Mr Grey will see you now, and he’s brought some similarly minded friends. Hollywood is set to adapt a slew of softcore erotica novels for the big screen as producers vie to capitalise on the blockbuster success of Fifty Shades of Grey, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
After, a series of fan fiction ebooks pitching One Direction’s Harry Styles as an irresistibly cruel lover, was first reported to be in development in October. Studio Paramount has optioned the online smash, which was made popular after Texan author Anna Todd released her work chapter by chapter via Wattpad.
The three ebooks currently available feature a tattooed riff on Styles known as Hardin “Harry” Scott, who tempts Washington State college studentTessa into a relationship. Producer Jennifer Gibgot told the Hollywood Reporter: “Because it’s set in college, I feel like we have Fifty Shades for the younger generation.” Todd’s three ebooks, After 1, 2 and 3, have been read more than a billion times on Wattpad.
Next up is Beautiful Bastard, by Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings writing under the joint pen name Christina Lauren. In another EL James-ish storyline (though it appears the novel predates Fifty Shades) the ebook centres on a hardworking intern and MBA student who begins a torrid affair with her intense but irresistible employer.
Like Fifty Shades, Beautiful Bastard began as Twilight fan fiction. The ebook was published as a print novel in 2013 and has sold more than 1.5m copies. Two further sequels have now been published, Beautiful Stranger and Beautiful Player, as well as three novellas titled Beautiful Bitch, Beautiful Bombshell, and Beautiful Beginning. UK-based producer Jeremy Bolt, whose work includes Event Horizon, The Hole and the Resident Evil series, has optioned the books for the big screen.
Another controversial book which could soon be adapted for the big screen is On the Island, which is understood to have a less erotic bent. Tracey Garvis Graves’s novel focuses on a 30-year-old English teacher who begins a relationship with her 16-year-old student after the pair are stranded on a desert island. Such a relationship would be illegal in the UK under laws aimed at preventing adults in a position of trust from engaging sexually with pupils under the age of 18. Studio MGM is understood to be preparing the book for a transfer to the big screen.
