Charlie Hunnam Won’t Drop Trou; Drops Out Of 50 SHADES OF GREY

Charlie Hunnam has dropped out (rather than drop trou) of Fifty Shades Of Grey. The official word is that “the filmmakers of Fifty Shades Of Grey and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam’s immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey.”

That excuse doesn’t wash. Hunnam’s schedule for Sons Of Anarchy would have been checked and double checked for this. It’s clear that he got cold feet – was it the material or did he think that he’d become a bit of man-meat like Robert Pattinson? It’s probably a combination of both. I’ve only seen Hunnam in Deadfall (read the Movies In Focus review) and he was decent in a Channing Tatum sort of way. He’s no Marlon Brando, but he had acting reasonable chops. Hunnam was cast in a flurry of publicity along with Dakota Johnson in September.

I still don’t understand how this Twilight fan-fiction has turned into a three book/three movie trilogy (author E.L James is a cultural and artistic vampire). I presume that the middle-age female audience now feel the need to relive their teenage years by getting hot and bothered over some erotic fiction. Whatever the case, director Sam Taylor-Johnson is going to have to move down that casting list as the film is scheduled to start shooting next month in order to meet its August 2014 release date.

This isn’t art – it’s about creating a product – a package. It’s just that the package isn’t going to be Charlie Hunnam’s.

Source: Deadline