What started as online fan-fiction about the “Twilight” series has developed into a full-blown phenomenon. (Really.)
“Fifty Shades of Grey,” a self-published digital book, is about the dominant-submissive relationship between a man, Christian Grey, and a naive college graduate, Anastasia Steele, who engage in an erotic affair. (Seriously.)
“Fifty Shades of Grey” became an Internet sensation last year, and skyrockted to the top of the New York Times digital best-seller list, with the second and third books — “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed” — in the trilogy holding up the second and third slots. The book will be released in hard copy form in the U.S. in early April.
Luckily for the self-proclaimed “mommy blogger” set and female-centric websites who spread word of Ana and Christian, the story will soon be projected onto the big screen.
After an intense bidding battle for the film rights, Universal Studios and Focus Features bought the rights Friday for $5 million from the London-based female author who goes by E.L. James. Now, the studio is hoping the three films will be a sensation as big as “Twilight” for the R-rated — or perhaps X-rated — audience.
The book is so graphic that filmmakers will likely have to censor much of the material to make it theater-friendly.