50 Shades of Grey broke box office records when it was released on Valentine’s Day. Now, with the release of the DVD and Blu-ray, it is sure to break sales records again.
With the first film in the trilogy being a worldwide hit, you would think that the studio would be pushing for the second film to get underway so it could be released as soon as possible. But the release of the sequel, 50 Shades Darker , keeps getting pushed back due to drama with the author of the books, E.L. James.
First, director Sam Taylor-Johnson announced that she would not be back to direct the sequel. After her announcement, rumors swirled that the reason she was not returning was due to creative differences between her and James.
Next came the news that Kelly Marcel would not be writing the screenplay for Darker . At first, it was believed that James herself wanted to write the screenplay, but now according to People , James’ husband Niall Leonard will, in fact, write the screenplay .
Since E.L. is not busy writing that screenplay, it frees her up, and now Hollywood Life is reporting that she wants to be the one to direct the 50 Shades of Grey sequel.
“Sam Taylor-Johnson is not returning to the director’s chair and they are hesitant in putting E.L James in that position,” an insider told Hollywood Life . “She wants to do it, but the studio obviously sees the nightmares that could come from that.”
“Its going to be someone new and the announcement will probably be made around July,” the insider continues. “They want a director who is not well known so they can keep the costs down and allow the studio and E.L. to get their way and their vision.”
With all of the changes being made to the sequel, fans will be happy to know that stars Jamie Dornan (Christian Grey) and Dakota Johnson (Anastasia Steele) will both be reprising their roles.
Each of the stars reportedly earned $250,000 for the first film, but they are asking for a hefty raise to reprise their sexy roles in the sequel. According to the Hollywood Reporter , both of the stars are asking for at least seven figures for the next film.
There are also rumors that Dornan was offered a bonus in order to appear full frontal.
“They’re offering Jamie a bonus of $1.5 million to do a full-frontal scene in Fifty Shades Darker ,” a source told Star magazine. “That’s just a starting figure. Jamie would be crazy not to consider it.”
Tell us! Do you think E.L. James should direct the 50 Shades of Grey sequel? Let us know in the comments below.
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