Fifty Shades of Grey (film)
Fifty Shades of Grey is a 2015 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel. Produced by Focus Features, Michael De Luca Productions, and Trigger Street Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is based on E. L. James' 2011 novel of the same name, and serves as the first installment in the Fifty Shades film series. Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle and Marcia Gay Harden, the film's story follows Anastasia "Ana" Steele (Johnson), a college graduate, who begins a sadomasochistic relationship with young business magnate Christian Grey (Dornan).
Fifty Shades of Grey
- Michael De Luca
- E. L. James
- Dana Brunetti
- February 9, 2015 (Los Angeles)
- February 13, 2015 (United States)
125 minutes[2]
United States
English
$40 million[3]
$569.7 million[3]
Development of the film commenced in March 2012, when Universal and Focus Features secured the rights to the trilogy following a bidding war. After Marcel was hired to write the film's screenplay, multiple directors, including Joe Wright, Patty Jenkins, Bill Condon, Bennett Miller, and Steven Soderbergh, were attached to the film. Taylor-Johnson was confirmed as the director in June 2013. She cited 9½ Weeks (1986), Last Tango in Paris (1972), and Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013) as her inspirations for the film. The main cast joined the project between October and December 2013. Principal photography commenced in December 2013 and concluded in February 2014. Reshoots involving scenes between Dornan and Johnson took place in Vancouver during the week of October 2014. Danny Elfman was hired to compose the film's score.
Fifty Shades of Grey premiered at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival on February 11, 2015, and was released in IMAX formats on February 13, by Universal Pictures. Despite receiving generally negative reviews, it was an immediate box office success, breaking numerous box office records and earning $569 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million. The soundtrack album was also successful; "Love Me Like You Do", by English singer Ellie Goulding, was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, while "Earned It", by Canadian singer the Weeknd, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 88th Academy Awards.
The film was the most awarded at the 36th Golden Raspberry Awards, winning five of six nominations, including Worst Picture (tied with Fantastic Four) and both leading roles. Fifty Shades of Grey was succeeded by two sequels: Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, released in 2017 and 2018, respectively, both of which received similar negative critical reception but commercial success.
Plot[edit]
21-year-old Anastasia "Ana" Steele is an English literature major at Washington State University Vancouver in Vancouver, Washington. When her roommate, Kate Kavanagh, becomes ill and is unable to interview Christian Grey, a 27-year-old billionaire entrepreneur, for the college newspaper, Ana agrees to take her place. At Christian's Seattle headquarters, she stumbles her way through the meeting. Christian, who is that year's WSU commencement speaker, takes an interest in her; soon after, he visits the hardware store where Ana works and offers to do a photo shoot to accompany the article she had interviewed him for.
Christian invites Ana for coffee, but leaves abruptly after she confesses to being a romantic, saying he is not the man for her. He later sends her first edition copies of two Thomas Hardy novels, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles, as a gift, with a quote from the latter book about the dangers of relationships on an accompanying card. Ana and her friends celebrate graduation at a local bar. After drinking too much, she calls Christian, saying she is returning the books, and berating him for his behavior towards her. He goes to the bar to find her, arriving just as her photographer friend, José Rodriquez, attempts to kiss her against her will. Ana is suddenly sick. The next morning, she wakes up in Christian's hotel room, relieved that they were not intimate.
Ana and Christian begin seeing each other, though he insists that she sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing her from revealing details about their relationship. He explains that he engages in sexual bondage relationships, but only as defined in a contract between the participants. Ana reveals that she is a virgin. While considering the agreement and negotiating her own terms, and after visiting his "playroom," a room stocked with a variety of BDSM toys, furniture and gear, she and Christian have conventional sex. The next morning, she meets Christian's adoptive mother, Grace, who unexpectedly arrives.
Christian bestows a series of gifts and favors upon Ana, including a new car and a laptop. After she and Kate move to Seattle, she continues seeing him. During dinner at his parents' home, Ana suddenly mentions she is leaving the next day to visit her mother in Georgia. Later, Christian becomes frustrated when she says she wants more than the one-sided relationship he proposes. She is shocked when Christian shows up in Georgia; he takes her air gliding, and then returns to Seattle to tend to a business emergency.
After returning home, Ana continues seeing Christian, who wants further sexual experimentation. She initially consents, but he remains emotionally distant, upsetting her. While still considering the contract, and in an effort to understand Christian's psychology, Ana asks him to demonstrate how he would "punish" her for rule-breaking. He whips her buttocks with a belt, making her count each strike out loud. Upset and disgusted, Ana leaves Christian, concluding that he is wrong for her and that his practices are deviant and excessive.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
By early 2012, several Hollywood studios were keen to obtain film rights to The New York Times bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy of novels.[15] Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, Universal, and Mark Wahlberg's production company submitted bids for the film rights.[16][17] Universal Pictures and Focus Features secured the rights to the trilogy in March 2012.[18] Author James sought to retain some control during the movie's creative process.[19] James chose The Social Network producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti to produce the film.[20][21]
Although American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis publicly expressed his desire to write the screenplay for Fifty Shades of Grey,[22] Kelly Marcel, screenwriter of Saving Mr. Banks, was hired for the job.[23] Patrick Marber was brought in by Taylor-Wood to polish the screenplay, specifically to do some "character work".[24] Universal hired Mark Bomback for script doctoring.[25] Mark Bridges served as the costume designer.[26] Entertainment Weekly estimated the film's budget as "$40 million-or-so".[27]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Fifty Shades of Grey grossed $166.2 million in the United States and Canada and $403.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $569.7 million, against a budget of $40 million.[3] It became the third highest-grossing film directed by a woman at the time of release (behind Mamma Mia! and Kung Fu Panda 2),[124] and at the time of the end of its theatrical run, it was the fourth-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time (behind The Hangover Part II, The Passion of the Christ, and The Matrix Reloaded).[125] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $256.55 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.[126]
Tickets went on sale in the United States from January 11, 2015.[92] According to ticket-selling site Fandango, Fifty Shades of Grey is the fastest-selling R-rated title in the site's 15-year history, surpassing Sex and the City 2.[127] It also had the biggest first week of ticket sales on Fandango for a non-sequel film, surpassing 2012's The Hunger Games.[127][128] It is fourth overall on Fandango's list of top advance ticket sales behind The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, and The Hunger Games.[129] The demand prompted US theater owners to add new showtimes.[127][130] Weeks before the film's release, several box office analysts suggested as much as a $60 million domestic four-day opening[92][131][132][133][134] while Box Office Mojo reported that a $100 million opening could be possible.[135]
Outside the United States, Fifty Shades of Grey pre-sold 4.5 million tickets in 39 markets.[136] In the UK, it sold £1.3 million (US$1.9 million) worth of tickets a week before release.[137] On release, it set several records at the box office, including:
Pornographic-adaptation lawsuit[edit]
In June 2012, the film company Smash Pictures announced its intent to film a pornographic version of the Fifty Shades book trilogy, entitled Fifty Shades of Grey: An XXX Adaptation.[200] A release date of January 10, 2013 was announced.[201] In November 2012, Universal, which had secured the Fifty Shades film rights, filed a lawsuit against Smash Pictures, stating that the film violated its copyright in that it was not filmed as a parody adaptation but "copies without reservation from the unique expressive elements of the Fifty Shades trilogy, progressing through the events of Fifty Shades of Grey and into the second book, Fifty Shades Darker".[202]
The lawsuit asked for an injunction, for the profits from all sales of the film, as well as damages,[203] saying that "a quickly and cheaply produced pornographic work [...] is likely to cause Plaintiffs irreparable harm by poisoning public perception of the Fifty Shades Trilogy and the forthcoming Universal films."[204] Smash Pictures responded to the lawsuit by issuing a counterclaim and requesting a continuance, stating that "much or all" of the Fifty Shades material was part of the public domain because it was originally published in various venues as a fan fiction based on the Twilight series. A lawyer for Smash Pictures further commented that the federal copyright registrations for the books were "invalid and unenforceable" and that the film "did not violate copyright or trademark laws".[205] The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum and Smash Pictures agreed to stop any further production or promotion of the film.[206]
Parody[edit]
A spoof version of the film, Fifty Shades of Black, was released on January 29, 2016, in North America. Marlon Wayans and Rick Alvarez wrote the script, in which Wayans stars as Christian Black. The film was distributed by SquareOne Entertainment in Germany and Open Road Films in the United States;[212] IM Global produce and finance it, as well as handling international releases. Kali Hawk parodied the role of Anastasia Steele, with supporting cast including Affion Crockett, Mike Epps, Jane Seymour, Andrew Bachelor and Fred Willard.[213] It was released theatrically on January 29, 2016 and described as less funny "than the unintentionally-funny film it's trying to lampoon."[214]