Deadline were pretty miffed last week when other sites went forward with the news that Joe Wright was in the frontrunner position to direct “Fifty Shades Of Grey.” It wasn’t quite clear what their beef was, other than they didn’t get to report it first, and they went on some vague rant about trades “firing a rifle filled with buckshot,” when there is nothing Deadline loves more than a good shortlist story. Anyway, they are pretty overjoyed with the latest development.
The site has learned that Joe Wright is out of the mix to direct, with scheduling apparently being a problem. It’s all early days on the project anyway, with Bennett Miller and Patty Jenkins tossed around as candidates while Gus Van Sant has already made a pitch for the gig by shooting a test sex scene with Alex Pettyfer. Undoubtedly, it’s going to be a huge responsibility to whoever takes it on, as there are a whole legion of undersexed, “Twilight” fan fiction fans to sate and they undoubtedly already have their own ideas about what this movie should be along with the task of making this S&M kink-fest which everyone reads under the covers into a big, mainstream movie.
Kelly Marcel (“Terra Nova,” “Saving Mr. Banks”) is penning the script, and Universal and Focus Features continue their search. So, who do you think should direct a young girl’s strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk the saga of Anastasia and Christian? Tell us below.