It looks like teenage boys and creepy men with pencil-staches will be quite disappointed with this news, but it looks like Hermione just isn't into bondage and S&M. The Harry Potter starlet took to Twitter to debunk the many rumors swirling around that had her playing Anastasia Steele.
Who here actually thinks I would do 50 Shades of Grey as a movie? Like really. For real. In real life.
— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) March 17, 2013
Emma Watson's reply comes on the heels of an apparently leaked report from a German movie studio, Constantin Film, by the hacking group Anonymous claimed that Watson is attached to the Fifty Shades project. The studio was quick to state that all the records that were hacked were "out of date and widely accessible" to employees. However, it didn't stop the Internet to start salivating over the thought of the Potter star headlining the erotic E.L. James adaption.
Reports of Watson being tied to a Fifty Shades of Grey film have pretty much been swirling around since the film was announced. While Watson is certainly attempting to branch out from her "good girl" image she had with the Potter franchise with The Bling Ring and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, it remains doubtful that she would go so far as to take on such a role as Anastasia Steele.
With no male or female lead and no director in sight, Universal Studios may have been too ambitious when they said the film would be released in the summer of 2014. E.L. James hand-picked Oscar nominated producers Michael De Luca (The Social Network and Moneyball) and Dana Brunetti (The Social Network) back in July of 2012, but very little has been announced since that point.
It is certainly no surprise that the project is having difficulty finding a willing cast. Fifty Shades is notorious for its hyper-sexualized material, and it could very get slapped with an NC-17 rating. Although not always the case, such films can prove to be career killers, just ask Elizabeth Berkley. Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan also starred in the 2011 NC-17 film, Shame, directed by Steve McQueen that featured explicit sex scenes; however, their careers do not seem to be in jeopardy because of it.
If done in the same veins as Shame, a Fifty Shades of Grey film has the chance of garnering similar critical acclaim. Regardless of the rating, the film adaptions will most likely not have trouble at the box office as Fifty Shades is one of the fastest selling books of all-time. However, the book itself has a mixed to negative reception from critics, which is understandable as it started off as erotic fanfic of the Twilight series.
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| Left to Right: Bledel, Kunis, Woodley, Gosling, Bomer, Somerhalder aka Gorgeous People |
While Watson has denied reports, the casting rumors will inevitably continue until the role is actually filled. Alexis Bledel, Mila Kunis, and Shailene Woodley have heard their names as possibilities, with Ryan Gosling, Matt Bomer, and Ian Somerhalder have been attached to the role of Christian Grey. Obviously, none of these actors have confirmed reports, and most have laughed off the rumors.
Who do you see in the role of Anastasia Steele? Who might play the role of the alluring Christian Grey?
