The Hollywood Reporter has an excellent, dishy, amazing behind-the-scenes look at what is going down amid this Charlie Hunnam tap-out, and the undercurrent of studio freak-out over what looks more and more like a cursed production for 50 Shades of Grey. Some of this stuff is a recap of what we already know: Jamie Dornan is the leading contender right now but he’s far from a sure thing, and the production start date might have to be pushed back to accommodate whatever new actor they hire. But the interesting part is definitely the gossip that Charlie Hunnam has a bit of Edward Norton in him. And I mean that in a bad way.
Universal Pictures and Focus Features haven’t yet resorted to posting a woman-seeking-man personal ad on Craigslist. But in the wake of Charlie Hunnam’s abrupt departure from Fifty Shades of Grey — after what sources say was increasing conflict with the high-profile film’s creative team — the studio is left to scramble desperately for another actor to star opposite Dakota Johnson in the role of billionaire S&M fan Christian Grey so the project can meet a looming Nov. 1 start date.
Universal chairman Donna Langley, producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti, director Sam Taylor-Johnson and author EL James are said to have drafted a list of four men they want to read for the role. Although the list is being kept under NSA-level secrecy, THR.com revealed Oct. 13 that British TV stars Jamie Dornan, 31, and Christian Cooke, 26, are among the targets. Both actors came close to capturing the part the first time around but lost to Hunnam because the Sons of Anarchy star is a bigger name. (True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard also is being considered.)
Dornan could be emerging as a front-runner. Born in Northern Ireland, he’s a former Calvin Klein model, dated Keira Knightley for two years and played Sheriff Graham on the first season of ABC’s Once Upon a Time. According to a source, Dornan was contacted by Langley even before Hunnam officially dropped out Oct. 12. But a Dornan confidant says no overtures had been made at press time to the actor, who stars in British series The Fall, on which he plays a killer terrorizing Belfast. The fact that Dornan’s wife, actress-singer Amelia Warner, is pregnant also could complicate matters.
The last thing Universal wants is another actor to emerge as its Fifty Shades protagonist only to waffle. The studio is reeling over Hunnam’s exit less than three weeks before the start of production. Sources say his discomfort with the hoopla around the project had been mounting for at least four weeks before he bailed, which officially was blamed on his Sons schedule not allowing him time to prepare (the FX series wraps production Oct. 21). After signing Sept. 2, Hunnam faced a public frenzy on social media sites, where fans of the book congregated to fawn over and complain about his casting. Universal was forced to hire bodyguards for the actor at a recent Sons premiere, and two appearances to promote the show were canceled — one at Goulet Motosports in Hawkesbury, Ontario, on Sept. 14, and one at Rocky’s Harley-Davidson in London, Ontario, on Oct. 13.
In addition, Hunnam, who also is a writer (he penned the gothic horror screenplay Vlad for Brad Pitt’s Plan B and Summit Entertainment), is said to have submitted his own very detailed script notes on Kelly Marcel’s adaptation of the runaway best-seller. The notes were well received, according to sources, but that only led to Hunnam seeking further script approval, which was denied. “That’s Charlie, that’s who he is. He’s particular,” says one source.
According to another source, Hunnam, who was to be paid about $125,000 for the film, began butting heads with the creative team, including Taylor-Johnson. The conflict reached a fever pitch in early October, though everyone involved thought the issues had been resolved. But the discord spiked again Oct. 11. Hunnam’s team at CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners strongly advised him to stay on the project for fear that his exit would embarrass Langley — new to the chairman job — and burn a bridge with one of the major studios. That same day, Universal hired writer Patrick Marber — no stranger to taboo sex themes with his Oscar-nominated screenplay Notes on a Scandal — to do a polish and bolster the characters. But by then, Hunnam, whose heart it seems never was in the project, had decided to decamp. The next morning, the studio announced his departure, and James tweeted, “I wish Charlie all the best.” Universal and CAA declined comment.
Hunnam isn’t the first actor to have doubts about playing the dungeon-loving Christian Grey. James’ first choice, Robert Pattinson, never engaged with producers. Garrett Hedlund was heavily courted this summer and even received an informal offer, but the Tron: Legacy star passed in July because he couldn’t connect with the character. Now he is in Australia to shoot the Angelina Jolie-directed Unbroken.
Fortunately for Universal, its leading lady, Johnson, 24, remains firmly in place, ready to take on the virgin-turned-sexpert Anastasia Steele, a role that has greater dimension than the Grey character. But with the clock ticking, the start of production likely will need to be pushed back at least a week. Still, the studio says it remains committed to making its Aug. 1, 2014, release date. For her part, the ever-involved James (she has approval rights on cast) is in Los Angeles the week of Oct. 14 as the hunt for a new Christian Grey continues. As the author writes no fewer than 44 times in Fifty Shades: “Oh my.”
Well, I think it’s safe to say that the script was (and is) a mess, but still… this is the exact same thing that Edward Norton used to pull. It’s not that Norton’s script notes were bad or wrong, it’s that Norton always thinks he knows best and his constant self-appointed script-doctoring has alienated so many people throughout his career. If Charlie wanted to rewrite the script, he should have said that before he signed on. Basically, it sounds like the studio people were in denial about how bad this movie is going to be AND it sounds like Charlie is kind of control-freak douche. I blame everybody.
Also: Charlie was only going to get $125,000 for the film? YIKES. Ashton Kutcher makes more than five times that for ONE episode of Two and a Half Men.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
It was a poorly written schmesh of erotica.
I agree. The book was an easy read but horribly, laughably written. I thought Charlie was wrong physically for Christian Grey. I have never seen him act, but now I like him for trying to make it better. I’m glad he’s out.
i never read the book and wont, but shouldnt the guy in it be attractive? i can see why fans pushed matt bomer. this guy looks like someone in jesse james entourage.
I’m sure there are women who are into him, but I don’t find him handsome either.
^^ It’s a little tiring hearing ppl constantly call Charlie unattractive bc of his SOA getup… IT’S A COSTUME, PEOPLE. He needs the nasty hairdo and the beard for the show. at the very least, go and look up what he looks like when he’s clean cut and base your “ugly or not” observations off that, PLEASE.
angel, he is on the cover of e news today in a suit
and he looks like someone going to a parole hearing
just imo but he does not have a sophisticated look, even when well dressed
Angel: Nobody said they were basing their thoughts of Charlie on his SOA get-up. I’ve seen the cleaned-up version and I still think he’s unattractive and he doesn’t fit the 50 Shades role.
many ppl constantly comment on how he looks like he’s in a “jesse james entourage” like above, or similar to that. if you’ve seen him clean cut and polished and still think he’s unattractive then that’s fine, but basing opinions on him with that nasty hair and beard and the dirty outfits is really not fair at all. he cleans up really well and if that’s not your thing then fine, but many ppl on the internet just look at an SOA pic and base it off that.
The whole thing just sounds budget, in every way. Norton’s a douche because he messed around with *good* projects. It sounds to me like Hunnan was on a salvage mission.
Actually, it sounds to me like a studio is trying to spin this and throw Hunnan under the bus.
That is the flavour I am getting, also. Whatever one thinks of the film and of Charlie, he *can* write.
Yeah, I don’t blame the guy for trying to make it better.
Unfortunately he was probably polishing a turd
I actually respect the guy more for having integrity as an actor and caring enough to give his input. At least it shows it wasn’t just about a high-profile role and a paycheck for him.
It definitely sounds like they’re throwing him under the bus. It was always a crap project unless someone wrote a sharp script. Evidently that’s not the case if they’re still bringing people in to fix it.
His only mistake was committing too soon, and it sounds like his agents encouraged him. I hope, in time, this won’t follow him.
As for this following him, I wonder what’s worse: A big studio painting him as difficult and perhaps flaky or him going though with his obligation and acting in a crappy film.
Only Charlie knows the truth and so far he’s not talking. Love him on SOA.
If the script was so good then why hire someone to come in to “polish” it up? Speaks volumes and I think Charlie had it right with his revisions. Glad he walked away but I’m sure Universal wants him to be the bad guy here. I applaud him for having the integrity to say no thanks.
ITA.
THIS exactly!
I’m not going to snark on Charlie for this – there’s no way that that script is any good. And it sounds like the studio getting back at him for dropping out.
While I’m sure he was trying to help…I’m not sure it was worth the risk. The implication that he is “difficult” and not a team player could hurt him going forward. Maybe not with independents, but studios like actors who know when to play the game. If he truly wants to be a movie star, well, there’s a fine line to walk.
You make some good points. While 99.9% of posters believe the book/film/script are unredeemable drivel, that’s not the issue here. I can believe the version where he simply didn’t know where to stop with his suggestions/re-writes- and that led to problems. Wonder how he would react when and if “Vlad” gets tinkered with, esp by the lead?
Eh it’s a toss up. He’s been in big budget before, and nobody else knows him as difficult. Especially to only be paid 125k. I’m hoping that other studios look at this mess and say “ah it was a mess anyway” before they start saying he’s not a team player. Especially as the role is getting turned down by so many people. The only way to really salvage it IS to get a big name like Skarsgard. If that doesnt happen, if that movie craps all over the box office, I doubt it will affect Hunnams bottom line.
I mean apparently the already script overuses the word “sperm” lol
I think it’s more of a gamble to be involved with that movie in general than to be considered difficult. Honestly, it wasn’t a good career move for him. It would only make him look like a joke.
The book was horrible, I’m sure the script was horrible…but I have no clue now about what is “good” when Twilight and 50 Shades became that big.
What you said T Fanty is the vibe I’m getting. The article mentions that Charlie’s initial notes were well received and then it wasn’t. I know Norton does not have the best rep in town, but I never got the sense that he did not care about his work. This sounds to me like Charlie wanted to make this a better project, or thought he could and his vision did not agree with the people in charge.
I am surprised at the 125,000 fee.
“it sounds to me like a studio is trying to spin this and throw Hunnan under the bus.”
I completely agree.
I agree too. I think he was “accommodating” the script to his persona, nothing wrong with that. It is about being convincing in the role.
But I have to laugh at the people who said – it is such a horrible movie that he left it to save his career. No no no.
As for the money – maybe it is 125k cash + % from profits…
Exactly. Charlie is catching a truly ridiculous amount of crap around here for something that’s just not that big of a deal. I’m not asking that everyone adore the guy like I do, but the constant assertion that he’s a douche for pulling out of this pile of shite movie is tiresome.
Exactly! This is the studio’s blame-Charlie version of what went down. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
Exactly this. And I am very tired of anyone who claims Hunman backing out of this piece of garbage was a bad thing for him to do and shows bad things about him. Signing on in the first place was the bad thing to do. Backing out was undoing a colossal mistake.
completely agree. he prob just thought “well this is ok but I can fix it up a bit and make it much better” and likely got the feeling that his creative input would be welcomed, and then when it came time to actually get anything changed, they rejected it, and he decided to back out. Not unlike many jobs I’ve had where id been hired and then learned this job was NOTHING like what I got the impression it was gonna be and I said thanks but no thanks.
its not like he was halfway through filming and pulled a diva stunt and quit… he saw it wasn’t going to be what he thought and he voted with his feet. hes been the lead actor for a Kurt Sutter for over 6 years, a man who is notoriously moody and if charlie was such a whiny quitter, i can’t imagine that working relationship would have been contiued this long.
sounds to me like the studio is bitter and pi$$ed off and is making this a bigger issue than it needed to be.
Just shut it down. Shut the damn thing down.
+1. Exactly what they should do.
125K? Sheesh. I don’t blame him.
I still think he bailed because the script probably sucks moose balls and is going to be a career-killer for any established actor.
Word. They call it an “internet frenzy,” but everyone was reeling and he could sense the humiliation. “Will it damage his career to back out?” My answer is, it could not hurt his career any more than playing this widely-rumored shit-show of a film.
agreed… look at the illustrious and sophisticated career rob pattinson has now. what’s he done, 2 movies in the last couple of years? poor guy is going to be Edward Cullen for the rest of his professional life. i don’t blame charlie one bit for running full tilt away from this mess. personally i don’t think he fully understood the whole frenzy behind these stupid books and when he DID get it, he wanted out.
125k is a lot of money! Not in the show bizz industry, but it is a lot of money.
Not really. Remember, a percentage of that will go to his manager, agent, publicist, etc. In addition to a couple months of filming, there will then be a big publicity tour with lots of travel and appearances. And with this particular role, an amazing amount of scrutiny and total loss of privacy. He’ll have to hire increased security on his own dime to deal with the crazies and stalkers that will come out of the woodwork. There is also the threat to his career if it turns out to be the hot mess many think the movie will be. So, for all that, $125K is nothing.
Mind you, there must have also been back end stuff negotiated. Otherwise, he got screwed and needs a new agent.
Well, in my country the average salary is under a 1000 dollars a month, so this is huge. The prices are lower, though.
For a normal person working a normal job, yes, it is a lot of money. But not for this type of work, especially for a film de crappy that is going to be really high profile.
@Another Ann, don’t forget taxes! The studio would likely pick up the travel costs, but he’d still be paying state taxes, city taxes, Federal taxes and self-employment taxes. That alone would take up about 50-60% of his money. If his primary residence is in California, forget it. The taxes are crazy.
He probably had a deal in place to get some of the “back end” 125K is really low.
think so as well. He probably had a deal to add onto that $125,000 if the movie became profitable.
Exactly. A lot of actors will take a lower salary because they get other perks/$$ if the film does well.
Just a hot mess. If Hunnam was to receive only $125,000 for the film, wonder what Johnson is to be paid?
MTE. Poor girl probably got a Starbucks gift card.
haha that made me laugh out really loud, I am guessing she is not getting much of anything from doing this and her character is the worst and gets the most humiliated both on screen and for real I have zero idea why any woman actress would do this.
lol!
Charlie’s too good for their chump change and has my respect for blowing this pop stand of a movie.
Saunter on out a there, Charlie!
LOL! Tiffany27- that was the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.
Hilarious!
Shudder. It’s just a hideous mass of meta- everything, isn’t it? What is shaping up to be a poor film of a poor book of a poor fanfic by a poor writer of a poor film of a poor book by a poor writer… ad infinitum.
^This. Nailed it, Sixer.
You are exactly right Sixer.
The sad thing is that we’re all witnessing the inevitable collapse of the house of cards in terribly slow motion.
I love you, Sixer.
Well, the one thing that’s not poor in this scenario is the writer. Girl can wipe her butt with hundred dollar bills for the rest of her days.
And that…..just made me very sad.
First of all $125,000 for a role that will pretty much define your career for a long time is crazy. That cannot be right.
Why is Julian McMahon of Nip/Tuck not be considered for this role? I think he could easily pull it off.
I agree with everything in this comment..
That number has to be wrong, right???
Julian McMahon is hot, but can’t pass for 27 years old. They need a young, thin, nonthreatening boybandy type to gloss over the fact that the central romance is textbook relationship abuse.
Fees for actors have deteriorated a lot. They took the plunge in salary the same way TV actors have for the most part. TV salaries went down with the advent of reality tv shows and their ilk. I thought movies had stayed relatively high but from many interviews I’ve read from actors who say unless you are a huge star (like a Tom Cruise – at least he once did) you don’t command the high salaries.
One interview I read was from James McAvoy who was casted in the movie 50/50 and had to leave after one week for personal reasons. I guess a UK paper claimed he was missing out on a $1 million dollar (or was it pounds?) payday. He claimed they were way off and said that he didn’t know what everyone thought actors made but he wasn’t even going to make not even close to half that. Now that was a small movie. (I still can’t watch it without thinking of McAvoy in the Gordon-Levitt role.)
What he’s too old. Christian is not even 30.
Julian McMahon is 10 to 20 years older than the actors they’ve considered, but yes, he would fit the roll. Agree the 125K figure is way off unless he was getting back end.
Oh no it’s right, they figure the exposure will make it worth it. They’re of course wrong, but that’s what they think.
There are tv actors getting paid more than that PER EPISODE.
Someone left off a zero, methinks.
McMahon is too old for the part from the stuff I have read about the character. Isn’t he in his mid to late 40’s and the Grey dude supposed to be late 20’s early 30’s?
Props to Charlie for getting out of this steaming mess. I have no doubt he could have improved the script – let’s face it – the source material was Twilight.
$125,000 – no wonder they can’t find anyone on that chump change.
But, please dear Jesus, let ASkars need the money.
WORD.
Are you saying Askars needs the money? Because he made more than that per episode on TB and he is CK spoke dude so to take this movie to ruin his future would be stupid especially for that amount of peanuts so if that was your saying that’s BS plus he is far too good for that Sh8t
Relax, they were joking.
Uh, Alex makes $275K PER EPISODE of True Blood.
What?!? Uh no, I want Alex far, far away from this crap. He doesn’t need the money or exposure.
@Jamie I couldn’t tell because some people seem to think that Askars is so hard up for playing this role just because he can bring the sexy as he does in TB. I don’t like them putting that out there like he is that stupid to sell out himself for this stupid role especially for that price which is such an insult concerning how much he made last season from TB he made much more and did a 2nd campaign for CK. Personally this doesn’t make CH look smart if he was offered that amount in the first place. This whole thing is a mess and I would like it to go away right now.
Agreed
blue marie: Yeah, Alex is perfect for the role but I don’t want him associated with this mess. …But I’ll be glad to rehearse a few scenes with him, just to prove how perfect he would’ve been on-screen.
Hahaaha 125k is hilarious, what is their budget?
I’m not surprised at the paycheck. My guess is that the deals for the primaries are heavy in back-end compensation. So the movie can be made cheaply, but if it blows up, they’ll make money then.
And Charlie probably realized that the only way this movie was going to ‘blow up’ was in his face and there was no way any of those back-end profits would be forthcoming.
This entire thing is a mess, and it’s not like you can rewrite a lot, the fans will get pissed! Also, look at the studio lowballing him with a salary like that. He would potentially have ruined his career and he wouldn’t have become rich.
He left because 1) he realized he could become a star with a better project, 2) he was getting paid too little, 3) seems like he never really wanted to do it in the first place, 4) this will be a certified MESS.
I always found the choice for him very random and strange. I will not be surprised if Dakota drops out too.
For someone who has been analyzing gossip for a long time, you sure seem clueless a lot. The script sucked because the book sucked, looks more like Hunnam was trying his best to salvage this mess and not associate his name with a poorly written script.
Agree Ingrid!
Can’t blame Charlie. This is what the book sounds like (NSFW lang)=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K1RcKJVbHA
OOOMMMGGG!!! ahahahah that was funny. And that is my first, and I imagine only, exposure to this book. You know how when people say they almost spit out their tea? Well, I did almost spit out my tea. That was great!
Agreed. The studio is butthurt because his leaving makes them look bad so they’re throwing all of this in. I love how suddenly Charlie is this douchebag who always tries to take over the writing.
I actually thought about this last night and thought Rob Lowe for the part.
Yeah except he’s two decades too old…
Rob Lowe.. whenever i read this name, this image of him immediately pops up in my head.
http://i.imgur.com/Lx5O4Bk.jpg
But he is very good looking otherwise. haha
Lmao!! That made me giggle! Forever etched in my brain now.
I think the reality of going into a poorly written, but VERY highly scrutinized film was just too much. There had to have been a moment when he realized if the script didn’t change, it was seriously just going to be a mom porn that was going to seriously effect his future worth. I’m personally really glad he chose NOT to go this route. I think this is one instance the other studios will forgive him sounding like a control freak.
We’ve already been talking about just watching the film on mute. The only problem with that is if Jaime gets the role, his voice is just so delicious we might have to suffer through the dialogue.
The 125 000 is definitely bullshit. RPatz got 2 mil for Twilight and he was as good as unknown back then.
That salary is LOW. That’s either incorrect or only part of the deal.
I can see him being a bit of a control freak, but on the other hand I don’t blame him for trying to make it better. I wonder how much of it he read before accepting the part.
First off, I am tired of people saying ASkars is in the running (not this site but E!, GMA, etc). He is not going to do this movie. Second, who on earth would do that career ending movie for what would be considered in Hollywood to be chump change?! I realize the SOA dude is not Brad Pitt but $125k? That should have been the main reason he dropped out.
Lets face it, this movie is going to be like Showgirls.Loads of hype and controversy, then laughed at by the critics and movie goers only to find a place 10yrs after it’s release in the camp/humor department. No one with a booming career would ruin it by being in this dog of a movie.
This whole thing is just a hot mess. The studio is basing this entire project on a middle-aged woman with a R-Patz fantasy. No offense to middle-aged women or R-Patz, but something are better left in your head.
You summed it up perfectly.
Spot on.
Actually $125,000 is probably spot on. Any other money would be tied up in bonuses and back end if (IF) the film was a hit. Plus unless you work for Marvel, the idea is you make bigger money on the sequel.
I’ll read just about anything, all kinds of books. Don’t judge til I read! I really did think 50 Shades was a poorly written book. It was FULL of phrases like my inner goddess. Felt like she said that a million times & I simply could not read them back to back like a lot of people did. I can’t imagine any actor wanting to do this. A couple of years back I had a huge crush on Ian Somerhalder & its so embarrassing to read how much he wanted this!
$125,000 only?
That’s ridiculous. Chicken feed. I would have thought they’d pay him more than that.
Now I can see why he backed out.
He probably got paid more for Pacific Rim.
Just cast an unknown model. It won’t leave a significant damage to his future acting career.
Alex’s manager already confirmed that he’s definitely not doing it.
I don’t think he ever even considered it, they just keep throwing his name out as wishful thinking and to keep getting publicity for this crapfest of a film.
yes and he was too polite to say “I’m not making this sh!t” There are only a few that admitted they had no interest in mommy porn because everyone is afraid of alienating the mommies. Just let Ian what’s his pickle do it.
Sounds like the whole budget went to pay EL for the rights to this POS. This film has disaster written all over it. Thank God Charlie saw the light and bailed. Best career move he could have made .
I’m guessing before he signed on they told him he could have some input on the script and he took that and ran with it. He probably also felt weirded out when his SoA promo appearance gigs were starting to turn into a bunch soccer moms sizing him up.
And yeah, only $125,000?? I, too, was surprised at that low amount.
I was also very surprised at the figure he was getting. They need to find an unknown actor who will be hungry for the money, the role and the exposure good or bad.
There was a report that Dakota might drop out also.
I knew that deep down Charlie is a smart guy and he would snap out, wake up and quit this project. Thanks, Charlie- my love! Muah!
Amen! Whew… I can go back to thinking he’s flawless. 😉
Here you are! Phew!!! He is dreamy again! 🙂
i bet he read the part where he’d have to pull out a tampon from someones twat. I’d leg it as soon as saw that and keep legging it till I get to mexico then jump into the sea and head to Africa.
He looks like Heidi the Cross-eyed Possum’s long-lost litter mate in that first picture.
I would consider seeing the movie if they put Skarsgard in it.
Anastasia is suppossed to have more depth? what book were they reading? every character in that POS is terrible and one dimensional.
I laughed at that too. And honestly, if they got a decent scriptwriter, you’d have a better chance at making Christian the deeper character. You could delve into his backstory of being an abused, neglected child, and then being the victim of a pedophile cougar, and the resulting psychological damage. Plus he’s supposedly brilliant and built an empire at a young age. You could work with that.
But her whole story is that she’s a nice girl who just graduated college and has no life experience. She’s amazingly sheltered for her age. How does that translate to deep?
Also, she’s “great” at everything she does and everybody loves her for no reason. Textbook MarySue.
Nope, sorry, you can try to throw shade on Mr. Hunnam all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that project is stupid and a career-killer and he had the sense to get out while the getting was good.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/10/15/charlie-hunnam-relieved-to-be-out-fifty-shades-grey-looking-for-long/?intcmp=obinsite
I’d like to draw your attention to the all-caps portion of that article. Would you want to be involved in a project with fans like that?
Sounds like a 12 year old girl – are there really soccer moms spending their time on petitions for this?
Let me hollywood speak this shit:
Charlie turned them down initially because the script was crap. So in order to convince him to sign on, they told him he could make changes. Charlie took that to heart and edited the shit out of the script and EL James got her feelings hurt.
Charlie threatened to quit if they didn’t improve it. They ran out and hired someone to improve it and by the time they did Charlie said “I quit”.
DONE..
They are just trying to save face.
Sounds about right Dia I wouldn’t even pick up the phone if they were telling me that’s what I would get. I would LMFAO and hang up the phone that’s for sure.
125K hahaha
I’m just going to say it: Charlie was a ‘get’ for them. He’s been working forever and has a lot of cred as an actor, not just for SOA but all the interesting choices he made over the years, and while he may not have been that well known by a lot of the FSG fans, he would be known and respected within the industry. FSGneeds Charlie Hunnam far more than he needed them – he’ll keep working, but now they’re frantically trying to find ANYONE that’ll take the role (Jamie Dornan is a far cry from the names they bandied about).
Exactly! And the thing is, they had to have know he was going to make changes. He wrote the script for Vlad which Brad freckin Pitt now owns. This was EL James and her ego getting the best of her.
Exactly this. Charlie has been quietly working for ages and no one has ever had a bad thing to say about the guy. He busts his ass doing promotion for SoA and is always known for being awesome with the fans – calling him a ‘douche’ for backing out of a project that is obviously going to suck rubs me the wrong way.
This is the truth. Charlie was a get for them. They won’t find better then him. If I were Jamie Dornan’s agent, I’d tell him to run far away from this. The name recognition/money/whatever is not worth it. I don’t think Once Upon A Time is the best barometer of Dornan’s acting skills, since his character died midway through season 1. But I’ve read folks online saying he’s pretty good on the BBC show The Fall.
I’m glad Charlie dropped this project.
The most interesting thing I learned here is that Jamie Doran is having a baby with Amelia Warner who was previously with Colin Farrell and Joaquin Phoenix.
That sound you just heard was the studio and EL James chucking Hunnam under a bus as they try to save this shitshow. It’s been declined by pretty much every young actor of note, and at this point no one’s going to want to attch their name to a movie that’s been turned down by so many people – it makes them look like they’re okay with taking someone else’s leftovers, that the movie may not have been good enough for actor x, y, z, aa, bb, cc, but it’s good enough for you.
As long as EL James is heavily involved in this project it’s doomed to fail because she atill thinks it’s going to be this A List project. I agree with the above poster that James must have been offended by Hunnam’s notes, though I think Hunnam looked at what he’d be dealing with for the next 5 years (not just the crazies, but the constant battle with James) and realized it just wasn’t going to be worth it. Also, it says a lot that they’re publicising Marber’s re-write. Re-writes are totally normal, but not usually a selling point on the movie.
Yes, this.
Keep my baby Jamie Dornan away from this mess!!! More name recognition isn’t worth this crap…
But really though, I don’t get the Ian Somerholder hang up. He’s all about this and NO ONE ELSE IS. What am I missing?
The salary is low but if the movie takes off there’ll be a trilogy franchise, and he would be paid in the millions for the two sequels. JLaw’s salary for the first hunger games instalment was nothing to shout at either.
I’m not sure if this is true. If it is it just shows that for most actors/actresses you don’t have that kind of clout to get script approval or any kind of approval. that amount of money they were going to pay him is really low balling. I would have thought that he would have been able to get high 3 figures or 1 million. but I think it is safe to say that there are really on a few celebrities that are going to get those big figure salaries. and only for franchises or SUPER A list.
He may be a talented writer but untested. He also has not had a major hit with his name. So coming from TV to movies it is not that easy.
How does E.L. James have that much control over the project? That is NOT the norm for books to movies. Usually, authors get to give notes, which are pretty much ignored while the filmmakers do what they want. Even Stephenie Meyer didn’t have that kind of control over the Twilight movies, from what I’ve read.
Authors normally don’t but when the bidding war started on those books, the reason she chose to go with the studio who ended up winning was because they were the only ones who gave her a lot of control over casting (and other things, I’m presuming). From what I undertsand studios hesitate to do that but these guys were so desperate, they basically sold their soul to get her to agree. And now they’re paying the price.
I wonder how many studios tapped out of the bidding knowing that one of the conditions was going to be that the author wanted to be heavily involved. Because this whole casting, pre-production process is turning into amateur hour.
Rowling had control over the first two Harry Potter movies. I know she’s the one who insisted that it be set in Britain- with British actors. Spielberg was in the running to executive produce, and he wanted the boy from The Sixth Sense to be the lead. Rowling went, “LOL, no.” I think Rowling got coupled up shortly after movie 2 went into production, so her influence fell off in HP3 and beyond.
With EL James, I guess that was a condition of adapting her book to screen?
I respect him a whole lot more now.
Also, I dont think the book was written to be a literary classic so I am not sure why there are so many people still feeling clever for pointing out the fact that it was like canned meat and not a steak. I havent read the book but good grief, how else do you write housewife porn?
The article says that grey is rather onedimensional, so it doean’t seem odd that rewrites were made to this character so Hunnan probably tried to make a more rounded character and the team wasn’t having it. The fact that they are now eyeing a model for the role seems to imply that they don’t want a substantial character, just someone who looks pretty.
I love charlie hunnam! He is freaking hot! I think he is too good for this role and iam happy he is out! I havent read the books and i wount, that kinda shit is not my think!
Just $125,000? That shocked the shit out of me.
Reading between the lines it sounds as if Charlie butted heads with the director who’s always seemed kind of weird to me. He is a talented guy and I’ve no doubt his suggestions were spot on. But to tell a writer that her work needs improving (and I’m a professional writer, so I know) is always risky. Charlie is right to get himself out of this crap show.
And Jamie Dornan has always struck me as too THIN. Too thin to even be believable as the Huntsman in Once Upon a Time.
Im also a writer and if I had to take this on (–ugh, I probably would :/)l I’d take all the help/input I could get.
I mean, honestly, if this idiot thinks she has some kind of sacred vision to uphold regarding 50 shades, a reality check is in dire order.
It’s gonna be a mess, and god forbid she take it too seriously. That’d be the worst thing for it, I think.
I live near Hawkesbury, Ontario! They have a huge Harley Davidson store and the area LOVES their motorcycles. I’m surprised he had to cancel his appearance there because it’s a pretty relaxed and low key town, as is London, Ontario. I didn’t think too many rabid fans of 50 Shades would be around to bother him. *shrug*
I think he was smart to pull out. My bet is that the movie is going to be an unintentional comedy like Bonfire of the Vanities or even worse. Oh my.
If the script has as many mentions of inner goddesses and long fingers as the book than I can see why CH would want to stage a script intervention.
Supposedly Charlie’s agency and Universal/Focus are both taking potshots at each other at this point. Like people believe he was offered more money plus backend, and that the story about him doing scrip re-writes and being difficult was from the studio to try and make it seem like there isn’t a problem with the movie.
Just cast Ian Somerhalder already ffs. He’s the best youre gonna do (and it’s much more than this film deserves).
Ian > This weird looking dude, anyway.
I hope they can never get any actor to do it, and it could happen. While Kellan Lutz would love it, E.L. James has major creative control over this crap based on her crap, and she is an idiot with her head up her ass and a complete inability to listen to criticism. She probably expected Robert Pattinson to be interested. She is not going to be happy with scraping the bottom of the barrel, and may scrap the project altogether rather than do so. One can only hope.
I won’t watch It unless Ian is in it. Why that author doesn’t want him blows my mind. He’s the perfect actor for the role. If you watched Vampire Diaries, you would know. Physically, he IS Christian Grey. Rob Lowe makes people carry umbrellas for him in the sun while on set btw. I saw him filming the Casey Anthony story, which was filmed in Winnipeg
They should just get Skarsgard, he loves going nude!
Good lord; I heard the book SUCKED, can you imagine if the script is an acknowledged mess. I guess it’s the pulp S/M book for people too vanilla to read Mr. Benson, lol.
Hahahahaha Christian Cooke. Wow is the bottom of the barrel ever being scraped there. They might as well carve a Christian Grey statue out of solid wood and have it wheeled around by a prop assistant.
I do hope this piece of junk does get made, though, I have a feeling it’s going to be the next Showgirls, only much, much worse.
well..ehmm…who wouldn´t want to re-write that piece of crap?
They should hire a porn actor, they don´t need someone that can talk…how many dialogues are in the books? c´mon.