Fifty Shades Recast

So, the Fifty Shades folks announced that this fellow pictured on the left will play Christian Grey in the may never see the light of day movie of the same name.  Sorry fans, but I just can't see this movie arriving at a theatre near me anytime soon.

But, if you're curious, his name is Jamie Dornan and he hails from Northern Ireland.  And you may have seen him in a handful of episodes of Once Upon a Time, where, I must add, he was fabulous.

I don't dislike him for the role of Mr. Grey.  I just think my casting choice was better. 

I do find it a little funny that Mr. Dornan is from Ireland and he's replacing Charlie Hunnam for this role.  Why do I find it funny?  Because Charlie's character, Jax, is always having trouble with the Irish on his show Sons of Anarchy! 

;-}  Well, I didn't say you'd think it was funny, too!

Fifty Shades Casting Call

I thought I missed the opportunity to post about the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, but then Charlie backed out and it's news again!

So, sometime in late August or early September, Hollywood announced that Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson would portray Christian and Anastasia in the 2014 movie adaptation of the uber best selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey.  That announcement actually came at the same time I was reading the first installment in the series.  And, no, I wasn't impressed with the casting choices. 

First, I think Charlie is too short to play Christian.  Second, I think Dakota is a dead ringer for the role of Kate, Anastasia's best friend.  But, I'm speculating that the role of Kate will be absent from the movie all together. 

Obviously,  I just wasn't feeling these guys as the characters from the book.  Then, yesterday I hear that Charlie has dropped out of the movie.  The radio said it was a fear of being type-cast, IMDB says it's scheduling conflicts.  I don't know which is accurate, but if I was fearful of type casting, I'd really be trying to get away from playing murdering motorcycle rider Jax Teller.

And now that this is in the news again, I'd finally like to share my casting choices with the world.

Drum roll please.

Imagine Christian Grey played by the handsome and smart Christopher Gorham.  And Anastasia played by the lovely and smart Anna Kendrick.

And here's way I made these choices.

Anna as Anastasia
1.  Right hair color
2.  Perfect for the beautiful but thinks she's not pretty role
3.  Would be funny because Fifty Shades is the result of something known as Twilight Fan Fiction.  Anna was in Twilight.  Come on, it's funny.
4.  Anastasia prefers to be called Ana.  That's Anna's name already.

Christopher as Christian
1.  Tall
2.  Fantastic physique
3.  Great speaking voice
4.  Well, those three things are the only reasons you need to cast Christopher in this role.

Now, having said all that, I want to make a prediction.  I predict that this movie will never see the light of day.  And, if it miraculously does become reality, I think it will be so far removed from the book that fans will be up in arms disappointed.  I mean, we have something called ratings in this country and there's no way anyone is turning this book into an R rated movie fit for theatres. 

For me, this book just wasn't great.  It wasn't a 'can't put it down' read that I couldn't wait to finish.  Actually, I think it took me about two months to read it cover to cover.  And I'm no interest in reading the other two installments.  And that almost never happens when I've started reading a series.  Plus, it's a blatant rip off of Twilight, pretty much down to the initials of the characters, but without the bite. 

And the real clincher for me, the thing I found to be the most off-putting about this book, is a single line of dialogue from the final pages of the book.  Christian says to Anastasia, "I want to hurt you."  And that cemented the icky feeling that I had had from the beginning.  I can't imagine being in a relationship where my partner openly admits that he wants to hurt me.  It's just insane.  I can hardly believe this series found the audience it did.  It just isn't for me, I guess.

Hindsight: I got to thinking about this and I have a new prediction. I predict that, even though this won't make it to the movie box office, Fifty Shades might work as a one-hour drama for a major network. It won't fit I to the ABC Family or CW lineups, and it's not smart enough for AMC, but I think it might find a home on FX or maybe even HBO. These books are long, I think the right team of writers just might be able to squeak out a watchable series.

Didn't Know I'm A Kristen Bell Fan

I had no idea that I am in fact a Kristen Bell fan.  I somehow missed her tv series Veronica Mars and then apparently missed out on some really great movies, too!  Thankfully two of those movies were on ABC Family this past weekend and I got the chance to catchup.  Oh and didn't you know she's expecting a baby by none other than Parenthood's Dax Shepard.  Those two are my new favorite Hollywood couple.  Ok, onto the movies.

First up, When in Rome. 

Seriously, I have no idea how I missed this one. 

It co-stars Josh Duhamel.  I love him. 

This movie is an absolutely fabulous chick flick.

I just can't believe I hadn't watched it before now.

And then there's You Again.

OMG.  This one is great, too! 

Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Betty White, Kristin Chenoweth. 

You've got to watch it.  It gives a whole new meaning to "mean girls".

Boy am I glad I didn't have a similar high school experience!


I may have to upgrade our satellite package for Showtime so I can catch House of Lies, too.  Bonus, it looks like all of the episodes are available on demand so I can get caught up!

Magnolia 1989 v. Magnolia 2012

Set your DVR for the Lifetime Movie Network premiere of Steel Magnolias!  No, this isn't the movie we all fondly remember from the late eighties.  This is a redo starring a wonderful cast of women.  I've had this movie, literally, scheduled on my iCalender since seeing a preview months ago during Drop Dead Diva.  I gotta say, I am more than a little intrigued by the remake of one of my favorite films.  Historically, remakes of eighties movies have not impressed me - at all.  But, I think this one is going to be different.  I predict this version is going to be as good as the original; it's going to make us laugh and cry, just as the first one did.  I can't hardly wait!

Are you a fan of ABC Family?

I sincerely hope I'm not the oldest person watching shows on ABC Family!  But, I gotta say I'm dying to find out who A really is on Pretty Little Liars (don't spoil it, I haven't had a chance to watch this week's episode!) and I am strangely addicted to the Secret Life of the American Teenager.  Not to mention Melissa & Joey is a must see and I really like Baby Daddy, too.

Are you watching Life's a Tripp?

So, I don't really consider myself a fan of reality tv.  You should know I don't consider Surviror to be a reality show, it's must watch tv and I eagerly watch every episode.  But, I'm not blogging about Survior today.  I'm blogging about Bristol.

Mad for Mad Men

Any other Mad Men fans out there?  I just got around to watching Sunday night's episode and was tickled pink to spot Alexis Bleddel (aka. Rory Gilmore).  Not so crazy to see her getting frisky with Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), though.  Gotta say he's not my favorite character on the show.  I'm pretty sure it's his hair, just don't like the hair.  But, I did make a startling discovery.  Vincent bears a remarkable resemblance to a Disney actor named Tommy Kirk.  You might have seen Tommy in Old Yeller or The Absent Minded Professor, or a ton of other Disney movies.  And to add to the interesting factor, I found out that Tommy was born in Louisville!  Yep, it's the little things that amuse me!