film that has been greenlit with a reported $40 million budget.  The murmuring of choices for the leads has been a great deal of speculative fun, most for all the famous young pretty people who seemingly want no part in the piece.  The film question may perhaps be if Aaron Taylor-Johnson, a veritable young heartthrob in his own right, might be primed for the leading role.  Armie Hammer famously just responded he wanted no part in this "mommy porn" piece, while Emma Watson was reportedly a strong contender for the leading lady, until turning to Twitter with her congenial refusal.  The stakes are further raised for Universal, who will try to make Fifty Shades a classy erotic piece.

Kelly Marcel, who has taken to media asserted this will be a NC-17, un-neutered adaptation, will write the film.  Strangely enough, her other big assignment comes in the form of this holidays decidedly non-sexual Disney awards piece Saving Mr. Banks, which stars Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson and concerns the making of the film Mary Poppins-- that script earned a place on the Blacklist of the best unproduced scripts recently.