Either someone behind Bret Easton Ellis's Twitter account is playing a diabolical joke on us all, or there really IS something fairly mind-blowing in the works right now involving Ellis and Fifty Shades of Grey.
You know Bret Easton Ellis, right? He's the genius/overexposed hack (depending on your point of view) who wrote Less Than Zero andAmerican Psycho, among other novels and short stories. American Psycho was made into a controversial film starring Christian Bale as perverted yuppie Patrick Bateman, and it was originally rated NC-17 before the producers cut 18 seconds of porny footage.
Christian Grey of Fifty Shades may not have spent his free time murdering prostitutes, but his character has often been compared to Patrick Bateman ... which is ONE of the reasons it's so fascinating that Ellis has officially -- and very publicly -- thrown his hat in the ring to write the movie adaptation.
Ellis started posting about his interest in Fifty Shades a couple days ago, and his tweets have gotten progressively juicier as he not only contemplates the idea of writing the film version, but also ponders director choices and casting:
He said Alexander Skarsgård is a "no-brainer" for the movie (claiming that he's seen Skarsgård naked at the gym and thus believes the casting is perfect), and also said he "would love it if we lived in a world where Lena Dunham could be Ana" because he thinks she's hot.
Ellis also mulled over the idea of Scarlett Johansson or Kristen Stewart as Ana, and Aaron Johnson or Alex Pettyfer as Christian, before settling on Ryan Gosling as the perfect choice.
Assuming this whole thing isn't an epic prank, the idea of Bret Easton Ellis handling the film adaptation is freaking BRILLIANT. While the tide has definitely turned recently to bashing the book's writing style, the story in the right hands has the potential to appease even the harshest Fifty Shades critics. Ellis isn't exactly known for creating empowered, compelling female characters, but you can't deny his edginess and style. With him writing, and Cronenberg (!) directing, Fifty Shades could actually be an amazingly dark, twisted bit of effed-up genius.
I've suspected all along that whoever does the movie version will turn it into a fluffy piece of cinematic garbage (anyone remember what they did with Exit to Eden?), but now I'm sort of crossing my fingers for Ellis to win the gig. You never know, maybe with a boundary-pushing writer/director team on board, Ryan Gosling might actually consider the role. SMUT NIRVANA!
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