'Fifty Shades Of Grey' may be one of the most popular novels of all time, but it's also the most divisive, and a top screenwriter and author has said that the only way that the book, by E.L. James, can be made into a good movie is by "tearing everything out of the book."
There's two possible reasons for this: whilst many have lapped up the racy antics of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, others have sniffed at James' prose or complained that the book plays to pretty base instincts.
From a practical perspective, if the book is portrayed faithfully then the resulting movie would almost certainly be R-Rated in the US and receive an 18 in the UK, limiting its potential audience and putting off squeamish cinema goers.
According to E! Weekly author and screenwriter Chris Farnsworth, whose own vampire novels are set for the big screen, said: "The only way to make it into a crowd-pleasing film that will earn all of its money back is to pretty much tear everything out of the book."
Talking of R-Rated thrillers like 1986's '9 1/2 Weeks', which bares a striking resemblance to the sexy sadomasochistic antics of James' book (even having a protagonist called 'Grey') he said: "Those movies don't historically make a lot of money, studios don't want to make so many R-rated films. They want to make PG films that a lot of people can see."
One option is to turn down the sex and turn the film into a more traditional romcom, but that risks losing the factor that's led the book to storm up the bestseller charts.
One thing that could help sell a risque film is star names, so perhaps we'll see some big names cracking the whip. Ryan Gosling is the current favourite to play Christian, with Elizabeth Olsen and 'Twilight's' Kristen Stewart leading the odds to play Ana.
PHOTOS: The chaps in line for the role of Christian Grey'.
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