BCC; @meredithheron @meredya and @tamster2121 etc.
Okay, if you follow me on twitter you’d know just how OBSESSED I am with this story. I don’t think E.L. James is as obsessed as I am. So imagine my joy when I found out that the green light has been lit on the movie. And my good tweet friend @meredithheron informed me that Bret Easton Ellis, he who wrote American Psycho, is being considered to adopt the book for TV. If they go with him it couldn’t be more perfect. So on twitter I am Mr Ellis’s faux assistant but you know I want the real thing Mr Ellis, trust me, I am your girl so call me, tweet me, hit me up any time I am your endless resource on ALL THINGS 50 SHADES..#50shades. You won’t get better anywhere else I promise…lol. But for the mean time the role is not confirmed I am assuming that role anyway because you NEED me. #justsaying. 😉
You know the story, have read the books, devoured them, analysed and fantasised and wondered just what prompted the story, whatever you have done, you have done, and now here we are, a movie!! It was always going to be, trust Hollywood to want to go where the hype is. On twitter, Mr Ellis (I have to call him that he’s the boss) is doing the coolest thing of asking us the reader, questions on the cast and the script etc…whether in jest or all seriousness, I think its a brilliant idea! If only twitter was around earlier, imagine the trauma we’d have been speared if this happened to say, The Da Vinci code? The virtual casting couch; reach out to the audience and they’ll feed you back. AMAZING. Going by the suggestions, I’ve compiled a casting list for the main characters…some are yay, some nay, but I’ve put them there either way and we can select who would be the cast of the bunch for the cast…if I’ve left anyone out then please let me know and I’d be much obliged. In the mean time, here goes.
Christian Grey;
Ian Somerhalder; is my Christian. He is PERFECT, He has the look; just dark enough, über sexy, the hair is perfection, the haunted eyes, that tortured broody look and his physique..I mean could he be any more Christian? Christain Grey, in my opinion is a touch of the sexy-rebellious a la James Dean and a touch of the All American. Ian looks the part so that’s 50% there, The other 50 is the acting…maybe we should vote on the audition tapes, Mr Ellis, on twitter, what do you think?
Henry Cavill, is another reader favourite and much like Matt he can be all kinds of Christian but there’s the wholesome element to his look and how dark can he go? That’s the question, Christian is depraved and twisted and #50shades of fuckedupness as they say so the actor needs to be that…
Matt Bomer; another favourite of the #50shades family, he looks the part, certainly can act the part but he may just be a little too wholesome looking for me…he’s cute and certainly Christian-esque but its the look.I know you’re thinking, does he have to be down to the fine point…well Christian is such a character that the actor needs to be down to the finest point and if not down then something pretty close. I think anyhow.
Christian Bale can certainly be dark and twisted; American Psycho HELLO?! This is as perfect a casting as there will be with you Mr Ellis because he was brilliant in American Psycho but my worry is the look; where Bale is chiselled and can be dark its the All-American element that he may not be able to project and I don’t know how he’ll come across in those really intense scenes…well he can be intense but he’s a bit of a conundrum this one but he’s the wild card so we’ll see.
Josh Hatnett…dont shoot me, his name has not been thrown in just yet BUT he could work. He’s a talented actor and looks just about right, but he’s not the cookie cutter Christian handsome, still I think he can work because he has that look and that natural darkness and at times he can be intense…
Ryan Goslin; The Goslingnator as I like to call him, Meredith is a crusader for Ryan for the part of Christian, I mean he has the acting chops down pat and he is much of a chameleon, I’m just not sold on his look. And I don’t know that we want Christian to be a BIG NAME and Gosling is that name, he will carry the movie but may overshadow it, if you know what I mean. Still he has the chops and I’ve no doubt he can pull off Christian.
Honorary mention; James Franco; is another wild card and he can pull this off AND he’s a little James Dean…or a lot he is Dean incarnated so he can certainly be rebellious and sexy. He has a diverse plate of work that attest to his chops but he may be an outside…still I think he’ll be a good Grey.
So who is your perfect Christian Grey?
Anastasia Steele (Ana)
Ana is timid but quietly strong, shy at times and other times frustratingly naive but she’s an interesting character that we eventually fall in love with as we grow to know her depth.
Alexandra Daddrio is our girl, I say our because a very lovely twitter friend found her and cast her in our #50shades twitter conversation and we all agree that she is Ana!! Those gorgeous eyes, luscious brown hair, her exquisite face, and we know Ana is exquisite looking not cookie cutter, she is unique and Alexandra is all that and then some more…she is who would be the best to play Ana looks and talent wise so fingers crossed you guys.
Anna Popplewell is an english rose and budding young actress with an impressive few roles on her CV a la Narnia etc. I love her look, her genteel feel, if you will. There is that sense of je ne sais quoi about her which Ana has to a great degree. She is fresh and looks the part she certainly can act the part and lets not forget Ana loves the english.
Alexis Bledel is another person akin to Alexandra Daddrio with almost the same features, I loved her in Gilmore Girls she is just the right fit and like Ana has that unique naiveté that is to her strength.
Lily Collins. Great actress, great look. She looks a little All American which Ana is not, but I have no doubt she can carry the role with the right wardrobe and make up. She is one of those actresses that can carry off a deep set role I think. No? I adored her in The Blind Side, loved her there, will love her here.
Leighton Meester, hold your horses people, she is my wild card. I have a feeling we have yet to see the best from her, don’t judge on Country strong, I actually liked that film, even if most didn’t and I LOVE her as B. Waldorf. A role like this will be a break out role for her so I say give her a chance.
Rachel Hurd-Wood is another wild card of mine, although less wild that Leighton but wild all the same, she has proven herself in roles like Wendy in Peter Pan and as Laura in Perfume; story of a murderer amongst others and I’ve no doubt as Ana she will go above and beyond the expectations of the role.
Who’s your Ana, holla at me on twitter and let’s talk it out…
Now onto Jose; Although he should be dorky as Meredith suggests, which I agree with, but he needs to still be a little hot just to give perfectly formed Christian a bit of competition…no? There are my Jose picks
Diego Boneta; latin singer and actor best known for his role in Beverley Hills 90210 as Javier. Okay I’m not a Beverley Hills, new school watcher, I live and die for the old school but Mr Ellis seems to be keen on him as he twitted a pictures of Diego in “character” for Jose so who am I to argue with the boss eh? I love my faux job. If Mr Ellis things Diego has the chops then here’s to him being Jose.
Adam Rodriguez; now him I know and love from CSI Miami, Eric Delko, he is is cute enough with just the right amount of brood to him to help Jose out when it comes to Christian.
Gael Garcia; my latin crush, I have had a crush on him since the Motorcycle Diaries, if you haven’t seen that move please do so, he is wonderful in it. He is handsome, maybe too handsome but as I said a bit of competition for Christian wouldn’t hurt and he will make us and Ana swoon with such lust. He’s my Jose any day.
Jose Eduardo Verastegui is the wild card a bit of an outsider but he has the first name so that’s half way there and although I can’t remember most of Chasing Papi he made it to Hollywood and thats good enough for him to pull of Jose.
Elliot Grey, the cheeky, handsome, easy to love Elliot Grey.
Paul Walker typifies Elliot with that wholesome fun guy look, he’s easy, laid back and Elliot doesn’t appear much in the book but he is a good companion for Christian when he does appear, he makes him feel and act 27 again.
Robert Buckley is the wild card here because he’s a little too chilled out for Elliot but who knows what he can do when he gets to showing his chops.He was good in Tree Hill and Lipstick Jungle so he could do this.
Bradley Cooper; well if he’s not too busy being an “A-Lister” and would take the call he could be good for this… could be. Not so sure but not ruling him out either.
Chad Michael Murray; no I didn’t sweep the Tree Hill year book for casts but he is another Elliot looking and feeling type of guy, and his was the only character I liked in House of Wax…dont judge harshly, the “it” girl dies early on in the movie and its the only horror movie I’ve seen and its good, Chad will be a good Elliot. But let me know if I’ve missed out any one.
Katherine Kavanagh; Ana’s interfering friend, she is overbearing and quite annoying in the book even if her heart is in the right place I wanted her to butt her nose out of other people’s business, mainly Ana and Christian, but she is the BFF of the sort so its her duty, she’s strong and opinionated, well travelled and intelligent. Here’s my Kate;
Elisha Cuthbert is a blonde I admire, she’s cool and strong and you get the sense suffers no fools, that’s Katherine Kavanagh for you in a nutshell so she’ll fit in properly with the character. And she was good in House of Wax. #justsaying.
Samiaire Armstrong; there’s something about her, its that fun, cool something, her personal issues aside and that was in 2007, she has been on some varied roles and I loved her in Dirty Sexy Money.
Julia Stiles is my girl for this role; she’s strong, cool and can be bossy, I’ve loved her since Ten Things (Rest in Peace Heath) and loved her even more in Save the Last Dance, she’s a chameleon and sure the role of Kate would be a bit part but she’ll bring power and warmth into it and she’ll a perfect fit for any of the above named Elliot.
Ethan;
Kate’s brother, we don’t know much about him but what little we know we like and I don’t know if he’ll be cast in the movie but if indeed he is cast, any of these would be perfect
Behr Johnson, James Lafferty (yes before you say it One Tree Hill, but he fits the part) and Theo James.
Paging Dr Flynn the expensive charlatan…
He is in some ways intricate to Christian’s life because he helps guide him from the dark to the light and help him understand the role of Ana in his life and in that crucial scene with Ana, he unleashes some things that she has to think about it hence I’ve cast him.
Pearse Brosnan; again if he’s not too busy we’d love to have him play Flynn.
William Dafoe, he’s my wild card and there is something about him that is quite Flynn-esque.
Colin Firth is my Flynn. He’s perfect, english and therapeutical…if you know what I mean.
Mia; formidable, bubbly, lively Mia who is fond of her brother, Christian. She’s adorable and has come comedic moments in the book…
Mia Maestro; she was great in Tango and The Motorcycle Diaries, Mia might be a bit role for her but it’ll be great to see her outside of the heavy more serious type roles she’s used to playing and her name is Mia.
Sophia Bush; okay, maybe I did go through the Tree Hill roaster but she’s my Mia, she’s bubbly and fun and a bit of a hippy at heart I feel and her gorgeous dimples are just the icing on top of the perfect Mia cake.
Troian Bellisario; as Spencer in Pretty Little Liars she’s my favourite and I have no doubt she could pull this off easy, if cast it could be a bit-big role as you know what happens to Mia in the book, if you have read it and if not, what are you waiting for? I like her for Mia.
Mrs Robinson…
So here’s to you Mrs Robinson…
Ana’s nemesis, she hates her, can’t understand and has no time of day for her, we feel her. She is Christian’s only friend but she soon shows herself to have other motives. She should be flawless and put the fear of God into Ana just for the hell of it. Kim Basinger, Diane Lane and Michelle Pfeiffer all tick my boxes for the Mrs Robinson.
Mrs Grace Trevelyan Grey, strong and loving, she falls in love with Ana on first sight possibly because she has a sense of what Ana is for her son…its that innate mothering instinct that mothers have about their children regardless.
Sigourney Weaver would be my dream Mrs Grey but Susan Sarandon and Kristin Scott Thomas would do just fine.
Mr Carrick Grey
Josh Brolin, Vigo Mortensen (thanks @juliennevll) and Tom Selleck are my fantasy draft for Carrick Grey, either done would do a good job.
And then for the script;
Okay I’m not telling you how to do your job boss, because I know you will do a remarkable job of it and with me as your wing gal, you can do no wrong. Trust. 🙂 So for the script, going by the twitter conversations that we have had about the book here are a few things we’d love to see in the movie;
1. it should have more on Christian and by that I mean more; he is the reason we are intrigued with the story, we need to see flash backs on his childhood, his night mares, his early years, maybe time with Flynn, time alone away from Ana, his fear etc..we need to see this captured. E L teases us with it in the book which left us wanting for more so maybe we could have more of that thrown in there…
2. Ana her dialogue; “oh my” and “geez” G2G. Gotta go. We don’t want to hear it, she is 21 not 16 so if you could be so kind to tone this down, maybe have it as an odd reaction to something childish Christian would have said or done, to show her inner child but not as a regular feature.
3. Speaking of inner; NO GODDESSES! Just no. We had enough of her and I even wanted to reach in and tackle her down…maybe an angel-devil type dialogue with the subconscious and the goddess for comedic effect, because let’s face it we need some lightness in the heaviness of the book and the dark Kray stuff that will be going on in there so maybe that but even so to the barest minimum.
4. We’d like to see something of Carrick and Grace a bit more of a plumb role because they took him in from a young age so maybe a scene with Ana and Grace talking about Christian.
5. Kate should be a lot less annoying and Ana should be a lot more affirmative with her.
there’s more but I cannot thinking of that just now but I’m sure there’ll be tweets on this.
But for now Mr Ellis; I AM YOUR GIRL. I’d say sub but you know, I don’t get down like that, 🙂