12 May – "Anna Karenina" director Joe Wright has emerged as a front-runner to direct in the "Fifty Shades Of Grey" film. Wright has a long-standing relationship with Focus and Universal, who paid USD 5 million for movie rights to the steamy "Fifty Shades" book series, so there is a great chance that he might be the official director. Wright has made four films with Focus, which are "Anna Karenina", "Hanna", "Atonement" and "Pride & Prejudice". The other directors considered for the job included "Monster" helmer Patty Jenkins, Bill Condon, Bennett Miller and Gus Van Sant. Steven Soderbergh was also considered for the gig before eventually deciding on Wright.
The "Fifty Shades" film has been one of the most high-profile open directing jobs in years given the popularity of E.L. James' sex-fueled trilogy. "Fifty Shades Of Grey" is an erotic romance novel about the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey that features elements of dominance/submission and sadism/masochism. However, fans still have to wait a while as Kelly Marcell is still working on the script and Wright's deal has to be negotiated. No cast has been selected for the film yet as well.