The long awaited main roles for the film adaptation of “50 Shades of Grey” have finally been announced. Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) will play billionaire, sex-fiend Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) will play the coy and intelligent Anastasia Steele.
And not unusual to when major roles are cast, fans are pissed.
Surely to the dismay of the filmmakers and actors, fans have begun a protest for Universal and Focus Features to re-cast the roles.
A petition on Change.org has been started by an individual who is very concerned with the film's casting.
The petition is called “We want Matt Bomer and Alexis Bledel as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele on 50 Shades” and currently has over 14,000 signatures.
The petition description was clearly written in desperation and reads “Matt Bomer is the PERFECT DESCRIPTION OF CHRISTIAN GREY AND ALEXIS BLEDEL IS THE PERFECT ACTRESS TO REPRESENT ANASTASIA STEELE and if THEY ARE NOT, NOBODY WILL BE And I read the whole trilogy and I can assure that Matt is the perfect actor for this movie and Alexis too. So please PLEASE, all of the GREYsessed and Bomerettes in the world NEED those actors. They always will be for us the Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. WE CAN DO ANYTHING GUYS, ANYTHING”
“if they are not, nobody will be.” Nobody… except Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson.
However, the cast shouldn’t be too disappointed. Petitions for removal of actors in movies have been popular lately, despite their general ineffectiveness.
We saw similar behavior last week when it was announced that Ben Affleck would play Batman in the Man of Steel sequel. A petition to remove Affleck from the film has currently reached 90,000 signatures.
The hundreds of thousands of protestors don’t seem to realize that there is more involved with signing an actor on to a feature film than what the fans think is best. It’s not quite as simple as dropping actors because someone read the whole trilogy and can assure the world so and so is right for the role.
Producer Dana Brunetti tweeted such a reminder after the announcement was made.
There is a lot that goes into casting that isn't just looks. Talent, availability, their desire to do it, chemistry with other actor, etc.
— Dana Brunetti (@DanaBrunetti) September 2, 2013
So if your favorite wasn't cast, then it is most likely due to something on that list. Keep that in mind while hating and keep perspective.
— Dana Brunetti (@DanaBrunetti) September 2, 2013
Trilogy author E.L. James isn’t letting the whiners get to her. She tweeted her excitement for the news today.
To all the supporters, lovers and haters - thank you so much for the passion that you have for this project. You all rock. All of you. ♡
— E L James (@E_L_James) September 2, 2013
Erik Davis, contributing editor to Fandango, made some great points in an interview with USA Today. He said he loves casting because it gives everyone a chance to discover actors and thinks back to 2008 when Twilight was going through a similar process.
"I was watching these people and many were rabidly against this," says Davis. "And then look what happened. Pattinson and Stewart turned into superstars. People forget that they didn't like the casting originally."
A year from now, we can all check out how the film did and maybe we'll think that all these protestors were right.
However, until then it’s doubtful that this bump in the road will stop even the most upset fans from seeing the movie when it comes out. Production begins next month and the film will come out in theaters August of 2014.