The daily gossip: The Fifty Shades of Grey movie finally has a director, and more

Sam Taylor-Johnson and her husband, Aaron, a potential Christian Grey

(Image credit: Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

1. The Fifty Shades of Grey movie finally has a director

After a long and breathlessly reported search, the Fifty Shades of Grey movie has finally wrapped its chains around a director: Sam Taylor-Johnson, who is best known for her 2009 film Nowhere Boy. "Sam's unique ability to gracefully showcase complex relationships dealing with love, emotion, and sexual chemistry make her the ideal director to bring Christian and Anastasia's relationship to life," said producer Michael De Luca. He added that the film will capture the novel's "characters and vivid storytelling," which are, of course, everyone's favorite things about it. [Deadline]

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Is your hunger for Star Wars: Episode VII so insatiable that you'll enjoy even the tiniest morsel of inside info? Then you'll love this leaked list of purported new character descriptions that the production is currently trying to cast, which Bleeding Cool says is "100 percent confirmed." The alleged list includes calls for a girl who's "independent, good sense of humor, [and] fit," a girl who's "tough, smart, and fit," and a twenty-something male who's "fit, handsome, and confident" — so any Hutts out there can probably just skip the audition. [The Hollywood Reporter]

James Franco has made no secret of his distaste for The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, which he feels "could have strayed a little bit more" from the Spider-Man trilogy he originally costarred in. But in a recent article for Vice, Franco addressed his problems with the rebooted superhero series in a little more detail. "What is interesting to me is that it has been remade so quickly — and the reasons why," wrote Franco. And what was his epiphany? "We are in the film business, and the studios are owned by larger corporations who want to make money." Feel free to check back next week, when Franco discovers that you get wet when it rains. [The Wrap]

As it turns out, one girlfriend is enough for Spider-Man after all: Actress Shailene Woodley, who was originally cast as a competing love interest to Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, has been cut out of the upcoming sequel altogether. "Of course I'm bummed," said Woodley in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "But I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason." Like, say, making James Franco happy. [Entertainment Weekly]

Selma Blair has officially left Anger Management, a day after reports emerged that Charlie Sheen was refusing to work on the series until she was fired. The move frees Blair up for the greener pastures of anything that's not costarring on Anger Management. The series will reportedly add a new female star to fill the hole Blair's departure leaves in the cast — assuming they can find anyone Charlie Sheen hasn't already alienated somehow. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox