I mentioned this previously, but I finally got around to seeing Fifty Shades of Grey when it came on HBO a few months ago. It was not as terrible as I thought it was going to be, nor was it as terrible as it could have been. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Kelly Marcel did an admirable job fleshing out the Ana Steele character and giving her some sense of agency. The problem with the movie was that there really was very little heat between Christian and Ana, and that Jamie Dornan often came across as wooden and uncomfortable. But what’s done is done, even if Dornan is #NotMyChristian (props to John Oliver).
Last fall, I also read the original book trilogy… for research. Because I knew I was going to be covering the film sequels and I wanted to have some sense of what was going on and what my level of annoyance should be. There were two big roles yet to be cast: that of Jack Hyde, the sketchball villain of the last two books and Elena Lincoln, Christian’s first lover and the woman who introduced him to the S&M lifestyle. There’s been some dream-casting hopes for major A-list talent for those roles, like Henry Cavill and Charlize Theron. Not so much. But producers did deliver a very intriguing casting choice for Elena: Kim Basinger!
Universal has now locked in its first new cast member to join its highly successful “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise, with production set to start this spring. Kim Basinger is set to play the key role of Elena Lincoln, Christian Grey’s Business partner and former lover in E.L James’ “Fifty Shades Darker,” sources tell Variety.
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are returning to reprise their roles of Anastasia Steele and Grey, respectively, with James Foley taking over directing reigns. Luke Grimes, Eloise Mumford and Max Martini are also returning to the cast, with Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti producing along with James and Marcus Viscidi. Niall Leonard and James are penning the script.
The character of Lincoln was hinted at in the first installment, setting the stage for a big reveal in the second. Universal is planning to shoot “Fifty Shades Darker” and the final pic, “Fifty Shades Freed,” back-to-back, so it was important to lock down cast before production began on the sequel.
Basinger has long been dismissed as just a formerly “hot” woman who could never really act, but I’ve always enjoyed her as an actress and I think she was truly underrated when she was younger. I think this is a great role for her, mostly for the same reason I like the fact that Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden took the small role as Christian’s mom: they’re getting talented women over the age of 50 on the screen. In the books, Elena is a manipulative, judgy a—hole and I think it will be a fun role for Kim to embrace. This is surprisingly great casting.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
It’s also rather brilliant genre casting. This role is a bit of a wink to her role in 9 1/2 weeks.
She is a good actress and im assuming still beautiful…when she was younger damn!
Hope she hasnt gone crazy with the botox and fillers….
She has. That pic is from 2012. She looked unrecognizable at her last public appearance about a year ago.
Looking pretty tweaked in 2015 – http://www.radiohamburg.de/VIP/VIP-News/Stars-international/2015/Juni/Bye-Bye-Mimik!-Kim-Basinger-praesentiert-ihre-Botox-Fratze. Those are some Jocelyn Wildenstein eyes!
Yikes! Let’s hope things have shifted back into place & settled down since that pic.
Awesome choice!
She is far too good for this mess of a clusterf*ck.
I can’t believe they’re going ahead with making sequels, good on Sam Taylor-Johnson for getting out while the going’s good(ish…)
+1 She and MGH will elevate what will otherwise be a terrible movie.
I don’t know. I am kind of excited for her and Marcia to be on the screen together. If you read the books they have an awesome showdown.
The film did not make me want to pull my eyes out so I am gamed to see these ladies together.
I can’t stand the fact that this poorly written book has made its terrible author so rich and famous. It just bugs me.
+1
Completely agree. Not to mention her inflated sense of literary genius.
I’d have far more respect for her if she put her hands up and said “Yeah, it’s not good work, but my hobby manages to entertain people and I got super lucky.”
But her dictatorial behaviour about the adaptation of her ‘writing’ is ridiculous. The way she acts/ed on set towards STJ would make you think she’s fighting tooth-and-nail to maintain the artistic integrity of her magnum opus.
Gag. This is funny though – you’ll like it – she did a thing on Twitter about writing her book from a different perspective, and one guy tweeted “Have you thought about writing your book from the perspective of someone who can write?” Hahaha, high five. 🙋🏼
That Twitter Q&A was a masterpiece of poorly thought-out PR, brilliant afternoon of entertainment 😀
I agree.
Blame the audience for which the book was written. The readers made her rich.
Great choice! Kim is fabulous.
Hooray- I was hoping this would be up
for comments! I so wish STJ was still directing- her and Kim B would be a good fit. I don’t have much hope for the last two as the director was brought on bec he is a “thriller” director. For his sake I hope E James gives him room to work.
Back to Kim B- so agree she is a great actress and what a screen presence. I don’t see either Jamie or Dakota being able to convincingly hang with her on screen. I could totally see HER ordering both of them around!
well that’s good- because they need to spruce up the thriller sub plot to this story. That was the only thing that kept me interested in the books. Seriously the books were plumb awful, the first movie was actually better than the book (how often can one say the movie is better than the book??? just about never)
I sort of take the opposite view- what I enjoyed the most about the first was Dakota’s line delivery and the glimmers of humor that were there from time to time. To turn the last two into a what?? is a mystery to me. That being said, as the article points out, the script was an improvement on the dialogue in the books, and that scriptwriter is gone.
OT- I so hope they do justice to “Me Before You”. That’s being helmed by woman director as well.
Yes I finally say it on HBO…well, most of it. How can a movie supposedly about hot sex be so dull?? I feel badly for women who find this hot as I’m not sure they’ve ever been in a satisfying relationship.
What was entertaining is that the actors clearly really hate each other. They weren’t good enough actors to hide it. That was hilarious!
That movie was so unbelievably boring.
Brilliant casting. Now, if the producers could only do something about the lack of sizzle between Dakota and Jamie.
Dakota has gone on to to make some quality movies, and is establishing a good reputation for herself. This feels like going backwards for her. I think Jamie just sees it as a necessary evil so he can establish a level of fame he needs to get better roles. I suspect they are both dreading this, especially without Sam Taylor-Johnson, and with EL James getting more involved.
I think a lot of people satisfied their curiosity with the first one, and the sequel will not do as well.
I hope Kim resists the urge to run to a dermatologist/surgeon to have more work done on her gorgeous face. She was looking very botoxed and almost unrecognizable last year at The 11th Hour event. Kim has incredible bone structure that was allowing her to age beautifully until she started messing around with it.
Kim Basinger is a good actress and I think this role is spot-on for her.
Happy that she is getting work. Needs to stop messing with her pretty face
Who can be casted as Jack. I mean, he was even physically described as kind of sleazy in the book. Paul Giamatti seen like the one totally gamed for it. Who else?
LA Confidential comes to mind…she CAN act. And I happen to like her. But I don’t know anything about the 50 Shades, so I stop commenting.
looking forward to this!!
I love that this site gives me a heads up on upcoming films!!! mostly good ones too.
it’ll be good to see Kim on the big screen in this role.
9-1/2 Weeks, she and Mickey Rourke were both in their prime and required little acting on her part. She has a lot of emotional issues and being married to Baldwin didn’t help. Maybe as an older women….she has to be at least sixty or close to it……she will rely on her acting more than her sex appeal in her younger days. Good for her tho…..
“Over 50”? Kim is 62, turning 63 this year. Casting her as the ex-lover of a character supposed to be 27 is off the charts cringeworthy. She’s old enough to be his grandmother (had she been a teen mom, which happens all the time). I actually think she’s a solid actress who can pass for way younger, but come on, this is going too far. She’s the same age that Liz Taylor was in 1995. Let that sink in.
By the way, that photo of Kim was taken four years ago. She looks like a different person in her more recent photos.
That’s the first thing I thought too, Petal. She’s far too old for the role. Elena is supposed to be around 40ish, not 60ish. I can imagine seeing Dornan with her will make him seem like a little boy. We’ll see I guess.
Hey! For once they’re casting a woman much older than the character written. It may be a total shite movie & book(s), but at least they did that.
I couldn’t even make it through a kindle sample of the first book. Does it get any better?
I like Dakota – for those who think she’s dumb & whatever else, check out the series Ben & Kate. She had a funny, self-deprecating sense of humor on the show & the guy who played her brother, Ben, is hilarious too.
I like Jamie too, but I can believe that he’s uncomfortable in this role. I liked him in The Fall. A very pretty, creepy serial killer.
I read the series because I kept thinking “it has to get better” but in actuality the first book is the best book. After than it becomes like any other teen romance novel in my books (ha! unintended puns amuse me!).
I like Kim but I was hoping for Elena someone with actually acting skills. Robin Wright would have been perfect and given that Dana Brunetti and new director James Foley worked on House of Cards I thought she would have been offered Elena to Robin, but I can totally see her turning it down: she’s very picky.
Robin is waaayy too big a star for this role. I think Kim’s perfect.
Those of us old enough to remember, know she has some serious acting chops. Here she is winning the Oscar for L.A. Confidential over some heavyweight nominees: http://youtu.be/KZmJjPWgzJc
Love Kim Basinger. She deserves more roles.