YNOT – In late April, Adult Source Media announced its intention to produce a hardcore adaptation of E.L. James’ best-selling erotic novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. Less than three weeks later, the adult studio has been slapped with a cease-and-desist demand by a law firm representing the author.
The studio’s production announcement indicated ASM’s film will be “a realistic and intimate adaption” of the spiciest parts of James’ book, which delivers the story of a wealthy, handsome man who sweeps a young, naïve beauty off her feet and introduces her to a not-so-innocent world of BDSM. As in many romance stories, behind the hero’s domineering veneer lies an attractive vulnerability that only an innocent ingénue can perforate, while he’s simultaneously maneuvering her emotions as if they were pieces on a chess board. The book became so hot so quick among women in Middle America, it has been dubbed “mommy porn.”
“The feedback we’ve received is that while women genuinely enjoy the literal aspects of the novel, what really has them intrigued is the incredible sex between the novel’s main characters Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, and how that sex can be duplicated and re-created for the screen,” ASM Vice President of Sales John Amatucci said in late April. “And that’s exactly what we are going to give them.”
And that may be exactly what precipitated the law firm’s letter. Evidently, the author and her legal staff are not enamored of the idea someone wants to create a porn parody based on her admittedly sexually explicit work.
Nevertheless, AMS’s attorneys believe their client’s project violates no one’s intellectual property rights. They’ve already responded the demand letter indicating ASM plans to proceed with its film.
“The naked truth is the adult film industry is not excluded from the protections of the fair use doctrine,” one of ASM’s attorneys said.
ASM President Wendy Crawford was quite a bit more forceful in denouncing a move she clearly sees as disingenuous.
“The literary world, be it publishers, book agents or the press, have proclaimed a new genre in the romance novel sector and have christened it ‘mommy porn,’” she said. “The book industry has seized this explosive opportunity in order to generate worldwide renown, acceptance and most importantly, publicity, targeting the largest purchasing demographic — professional women. For Fifty Shades of Grey‘s attorneys to now ask us to put the brakes on this project smacks of hypocrisy. Consumers, particularly women, should be able to visually experience and enjoy an adult film spoofing an interpretation of a currently popular book.”
Crawford is confident the film will be released.
“We’ve received hundreds of emails since announcing our plans,” she said. “Ninety-nine percent have been positive feedback from women who can’t wait to see Ana and Christian’s sex scenes re-enacted on film from the perspective of a woman, which is key to honoring the wishes of the female fans. We intend on doing our best to fulfill those fantasies.”
ASM’s adult adaptation is expected to be released under the studio’s Intimate Encounters imprint.
