Steamy New Trailer for 'Fifty Shades of Grey' starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson

Let's talk about synergy for a moment, because tonight saw a two perfectly sleazy guilty pleasures working together in perfect harmony. During tonight's episode of ABC's provocative water cooler series Scandal, the brand new trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey debuted to the perfect audience, one that was no doubt waiting anxiously to see it.

Starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, the adaptation of E.L. James' steamy novel follows the sordid sexual encounters between the inexperienced Anastasia Steele and handsome, possessive billionaire Christian Grey. How explicit is this film version going to get compared to the books, which push enough boundaries that some might be begging for a safe word? That's hard to say, but we know there won't be any frontal nudity from the stars. Makes sense if they want this to remain tame enough that teen girls can attend with their moms. Awkward.

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, Fifty Shades of Grey opens February 13th 2015.


Fifty Shades of Grey Official Trailer #2 (2015) - Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson Movie HD. by TrailerNow

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Jamie Dornan to Star in Max Minghella-Scripted 'The 9th Life of Louis Drax'

Back in 2004 Anthony Minghella optioned the rights to Liz Jensen's best-selling novel, The 9th Life of Louis Drax, to be the latest in his long list of successful adaptations. Unfortunately, he passed away before the film ever got moving, but his son Max Minghella is picking up where Dad left off by making his screenwriting debut on the film. And as production is gearing up to begin, a red hot star has just come aboard.

Fifty Shades of Grey's Jamie Dornan will star in The 9th Life of Louis Drax with the busy Alexandre Aja (Horns) directing. Minghella will also produce the film which centers on a 9-year-old Louis Drax, a boy who has something violent happen to him every single year. On his ninth birthday he mysteriously falls off a cliff during a picnic with his parents and ends up in a coma. Dornan will play Dr. Allan Pascal, who becomes drawn into a mystery that will test the boundary between reality and fantasy. Here's what Minghella had to say about the deal...

"Tim (producer Tim Bricknell) and I are thrilled this deeply personal project is being brought to fruition with passion and integrity," said Minghella. "We look forward to collaborating with Alex and Miramax to create a truly original movie that will captivate and surprise audiences."

It's good to see Minghella, always an underrated actor, following in his father's screenwriting footsteps. Filming is to begin in October.

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Reese Witherspoon & Nicole Kidman Tell 'Big Little Lies'; Jamie Dornan Joins 'The Siege of Jadotville'

 Everybody knows decent roles for actresses tend to dry up as they get older, which is why so many have turned to producing in order to develop their own projects. That's what Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman have done, teaming up to secure the rights to Liane Moriarty's book, Big Little Lies, as a starring vehicle for them both. The recently-published novel tells the story of  "three mothers of kindergartners whose apparently perfect lives unravel to the point of murder." No word on who will write or direct but given the filmmakers both women have worked with it should be easy to find one. [Deadline]

Just as Dakota Johnson has been quick to capitalize on all the Fifty Shades of Grey attention by lining up more fulfilling projects, so too is her co-star Jamie Dornan. He'll set aside the whips and blindfolds to star in The Siege of Jadotville, a geo-politcal thriller in which he'll play Pat Quinlan, who in 1961 led an Irish UN troop against soldiers loyal to Katangese Prime Minister Moise Tshombe. Badly outnumbered, Quinlan's 500 men successfully held off an army of thousands for six days before surrendering. Commercials director Richie Smyth will make his feature debut working from a script by Constantine co-writer Kevin Brodbin. [Deadline]

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Get Hot for the First 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Trailer Starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson

"I exercise control in all things, Ms. Steele".

"That must get pretty boring".

"Boring" is probably not what millions of readers of E.L. James' best-selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey would call the erotic relationship between millionaire bad boy Christian Grey and student Anastasia Steele. The book has been nothing less than a phenomenon that boomed well beyond its fairly humble Twilight fan-fic roots, and to say there have been a lot of anxious people awaiting this first trailer would be understatement. So does it deliver? Check it out for yourself because it is finally here.

Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson won the two lead roles after months of exhaustive casting that saw many bigger names rumored. The story, penned by Kelly Marcel and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, follows the steamy, sexual encounters between the domineering Grey and the inexperienced Steele. Whether mainstream audiences unfamiliar with the books will show up for all of the bondage escapades that await remains to be seen, but there's already such a built-in fanbase that it may not matter. Johnson and Dornan have already begun to blow up in popularity (just as Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson did), and with the sequel Fifty Shades Darker already in the works these movies may be around for awhile.

Personally, I think the trailer is kind of cheap and low rent, but its clearly not looking to hook ME.

Fifty Shades of Grey opens February 13th 2015.

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Bradley Cooper's 'Chef' Retitled 'Adam Jones', Adds Emma Thompson, Daniel Bruhl, and Alicia Vikander

 It's surprising things have gone on this long with Bradley Cooper's upcoming culinary world film maintaining the Chef title, what with Jon Favreau's film still in theaters. But finally somebody has gotten around to a name change, retitling it Adam Jones, which hopefully won't confuse audiences into thinking it's about the troubled football player known for "making it rain".

Along with the name change comes a big boost in talent. Joining Cooper and Sienna Miller are Emma Thompson, Alicia Vikander, Daniel Bruhl,  Riccardo Scamarcio, Lily James, and Fifty Shades of Grey's Jamie Dornan. No mention of Omar Sy in Daily Mail's report, but it could be just an oversight. The film, directed by John Wells from a Steven Knight script, centers on a celebrity chef who loses everything due to his hard partying ways. Cleaning himself up, he returns to London and opens up a new restaurant in hopes of winning a third Michelin star.

Seriously though, that title is terrible.

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Beyonce Uses "Crazy in Love" to Tease 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Trailer

Once thought to be delayed until September, we recently found out the Fifty Shades of Grey trailer will be arriving this month, specifically next Thursday. But one of the privileges of being a celebrity like Beyonce is you get to see things before everybody else, and the superstar singer has used Instagram to reveal a brief teaser for the trailer, set to a slowed down, breathy version of "Crazy in Love".

Along with the altered version of Beyonce hit single, things to keep an eye out for are (presumably) the strict hands of Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, and (presumably) the anxious thighs of Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele. The S&M drama is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and is based on the worldwide best-seller by E.L. James, following the erotic relationship between the billionaire Grey and the sexually-inexperienced Steele.

Also starring Jennifer Ehle, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Eloise Mumford, Max Martini, Rita Ora, Marcia Gay Harden and Callum Keith Rennie, Fifty Shades of Grey opens February 13th 2015.

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Celebrate Christian Grey's Birthday with New Image of Jamie Dornan in 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

We've seen Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey splashed across magazine covers alongside co-star Dakota Johnson, and in officially released images always with his back towards us, but now in celebration of the fictional character's birthday, Focus Features has released the best look yet at the actor in Fifty Shades of Grey. This comes amidst rumors the movie's trailer has been delayed until September, although nothing on that front has been confirmed.

In the second book of E.L. James' 'Fifty Shades' trilogy, Anastasia Steele sends Grey a letter that reads "Birthday kinky f---ery is to be recommended.", so fans were probably hoping for something a bit steamier than just an image of Dornan sitting in his car. But keeping the story's sexier aspects under wraps is apparently the strategy favored by Focus Features as they've teased little of the story's erotic nature.

Also starring Jennifer Ehle, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Eloise Mumford, Max Martini, Rita Ora, Marcia Gay Harden and Callum Keith Rennie, Fifty Shades of Grey opens February 13th 2015.

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Celebrate Valentine's Day with New Image from 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

In case you forgot or have blocked it out of mind, today is Valentine's Day. And while we have a pretty good short list of weird movies to check out this lovers' holiday, in exactly one year from today women will be tying up their significant others and dragging them to see Fifty Shades of Grey. Emphasis on "tying up".

To celebrate, Focus Features has unveiled a brand new image from the film, and it appears to be of Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele when she first encounters Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), her future partner in bondage.

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, Fifty Shades of Grey co-stars Jennifer Ehle, Victor Rasuk, Luke Grimes, Eloise Mumford, Max Martini, Rita Ora, Marcia Gay Harden and Callum Keith Rennie.

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'Fifty Shades of Grey' Bumped to 2015; First Look at Stars Jamie Dornan & Dakota Johnson

When Charlie Hunnam said "no mas" and dropped out of Universal and Focus Feature's Fifty Shades of Grey, the studios scrambled to find someone to take on the role of Christian Grey, eventually deciding on Jamie Dornan. But at the same time they were taking some of Hunnam's criticisms of the script to heart, recently hiring Mark Bomback to do some rewriting on what Kelly Marcel and Patrick Marber had done before. It's this aspect of the production that caused them to push back the start date, and now it's effected when we'll see the finished film in theaters.

Not surprisingly, Fifty Shades of Grey won't hit its target August 1st 2014 date, and has now been moved all way to February 13th 2015. That means it'll be ready just in time for Valentine's Day, in case any couples are looking to spice up the holiday with dinner, dessert, and the BDSM erotic thriller. Dakota Johnson is will play Christian' s lover, Anastasia Steele; Luke Grimes is Christian's brother, Elliot; Jennifer Ehle is Anastasia's mother; and Victor Rasuk is her best friend, Jose.  Sam Taylor-Johnson is directing.

After a number of other high-profile names had been mentioned for the Grey and Steele roles, some were surprised that two relative unknowns in Dornan and Johnson were chosen. Now we're getting a look at what producers saw in the duo as they graced the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly, with him looking spiffy and possessive, and her willing to be possessed. That seems about right, doesn't it? What do you think? Do they look the parts at least?

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Jamie Dornan Officially Replaces Charlie Hunnam in 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

In the wake of Charlie Hunnam unceremoniously dropping out of Fifty Shades of Grey, for reasons that vary depending on who you ask, Universal and Focus Features have been scrambling to find his replacement. With filming set to begin in just a few weeks they didn't have time to completely start from scratch, and so a list of old and new candidates emerged. On that list from the very beginning, and deemed to be the frontrunner shortly thereafter was Once Upon a Time star, Jamie Dornan, and it appears he has now won the job.

Dornan, who also had a small role in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette  and starred in the BBC's The Fall, will take on the role of rich BDSM fanatic Christian Grey. He'll join co-star Dakota Johnson who plays the sexually inexperienced Anastasia Steele, and apparently it was there hot screen test together that convinced producers and director Sam Taylor-Johnson he was the perfect choice. Presumably he also looks good with his shirt off since the New York Times nicknamed the former model "The Golden Torso". Jennifer Ehle remains on board as Steele's mother, and it's possible those scenes will be the first to be filmed.

Well, the long national nightmare is finally over. Fifty Shades of Grey is expected to open on August 1st 2014.  [TheWrap]

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Alexander Skarsgard and Theo James Among Those Rumored for 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

 Just when you thought the Fifty Shades of Grey rumor-mongering was done, Charlie Hunnam had to go and ruin everything. Hunnam had secured the lead role of Christian Grey in Sam Taylor-Johnson's adaptation of the best-selling smut novel, and with Dakota Johnson on board as Anastasia Steele all was ready to go. But just as production was about to begin in mere days, Hunnam dropped out and now it's basically back to square one. Cue the role call of candidates!

According to THR, True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard, Jamie Dornan of U.K. series The Fall, Divergent star Theo James, and Christian Cooke (Romeo and Juliet) are said to be in the mix, with producers basically going back to the original drawing board in plucking out these names. If this goes like the last round of casting went we can probably expect to see more random names pop up. Anybody throw Russell Crowe's name out there yet? Oh, yep, there it is. It's going to get ridiculous, ya'll.

Speaking of ridiculous, there are conflicting theories going around about the reason for Hunnam's departure. THR suggests the problem could be the script by Kelly Marcel, which had enough problems that Patrick Marber (Closer) was hired to give it a polish. But other sources say that's not a big deal and not the real issue. The studio talking point is that Hunnam left due to scheduling conflicts with hit FX series Sons of Anarchy, but US Magazine claims the actor never wanted to do the movie at all. A source says...

"Charlie Hunnam was never going to do Fifty Shades of Grey. He told his agents from the beginning he didn't want to do it and was going to pull out."

And yet another source tells them it was definitely a scheduling problem. The point is that the speculation is going to be running wild for a few weeks until Focus Features gets this thing locked down and in front of cameras next month. Otherwise it's going to be tough to meet the August 1st 2014 release date. 

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