Master of the Universe versus Fifty Shades Movie by E.L James

If you thought that Erica James’ literary aspirations have only seen the light of day in the form of her ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy, you are not entirely correct. We say, entirely, because most of us might not have heard the name Snowqueens Icedragon. It was her pseudonym, till she decided to abbreviate her name to E.L. James and write the first instalment of her ‘Fifty Shades....’ trilogy. Under her pseudonym, Snowqueens Icedragon, she wrote another fan fiction, which went on to become the foundation of her most commercially successful literary creation.

Though most of us now know that ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ started as a fan fiction, quite on the lines of Twilight, a love story between a human girl and a vampire boy, written by Stephanie Meyer. The ‘Twilight’ series have also been adapted into films, which again have been commercially viable. But even as we sit and discuss the similarities that might have existed between ‘Twilight’ and ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, there is another novel by E.L. James which has to be considered when drawing parallels.

Entitled ‘Master of the Universe’ or MotU, this novel bears a stark resemblance to ‘Fifty Shades....’ and hence it can be concluded that it formed a foundation on which the successful high-rise of ‘Fifty Shades...’ was constructed. When we take a close look at both the novels, we will hardly miss the ingenious and watermark left on the pages by the author, E.L. James. Since both MotU and ‘Fifty...’ rely heavily on each other, and have elements which have been borrowed from ‘Twilight’ as well, there are chances, that the faithful readers of all the three novels will be able to draw the necessary comparisons.

To start off with the comparisons ourselves, we can easily say that some characters and the traits they display along with the relationship they share, are the same, or in the least identical in both ‘Master of the Universe’ and FSoG, or ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. The name Bella Swan will of course ring bells, (thanks to Twilight) and that very same name was also used in MotU, but was thankfully changed to Anastasia Steele in FSoG.

Even if you have not read the novel (too bad, actually), you will know that she is one of the lead characters, ion both the novel and the film, the other lead character being Christian Grey, who was Edward Cullen in both Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ and Snowqueens Icedragon’s ‘Master of the...’. Apart from the major characters and their names and relationships which have been touched upon and changed, the back stories of how the characters met, and other events are also strikingly dissimilar.

Hence, you can’t read Twilight and expect to catch a glimpse of ‘Fifty Shades...’ and ‘Master of the Universe’ and vice-versa. Though there are elements that these three novels share since they follow the fan fiction mode, each has its own unique flavour and charm and you just have to have your own copy to see it for yourself.

Mysterious '50 Shades of Grey' character Christian Grey was based on Italian real estate agent

Although Christian Grey might be a fictional character, there is ample reason for us to believe that there is a flesh and blood inspiration in real life behind this self made entrepreneur. A new fact has surfaced about the “Fifty Shades...” according to which the inspiration behind the dark and brooding Christian Grey is actually a 39 year old real estate agent. The real estate agent, Alessandro Proto is, like Grey, a self made billionaire and has even helped celebrities like Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna find their dream homes.

Now, you must be wondering, how does Erica James feature in all this? She actually met the enigmatic businessman back in 2010, which one year before her erotic novel, The Fifty Shades of Grey, hit the market and became a phenomenal success. She met Proto in Italy, when she was touring the country to gather information about celebrities and their love for property in Italy. During that time, James and Proto spent two days together when they toured from Milan to Lake Como.

When the real estate agent/ businessman was quizzed about him being the inspiration behind the fictional Christian Grey, Proto could actually draw up a list of similarities. For starters, he revealed that the name of the company Grey owns is named Grey Enterprise Holding, whereas, the name of the company Alessandro Proto owns is Proto Organization Holding. The similarity does not end here, as the real estate agent added that when he met Erica James back in 2010, he drove an Audi R8 and readers do not have to be reminded that Christian Grey too, owns an Audi R8 Spyder.

When talking about the metaphorical similarities between him and Fifty Shades Movie Christian Grey, Proto adds that his office on the eight floor of the building, which is the top most floor and when it comes to success, though every knows the destination both Proto and Grey have reached but they do not know anything about the journey that they have had to undertake. But if you think that like all these similarities, there is also a BDSM-loving streak in Proto, you might be a little discouraged.

When specifically asked about the red room of pain, which is definitely one of the main attractions of the novel, Proto adds that it was all made up; he is an old fashioned guy. Erica James’ imagination has a lot to do with the red room of pain in the trilogy she penned. One other factor that is probably a similarity between him and Grey is that, like his fictional counterpart, proto too is media shy and does not interact too much with the media. This is very similar to the successful entrepreneur Grey portrays on the pages of the novels and now the screen, and it also contributes to the enigmatic and mysterious quality of the character.

Ever since Proto has been named directly as the inspiration behind the lead character, he has revealed how work mail has been flooded with indecent proposals. Visibly annoyed, Proto has said that his main purpose in life is to be a businessman and he does not like to be embroiled in media and showbiz. Are you listening, Erica? 

Fifty Shades of Grey sets up shop for saucy scene in Ladner

With fans and followers of the erogenous thriller “Fifty Shades of Grey” waiting eagerly for the film version to hit screens on the 13th of February 2015, and the shooting also underway in Canada, setting up the hardware store on the set was only a matter of time. If you have already read the novels, or not, you would know that the hardware store, which is called Clayton’s in the novel, serves as an important setting and location in both the novel and the movie.

 Having already shot the crucial ‘contract scene’ and the ‘cafe scene’ in Vancouver, the team of “Fifty Shades....” is now ready to shoot the hardware store scene on Ladner. The scene will be the second meeting between Ana and Grey, their first meeting being the interview that the naive college graduate had to take on behalf of her roommate Kate being sick. Clayton’s and Ana are also linked as the hardware store serves as her place of employment, part-time so what. In the novel, Erica James writes the scene describing how the self made billionaire and BDSM fetishist, Christian Grey goes to the shop looking to buy masking tape, rope and cable ties.

The scene follows the first interaction that the protagonists have with each other when the college graduate and virginal beauty Anastasia Steele had gone to take his interview on behalf of her friend and roommate Kate, who was supposed to take his interview, but could not as she was indisposed. In the novel, Clayton’s is located in the Portland area and the team of “Fifty Shades...” is busy recreating the ambience of this hardware store in Vancouver. Though now it is clear that the director of this venture, Sam Taylor-Johnson is not shooting the scenes in the order they appear in the novel, any scene that she shoots, along with the cast and the crew, will always be the focal point of movie lovers and the lovers of “Fifty Shades...” 

1. E.L. James best written novel- Fifty Shades of Grey

E.L. James is better known as the creator of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy. Having started her career with television as an executive, Erika Mitchell, forayed into fan fiction under the pseudonym “Snowqueens Icedragon”. Today however, her most notable work, “Fifty Shades of Grey” is the reason why she is in the news for all the right reasons and well, some controversies too. The novel which derives heavily from BDSM and other erotic forms of sexual gratification is based on the strictly sexual relationship between the lead characters of Anastasia Steele and “Christian Grey”. It is because of this paperback novel that Erika Mitchell has garnered the crown of being the highest earning author of this year.

Since the release of her novel, it has also sparked some controversy about the graphic details of the sexual encounters between the two lead characters. Some libraries have also alleged removed copies of the book because of the mature content, but that has not dampened its chances of becoming a best seller with over 70 million copies already sold. It is already the fastest selling paperback and has ousted its competitor, the Harry Potter novels, written by another Briton, J.K. Rowling. “Fifty shades of Grey” is already in the pipeline to becoming a major motion picture. E.L. James is also creatively taking an interest in choosing the star cast of the Fifty Shades Movie as well.

“Fifty shades of Grey” is followed by “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades freed”. The trilogy contrary to critical reception is quite popular among its fans. Mitchell has won top honours and recognition in the year 2012, like “the 100 Most Influential People in the World” by Time Magazine and the “Publishing Person of the Year” by Publishers Weekly. Her work in “Fifty Shades” has also won her acclaim in the form of “Popular Fiction of the Year” from National Book Award and “Book of the Year” also from National Book Award, both from the UK. Mitchell has claimed that such adulation for her work has taken her by surprise and awe.
She has also proclaimed that the first novel in the trilogy is a throwback on her fantasies and her midlife crisis. The story which centers on BDSM which is used as a tool for attaining sexual pleasures brings the concept out of the closet and readers and critics might love it or hate it but they cannot ignore it. Since its release, the book has seen a steady rise in its readership and fans have accepted every part of it as if it some rich manna dew. Mitchell’s book’s rights have been sold in over 37 countries and if these figures are anything to go by, it can be safely assumed that it is probably her best written work.

The relationship between a coy college student and a business magnate moves quickly from a chat over coffee to bondage and submission and finally Ana leaves Grey understanding that the relationship based on BDSM toys and non-disclosure agreements cannot work out. Trust E.L. James to take a sordid tale of BDSM and turn it into a romance.

Charlie Hunnam drops out of 'Fifty Shades of Grey': Fan Power?

Fifty Shades of Grey is a scheduled to be produced by Universal Pictures. The Fifty Shades Movie is based on the best-selling novel written by E L James. It was decided that Charlie Hunnam would play the lead role in the film along with Dakota Johnson, but the film makers and Charlie Hunnam agreed to find another actor to replace him. It was announced by the Universal Pictures on October 13.

Fifty Shades of Grey tells the story of a college student, Anastasia. She starts a love relationship with Christian Grey, a very successful businessman of 27 years. Their relationship started when she interviewed him for her college newspaper. Eventually, Anastasia Steele lost her virginity to him. In order to keep their relationship purely sexual, he wants her to sign a secret agreement. He defines their relationship as one of ‘dominance and submission’. There is a lot of tension in the novel over the nature of relationship and the possibility love and romance. The novel also gives importance to Anastasia’s sexual explorations. It is a very popular novel with thousands of fans.

Charlie Hunnam, a busy English actor and a screen writer stated that he would not able to play the lead role due to his ‘immerse TV schedule’. The main character in the novels is very famous and could make a lasting impact on the minds of the viewers. The confirmation of his casting was announced only a month before and there were a lot of rumours about who would win this coveted role. Charlie Hunnam feels that his busy schedule does not allow him to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey which is in his opinion is very demanding. He also has assured that he would help the filmmakers to find a proper replace for him in The Fifty Shades Movie .

When it was confirmed that he would play the lead role in the movie, it suffered a backlash from the fans. The fans wanted actors like Robert Pattinson or Ran Goseling to play the role of Christian Grey in the film. Not everyone who read the novel had imagined Charlie Hunnam as Christian Grey. They feel that Charlie Hunnam is not sexy enough to play the role and their response was lukewarm. In fact, they were disappointed. Dakota Johnson also is criticized for the same reason, but as of now she stands to play the role of Ana in the movie. The critics feel that the drop out could be the power of fans.

There are reports which confirm that Charlie Hunnam actually got ‘cold feet’ and dropped out of playing the controversial role. These reports stress that it had nothing to do with immerse TV schedule. The pressure of playing one of the coveted roles also is attributed as the reason behind the drop out. Charlie Hunnam has said that the pressure of the film was ‘daunting if I think it was too much’. Now the filmmakers should start afresh if Dakota Johnson also decides to pull out of the film Fifty Shades of Grey.

Fifty Shades of Grey is erotic novel By EL James

The erotic trilogy is the book that everyone is talking about. Set in Washington State, the books tell us of a love story between virginal college student Anastasia Steele and the incredibly handsome, multibillionaire Christian Grey. But this is no ordinary love story; Mr. Grey has a dark, kinky side and one that involves a red room of pain, cable ties and floggers.The book has Taken the world by storm and has already hit record sales in the UK and through out the world.
Now, erotic novels are nothing new, people have been writing about sadomasochism since the Marquis de Sade, but what makes the  series so innovative is that it's become socially acceptable for us to openly read erotica.

The sales figures don't lie - women want sex in their books. Fifty Shades of Grey has come out of nowhere as a self published e-book and only a few months later has ended up topping the charts holding the number one position for more than eight consecutive weeks.

In fact the sexy trilogy is not just a bestseller, but ranks in at 11th place on the all time lists dating from 1998. This means the Fifty Shades of Grey series has outranked even the Harry Potter, Hunger Games and the Twilight series that inspired the books.

However, in the first time in two months, the sales from this Goliath of a book have dropped for the first time after weeks of increasing sales. The sales figures from the Fifty books have fallen by $1.2 million - a whooping 16%, but despite the slight decline, the books are still holding the number one spot tightly.

So are the books losing their popularity? That is unlikely. While it still has a way to go in beating Dan Brown's Angels and Demons on the bestseller list of the last two decades, new summer reads are struggling to keep up with the competition set by E.L. James. In fact, a quarter of the total books sales in the last couple of months have all been from the Fifty Shades series, and with all the buzz surrounding the proposed movie adaptation of the Fifty Shades of Grey books, we can expect a huge increase in the sales of the books.

Despite the setback in sales, Fifty Shades of Grey is not going to disappear anytime soon. While they've been temporarily spanked into submission, we can only expect the sales for the Fifty Shades of Grey series to keep on climbing.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” has become an international occurrence and the trilogy has been converted in 50 languages worldwide since its release. To designated day, the “Fifty Shades” trilogy has traded over 70 million exact replicates worldwide in e-book and print, making it one of the fastest-selling publication series ever.

The Launch of Charlie Hunnam in Fifty Shades of Grey

The Ripple (or Domino) Effect-- ever heard of it? An effect that is sparked by a single event or person and leads others to follow or events to take place. Fifty Shades of Grey has sparked a series of domino effects. For one, it has led stay at home moms and the traditional woman to voice their needs and desires more in the bedroom. Many mother support groups, women's online communities, and neighborhood book clubs have voiced the impact that this book has had within their own relationships and sex lives as it has stirred up a desire, a notion, a fantasy, that maybe not everything in life has to be mundane and predictable. Maybe there are aspects of one's adult life that can be new, fun, and exciting. Fifty Shades of Grey has caused a domino effect in bringing wants, desires, and voices to be heard by women in the bedroom.

Another effect that Fifty Shades of Grey has had on society is not only sparking new conversation, but bringing forth the work of other brilliant authors. Fifty Shade's of Grey sales topping over 20 million has caused a ripple effect and spoke in sales of Tallis Scholars' book from the Renaissance era, "Spem in Alium" which is a forty part motet that had very provocative and sexual scenes, themed very similar to that of the fictional characters E.L. James created-- Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. Who would have thought that Summer 2012's most sexual and entertaining steamy series would recreate a new success and interest in a fifty part series that is over four hundred years old?

The success of this book series continues to climb. E.L. James remains to be thankful and grateful for the book's success and tweets daily about her excursions all over the world for her book signing, leaving "Laters Baby" pins at her signings and keeping track of the fans' excursions and photos with them.

While the book continues to break records, the anticipation of the movie casting continues to make us anxiously await the roles that we've read about and fantasied about for so long. E.L. James has tweeted that the movie is far from being released but we can't wait to hear the latest movie news (hopefully) end of this week. EL James never expected the book to be this popular and with the up coming movie some say it will be even bigger than the book sales. We will have to wait and see in 2013.

'Fifty Shades of Grey' casts Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam

Now Charlie Hunman and Dakota Johnson have been cast as the two leads in the forthcoming Fifty movie, and the shock of the announcement has had time to settle in, we can take a calm look at the pairing. It’s an interesting pairing. Charlie is 33-years old and has been around for a while and Dakota Johnson is 23-years old, so the age difference is not too vast in terms of their real life ages. Christian Grey is 27-years old and that puts him in the same generation as the 21-year old Anastasia.

Dakota is closer in age to Anastasia and as one of the lesser names who were originally rumored to be playing the role, Dakota is a great choice. Age and the persona is so very important and Dakota has the willowy looks that are so necessary to carry off E.L. James’ student character who begins life in the story as a clumsy student who is shy and inexperienced in terms of physical relationships. Dakota should be able to carry this off well as the beginning of the plot is highly important to keep us glued to the screen.

Charlie has six years on Christian and because of Christian’s dark character, he is dark as in macabre in some ways as, it is hard to argue otherwise and that’s perhaps what has made Christian such a talked about character, Christian comes across in the book as a man who is much older than a youthful 27-year old. He certainly doesn’t give off the aura of a rich 27-year old playboy who sleeps around with endless women. Christian is highly determined in what he wants from a woman. Charlie should have no problem pulling this off. He’s a successful actor who has played demanding roles. Out of the two lead actors, who do you think will have to adapt more to their role?  Both have to be filled to remind us of the book characters and if Universal has listened to many comments about books-turned-film, there is an undulating current of “The Film is never as good as the book” 

This is something which can be somewhat of a problem for studios that choose to take characters from books and bring them to the screen. If we think of movies such as The Shawshank Redemption or The Color Purple both highly acclaimed books and both movies were popular and well-made and in keeping with the original story as much as they possibly could. Can Charlie Hunman and Dakota Johnson carry off these roles to have the Fifty movies romping home with the best-selling movie adaptation of all time?  The book trilogy has certainly gone global with over 70-miilion copies sold. 

It’s a touch call for a casting team, the studios, the book’s original author and the rest of the crew involved with such a monumental task. It’s a creative craft pulling together and while the lead roles are highly important, we mustn’t forget what goes on behind the screens. 

Can Charlie Hunman and Dakota Johnson pull this off and bring the images the fans have had in their minds since last summer and make this into the blockbuster the world has been waiting for? 

Harry Potter Star Emma Watson Out Of The Fifty Shades Of Grey Movie Running

Back in March, things got a little crazy, and there has been a lot of speculation about Emma Watson getting cast as the innocent Anastasia Steele. According to hacker “Anonymous” who hacked into German film distribution company Constantin, that Emma Watson had been cast as Anastasia Steele.

While Anonymous has revealed some big celebrity secrets and scandals, Emma Watson has come out and flatly denied being involved in the upcoming movie of Fifty Shades of Grey.

The 22-year-old Harry Potter star took to twitter to deny the rumors. It seems the actress is sick of all the rumors and speculations going around about her involvement with the movie. She tweeted: “Who here actually thinks I would do Fifty Shades of Grey as a movie? Like really. For real. In real life.” She then proceeded to post another cryptic message with just a question mark. 

Armie Hammer From the The Social Network To Fifty Shades Of Grey Movie

Apart from Hammer’s classic good looks, he does have an advantage in getting cast, in that he’s worked in The Social Network, with the same producers Dana Brunetti and Mike De Lucca who are producing the Fifty Shades of Grey movies. E.L. James herself has also hinted that the actor who’ll likely get picked won’t be whom we’ve all been expecting, and Ian Somerhalder has seemed less vocal about the upcoming movie as before. So does this mean that Armie could very well stand a chance at being cast as the infamous Christian Grey? Other actors who are popular choices for Christian Grey include Matt Bomer from White Collar and Magic Mike. Matt has a huge fan following, despite criticism from those who say he’s either too old to play the part of Christian Grey and those with more extreme viewpoints who are against the casting of an openly gay actor in a part like Christian Grey. Henry Cavill is also a rising favorite, especially since the relatively under-the-radar British actor is starring in Man of Steel which is coming out shortly. He’s got the looks and the talent to pull off Grey, and is rising in popularity in the polls. Another name connected with Grey is Arrow star Stephen Amell, who is supposed to be in talks with the production about the movie, which is exciting in itself since it looks like the studios are on the hunt for Grey already. 

Vanessa Hudgens or Selena Gomez play Anastasia Steele

The stories will continue to come out until we actually have someone selected to cast as Anastasia Steele , here is the latest news. Selena Gomez has been mentioned in association with the role, however back in January last year, she said the role of Anastasia Steele is “a little too much for me.” But, the actress went onto make the video parody “Fifty Shades of Blue,” six months later, which if you couple with Spring Breakers and her relationship with Justin Bieber, maybe she’ll change her mind.

Vanessa hasn’t come up in the Fifty Shades of Grey discussion, and it seems like she doesn’t have the fan following to set her up as Ana. After a poll asking if Hudgens is innocent and sexy enough to play Ana, a whopping 75 percent said no. It is surprising though, since she does match the description of being a pretty, brunette who is close to Ana’s age. She hasn’t commented on the Fifty Shades of Grey books either way, which might be the smartest way to go about things. Should the Disney and Spring Breakers stars be considered for the role of Anastasia Steele? Or do you favor the classic selection of Alexis Bledel, Emilia Clarke and Lucy Hale? Who do you think will get cast as Anastasia Steele?

An Unlikely Casting Decision for Fifty Shades of Grey

Everyone is busy with the speculation on who’ll play the hot and sexy billionaire with Christian Grey, however there is one actor who’s name is being bandied about in association with the movie who we would never have expected – Mike Tyson. Now, before you panic, the burly boxer will not be playing Christian Grey, but simply Tyson is apparently going to get involved with the parody of the best selling  novel by E.L. James in the horror comedy Scary Movie 5. Mike Tyson is going to play alongside Ashley Tisdale and Jerry O’Connell, who are involved in a Fifty Shades of Grey inspired skit, where O’Connell will be playing Grey and will be attempting to seduce one of the Scary Movie characters. However, things are going to turn strange for the seduction, since it’ll involve goats, hot wax, chains and Mike Tyson. “Prepare for a night of unparalleled passion,” says O’Connell in the movie to Tisdale, “Your safe word is… deeper.” 

Latest Fifty Shades Announcements are made for planned leads

The casting rumours which have been rife are now rifer, if this is at all possible. New names are being thrown into the ring for leads roles in the upcoming (still no cast) Fifty Shades movie planned for release in August 2014. The latest name being thrown into the heady mix for the role of Christian Grey, the steamy billionaire, is that of British hunk, Charlie Hunnam. 

Charlie is well-known to the British public as Nathan Maloney in Channel 4’s drama, Queer as Folk. He was bizarrely spotted in a shoe shop in the North East of England, misbehaving (well, he should have no problems playing the very naughty Mr Grey at least) by a production manager who produced the eighties TV show, Byker Grove. This show launched the careers of the television presenters Ant and Dec who feature on many TV shows in the UK. He had a part in the movie, Cold Mountain. He has built a reputation for playing ‘mad men’ in movies and is highly particular about the movies parts he takes. He currently lives with his current girlfriend (never mind girls, we can look) outside of Los Angeles. 

E.L. James, we are thinking may well stick with a British male lead given her own nationality but seemingly, for the role of Anastasia, American actresses are cropping up regularly. The latest beauty to be rumoured to play Anastasia, is Dakota Johnson.

Dakota Johnson is the daughter of Melanie Griffiths and Miami Vice’s Don Johnson. She has great heritage in terms of acting. Her maternal grandmother is Tippi Hedrun, the actress who played the female lead in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, The Birds. Her step-father is the rather delectable Antonio Banderas (now there’s a Christian Grey we wouldn’t mind seeing, yes I know, he’s too old) So it is not like she will be short of talented people to guide her through the role. Although I wonder how Dad fancies the idea of his daughter being portrayed in such an erotic manner. Dakota made her film debut in the 1999 movie, Crazy in Alabama where she played with her half-sister, daughters of their real-life mother, (Did you get all of that?  I was getting confused writing it) Melanie.

Dakota is also a model. Her most well-known modelling contract was with Mango modelling their jeans. She’s had various film roles since her launch into Hollywood and we like the idea of an actress with a good lineage. She’s almost blue-blooded when it comes to acting royalty. She certainly has it all going on her looks and it’s hard not to see where she gets them from. Her mother and grandmother are beautiful women and her dad’s not bad either. (I still prefer the Spanish lothario but I don’t fancy crossing Melanie, unless I’m completely sure of my territory) Despite all that, (yawns) it has been reported that the studio is absolutely nowhere near a casting announcement. We are on the hunt and we will report accordingly as more announcements dribble in. 

Elizabeth Olsen as Anastasia Steele

Ever since the Fifty Shades of Grey novels have been picked up by Universal Studios and Focus Features for movie adaptation, everyone has been speculating about who’ll get to play Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. So far, the fan favorites for the lip biting brunette beauty have included Alexis Bledel, Emilia Clarke and Lucy Hale, but it looks like we’ll have another actress to add to the list, Elizabeth Olsen the star of Martha Marcy May Marlene.

The blonde actress has been connected to the movie adaptation back in 2012, and the 23-year-old sister of the famous twins Mary Kate and Ashley has been a former favorite for the part of Anastasia Steele. The actress was a popular pairing with Armie Hammer as Christian Grey, and it looks like the interview Elizabeth had with Bullet back in July of last year has increased her chances of being cast as Ana in the movie.

Fifty Shades of Grey means maximum profits for publisher random House

The Fifty Shades of Grey series by E.L. James continues to break even more records. In 2012, over 70 million copies of the erotic novel were sold, driving publisher Random House’s profits through the roof.

Considering we’re in an economic crisis, Random House isn’t doing too badly, since their operating profit has leapt up by 75% year-on-year to €325 million in just 2012. Thanks to being in the spotlight with E.L. James’s book, the company will be merging with one of the biggest publishers in the UK Pearson’s Penguin, causing revenues to increase by 22.5% year-on-year up to €2.1 billion.

The usual number of sales on ebooks at random house accounts for around 20% of their total sales, but not since Fifty Shades of Grey has arrived on the scene, which has boosted this number to 50%, and the print version of Fifty Shades accounted for one in ten of the 750 million books that the publisher carries.

“In 2012, our profits and sales hit an absolute record level, a historic all-time high,” said Markus Dohle, the Random House chairman and chief executive, “Our success has shown again one thing very clearly, that the core of our business in the 21st century, in a digital age, remains the same. It is so important to continually invest in content and creativity and to market that well.”
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Although the publisher doesn’t want to solely thank Fifty Shades of Grey for the success of the company, it says that Rod Stewart’s autobiography and John Grisham’s The Racketeer should also be thanked as well.

“Clearly Fifty Shades was the main driver but it was not the only one,” said Thomas Rabe, the Bertlesmann chief executive, “In the middle of May we have Dan Brown’s Inferno coming.”

Fifty Shades of Grey began life as a piece of Twilight fan fiction called Master of the Universe that was then molded into the Fifty Shades of Grey we know today. It was released as a self-published ebook that went viral with its popularity, until Random House picked up the series. While novels in the past go through the traditional channels of a literary agent connecting with publishers, Fifty Shades of Grey has shown us that it is possible not only to break the rules, but to break into stardom. Maybe it’s a one off fluke, but maybe more and more authors will try to get noticed this way.

Jensen Ackles as Christian Grey

Ever since Universal Studios and Focus Features acquired the rights to the movie adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, fans have been going crazy over casting speculations. So far, we’ve seen the shortlist of potential Christian Grey candidates include Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer, Henry Cavill and Stephen Amell. In the past week though, a new name has been making it out on top of the polls as the popular choice for Christian Grey – Supernatural star Jensen Ackles.

Apparently, the film will be out in the summer of 2014, and now that the script is finished and the studios are on the hunt for the right director, it looks like fans are still busying themselves with picking the ideal Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele candidates. Jensen Ackles may not have come up on the grapevine as much as Ian Somerhalder or Matt Bomer, but many fans are sitting up and are taking notice of the Supernatural star who is famed for his good looks and acting talent. 

Reports say that the Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke, has been officially cast as Anastasia Steele

Apparently the Fifty Shades movie casting is still a while away, but new reports say that the Game of Thrones actress, Emilia Clarke, has been officially cast as Anastasia Steele. According to the IBTimes, the new story in the Fifty Shades rumorville is that the 25-year-old actress from the hit HBO series Game of Thrones has been cast as the innocent college graduate who enters into a saucy and dark relationship with Christian Grey.

Gather Celebrity were the ones who released this supposed news, and definitely lean towards her favor: “She’s young, talented, fine with nudity, pale, petite, big eyes, great body, delicate features, etc. all the things Christian loves about Ana .” However, until we get the official word from either Universal Studios and Focus Features, E.L. James or the producers Mike de Luca and Dana Brunetti, we’re taking this with a pinch of salt. If it turns out not to be true, and another actress is picked, we can imagine there will be many disappointed fans out there. So far, Clarke has had a huge wave of support for the role, deemed by many as being the perfect actress for Anastasia Steele.

Emma Watson Slams Fifty Shades of Grey Casting, But Fans Remain Hopeful

Emma Watson’s name has been tied to the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise for quite some time, but while the Harry Potter star has denied every single rumor that has been circulating on the internet, her fans are still hopeful.
The huge “Emma for Anastasia” fandom is at its biggest on Twitter, where the Harry Potter actress has denied the rumors publically about appearing in Fifty Shades of Grey.

“Who here actually thinks I would do 50 Shades of Grey as a movie? Like really. For real. In real life,” said the British actress back in March on the social networking sight.

Her fans have been very verbal about casting Emma in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie by shouting in caps on Twitter: “I WANT NOTHING MORE THAN FOR EMMA WATSON TO BE IN 50 SHADES OF GREY SORRY NOT SORRY BYE,” said one fan.