Fifty Shades author E.L. James doesn’t hold back when it comes to Christian Grey
FIFTY Shades of Grey author E.L James says what she really thinks of the main character, Christian Grey.
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The author of the much laid-into, or much loved Fifty Shades book and movie franchise doesn’t do a zillion interviews. But when she does, Erika (E.L.) James doesn’t hold back.
“I am working as we speak on 50 Shades Darker but from Christian’s point of view,” says Erika.
“Oh, he’s a f***ed-up kid, he really is,’’ she says, as a cheeky aside. “I have found my stride with it and it’s interesting place to be inside Christian’s head.
“He is so utterly and totally in love with this woman (Anastasia Steele played by Dakota Johnson) but he just doesn’t know it!”
For those who are bona fide members of the much loved and equally as reviled franchise, the next filmic instalment, Fifty Shades Freed, comes out next February.
For the uninitiated, the story of the second film goes pretty much along these lines: ‘Wounded Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) tries to entice cautious Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) back into his life but she demands a new arrangement before she will give him another chance.
As the two begin to build trust and find stability, shadowy figures from Christian’s past start to circle them, determined to destroy their hopes for a future together.’
Loved or loathed, the books and films from writer and film producer Ms James have sold up a storm. From page to screen; from screen to author, there is no denying numbers.
The combined novels have sold over 125 million copies worldwide, over 35 million copies in the United States and set the record in the United Kingdom as the fastest selling paperback of all time.
In 2012, Time magazine named, the mother of two sons was named as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People.”
The novels were subsequently adapted into the films Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and now the upcoming Fifty Shades Freed.
Even though Ms James is back into her writing, at home in Britain, the author was in New York on a fleeting trip, meeting and greeting ‘fans’ of the franchise.
Ms James was the recent star turn at a ‘fan’ event in smart New York hotel when she spoke to news.com.au with the film company having just released an ‘unrated’ and ‘extended’ edition of the movie, Fifty Shades Darker.
“My thing is to always try and stay as true to the spirit of everything we set out to do,” says Ms James. “It’s an incredible thing to write something and get the feedback and response that these books have had.
“And now of course with the films as well, some of it’s incredibly positive and some of it’s incredibly negative, but that’s the way life is.
“I guess I actually wrote something that I wanted to read, so I am a fan of my own work, I guess. Does that sound terrible?,” she laughs.
Erika’s husband, Niall Leonard, wrote the screenplay for Fifty Shades Darker, an experience Erika really enjoyed.
“He’s been with me on this journey from the very, very beginning so he has a sense of what it is important and what isn’t,” says Erika. “He has this shed in the back of the garden where he skulks off to and does all of his writing as he had to compress, because a lot happens in this book.
“He made it cinematic and he put a lot of humour in there as well.”
Now with all the 50 Shades filming completed, Erika says she is so proud of Ana (Dakota Johnson) and Christian (played by Jamie Dornan).
“I have to take my hat off to them to being in something that is predominantly a female franchise, I mean that is a big risk for any actor to take.’’ says Ms James.
“I think they both really stepped up to the plate. Jamie’s athleticism and charm and Dakota’s ‘sass’ really shone through.
“I always wanted to work in film and as I am such a fan girl myself, so it was a privilege being involved in the film aspect of my books.
“You have your novel then it becomes something else as a screenplay and then from a screenplay it gets chopped and changed as it goes through the various filters in the studio system.
“It assumes a different life and during the edit is when the real work gets done,” adds Ms James.
“The difference between the first cut and the final cut is just extraordinary and by the time you get into the edit you just want a good cinematic experience and sometimes that means redoing dialogue or taking things out.
“I find myself adapting because sometimes you just want to scream ‘NOOOO! it’s not like that!?’ but you can’t, because it is someone else’s interpretation.”
While Erika’s writing style has come up for much scrutiny, the mega success of her books and films — whether you like them or not — has afforded her the title of mega-author with thousands wanting to know the ‘secret’ to her success.
“Stay true to your self and write what entertains you,” she says.
“And carry a note book all the time. I did actually do a writing course and one of the professors said ‘writers are like magpies, always picking up bits of conversations and seeing things that inspire you.
“Listening to music too, over and over again at times, is a great inspiration when I write.”
Erika recalls lots of ‘fan’ stories over the past 8 years, but two stick in her mind.
“I loved the 71-year-old guy who wrote to me and thanked me for reminding him what it was like to fall in love and there was another woman who said she didn’t know what to expect but she realised she has ‘found herself’ in the books, as she has been adopted, just like Christian’s character has in the books.”
Ms James says the whole idea for the Fifty Shades trilogy began as a response to the vampire novel series, Twilight, as it was late in 2008 that she saw Twilight and she became totally absorbed.
Fan-fiction became her choice and in 2009 she decided to do it her way. Enter Fifty Shades.
Ms James has spoken of the shock at the success of the books, saying that the explosion of interest took her completely by surprise. She has also described the Fifty Shades trilogy as “my midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies in there, and that’s it.”
Well, in 2013, sales of the trilogy saw James top the Forbes’ list of the highest-earning authors with earnings of $95m which included $5m for the film rights to Fifty Shades of Grey.
And the way the franchise is going, those figures are just going to get bigger and bigger. Whether you like it or not.
*Fifty Shades Darker: Unmasked Edition has just been released on DVD and Blu-ray and on Digital. The writer was a guest of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Originally published as Fifty Shades author E.L. James doesn’t hold back when it comes to Christian Grey
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