Hannibal Star as Anastasia Steele

It’s a year to go until the Fifty Shades of Grey movie is released in summer 2014, and the cast still hasn’t been picked yet. It’s almost been a year since the rights for the best selling novel of the decade was bought up by Universal Studios and Focus Features, which means we’ve been discussing the movie’s casting for almost a year now. But new names are always cropping up next to old favorites, so let’s talk about the newest edition – Caroline Dhavernas.

The TV series Hannibal has been heating up pretty quickly and is on the fast track to being one of the more popular shows on TV shortly. What’s more interesting, is that some of its stars are getting the spotlight thanks to the Fifty Shades of Grey casting speculations.

The actor Hugh Dancy was recently added to the candidates of Christian Grey, but just lately his co-star Caroline Dhavernas, Dr. Alana Bloom on the TV show, has been recently suggested to play the innocent and virginal Anastasia Steele.

Again, with any casting speculation there will always be some area of controversy, from awarding the role of Christian Grey to an actor who is 35, and casting a 20 year-old Anastasia Steele could raise a few eyebrows, whereas aging up Anastasia Steele is also heavily criticized. Caroline Dhavernas falls into the latter category, being aged 35, which is fifteen years older than the character of Anastasia Steele in the books, and might be pushing the boundaries of disbelief where a virginal college student is concerned.

The Hannibal actress hasn’t discussed the role, but she’s not written it off either. She had the look with her dark hair and large blue eyes, but considering she could be around forty when the series ends could very much work against her.

Other actresses who are still on the list as popular choices are Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, Gilmore Girls’ actress Alexis Bledel and British beauty Felicity Jones. Right now things are drawing close to casting, so we expect the rush for finding the perfect Anastasia Steele could get very interesting pretty soon. Especially with the projected release for summer 2014.

Fifty Shades of Grey is the most read book of the moment, breaking a number of records since it’s release only two years ago. It’s absolutely understandable that it’s going to be one of the biggest movie releases of the decade when it eventually makes it onto the big screen. 

Jordana Brewster as Anastasia Steele

There is quite a lot of talk about casting an unknown actress in the part of Anastasia Steele. Fifty Shades of Grey might be the hottest movie of the decade, but it looks like Universal Studios, Focus Features and E.L. James are moving in the direction of hiring unknown talent to work in the film: first with screenwriter Kelly Marcel, then with director Sam Taylor-Johnson.

One actress whose name has only appeared on the Fifty Shades of Grey casting list is “Fast & the Furious” star Jordana Brewster. The actress has been rather vocal of late in her interest in the much coveted role, but is she right to play the part of Anastasia Steele?

The Fifty Shades of Grey movie has a projected release of August 2014, yet we haven’t heard a peek from the casting directors.

So far, all we’ve heard is that E.L. James has a choice of three Christian Greys and two for Anastasia Steele, but is it possible the author might pick another actress.

Jordana Brewster has expressed enthusiasm and interest for the part, and after her sensual cover pictures for Maxim and GQ, we know she’s not shy about bearing skin.

“It’s fun to play something a little more risqué,” Jordana Brewster said in an interview with Enstarz, “I recently did something similar in ‘North of Hell’, and it’s actually quite liberating. ‘Fifty Shades’ would be a fun role to get into.”

However, Jordana Brewster has a lot of competition on hand, since there are many actresses who are dying to get their hands on the role. With Alexis Bledel, Emilia Clarke, Lucy Hale, and many other talented beauties, it looks like things could get tough for Jordana should she try to go for the part of Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie.

On the male side, it looks like the competition is torn in a three-way tie between Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer and Henry Cavill. But does being a fan favorite guarantee a slot in the movie? It seems less and less likely, and who the studios and E.L. James might have in mind could very well differ from what the fans are crying out for. When the casting is eventually announced, perhaps one of the favorites will get picked, or on the flip side, maybe a complete and unexpected unknown might get cast in the roles of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movies.

Has Breakup between Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev hurt their chances at Fifty Shades of Grey?

Ever since the Fifty Shades of Grey books have been picked up for the movie version, Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev have been some of the top picks to play Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. The pairing has been extra juicy since The Vampire Diaries stars were a couple in real life, but has their recent breakup meant they’re off the hot spot?

The producers and the movie studios might have been tight-lipped as Fort Knox on the subject of casting, but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating on the casting of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, and one of the most popular castings has been that of Nina and Ian, who have topped the lists as the favorites for months.

It looked likely that it could have actually happened, but ever since the pair have finally broken up officially, what will this mean in the context of the Fifty Shades casting?

Ian Somerhalder is the number one choice for Grey, and rumor has it the Louisiana born actor has actually met up with  E.L.James and the movie’s producers Dana Brunetti and Matt De Lucca, but again, with all the rumors going round about the movie’s casting who are we to believe?

Nina and Ian would have had some hot chemistry, and it would have been convincing to get them together on the project as a couple, however, professionalism or not, working together on Fifty Shades as ex-boyfriend and girlfriend would just be awkward for the pair.

It looks like their break up is going to affect more than just their Fifty Shades chances, it might even damage their working relationship on The Vampire Diaries  – this is why people say you shouldn’t date people you work with.

If it comes down to a choice of one or the other, our money is on Ian Somerhalder getting picked over Nina Dobrev. While Nina has been a popular choice for Anastasia, she’s still behind others like Emilia Clarke or Alexis Bledel, whereas Ian Somerhalder has picked up a cult following who are dying to see him as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. It’s really a no brainer who’ll be picked if we’re left with ultimatum.

What do you think? Who would you rather see in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie? Ian Somerhalder or Nina Dobrev?

Background on Sam Taylor Johnson Director of Fifty Shades Of Grey

The novel Fifty Shades of Grey has swept the literary world with its erotic subject matter and  intriguing characters. Making the bestseller lists repeatedly, it has been published in over thirty  languages and has gained worldwide renown. Talks began last year over production of a movie for the matter, and the background on Sam  Taylor Johnson, director for Fifty Shades movie has been a question pressing on every fan of the book. Sam is a little known director of several short films dealing with controversial subject matter, as well as the feature length biography Nowhere Boy in 2009. Nowhere Boy is the biography of musician John Lennon, one of the founding members of the Beatles and his struggles in the early parts of his life. The biography was critically acclaimed as providing a unique insight into his life, and Sam received praise for her work on it.

Sam Taylor Johnson was born in 1967 in the Croydon, England, and grew up in south London for her   formative years. She attended Beacon Community College and studied the performing arts. Later in her life, she became involved in the production of performance art and photography, gaining popularity and fame in the British circles of fine art. Johnson was chosen to direct the biography Nowhere Boy about John Lennon in 2009 based on her performance with video and photographic art, and was initially very nervous about the task. Johnson has four children and has been married twice, most recently to the young star of NowhereBoy. They have been married happily for three years.Her life experiences, prior experience as both a director and artist, and strong sense of sensuality have all combined to place her as the perfect director for the movie adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Who is the director of Fifty Shades of Grey?

When the official announcement was made on who would be taking the director’s chair for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, the first question many asked was “who?”

Sam Taylor-Johnson is not exactly a household name, particularly when we think back to some of the big time celebrity names that had made the director list, such as Angelina Jolie and Channing Tatum.

Fifty Shades of Grey is going to be the movie of the decade, however the choices so far in its screenwriter and now its director are unusual. For such a high profile movie, which has interest from huge stars, it’s refreshingly surprising to see unknowns getting a chance in its production.

First, we had Kelly Marcel, who was brought on board to write the screenplay, much to the annoyance of American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis, who was very vocal about wanting the job.

Now, we have Taylor-Johnson, who has been picked up as director for the erotic drama, who will work along side E.L. James and the producers Mike de Luca and Dana Brunetti, known for their work on the Social Network. Yet, we’re still scratching our heads over the director choice – especially since Sam Taylor-Johnson isn’t well known in the Hollywood film-making circles at all. At present, she has put her name to “Nowhere Boy” a movie about John Lennon, that made the festival circles a while back, which is really only known to film buffs.

In fact, what is interesting about Taylor-Johnson is that she’s quite the acclaimed visual artist, and has even won the prestigious Turner Prize. The fact that Focus Features, Universal Studios and E.L. James have brought her on board, could point to the direction they want the movie to go in. It looks like Fifty Shades of Grey the movie could become a more serious, artistic exploration of the most talked about relationship.

If you have heard of Taylor-Johnson before, perhaps it could be due to all the tabloid attention her marriage has garnered, after she married the much younger star from her film “Nowhere Boy” when he was 20 and she was 43. Some even speculate that Aaron Johnson, now 23, might be in the line up to play Christian Grey, although perhaps the director is more interested in keeping the drama behind the camera without getting her private life involved.