If ‘Grey’ matters to you, succumb to this quiz
Born online, spread through whispered word-of-mouth and now a major motion picture opening today, “Fifty Shades of Grey” is a phenomenon that refuses to stop.
It will let you blindfold it, sure. And tie up its hands. But it won’t stop.
The erotic tale of an emotionally distant billionaire (Jamie Dornan in the movie) who awakens the sexuality of a recent college graduate (Dakota Johnson) as she thaws his cold heart, “Fifty” began as “Twilight”-inspired fan fiction. It developed into a book trilogy (the second and third are “Fifty Shades Darker” and “Fifty Shades Freed”) that has sold 100 million copies worldwide, according to publisher Vintage Books.
With her first book, British writer E.L. James threw “Twilight’s” abstinence-before-marriage message under the bus. She re-imagined Edward as Christian Grey, a chiseled businessman who is just as ardent in his pursuit of the heroine as vampire Edward was in “Twilight,” but whose M.O. is DS (dominance and submission). Christian has “very singular” tastes, as Dornan says in the trailer. (Though this line evokes Liam Neeson’s “particular set of skills” from the “Taken” movies, “Fifty” involves fewer bullets and more tiny riding crops).
In crafting her female lead character, James took the awkward “how can this God of a man possibly be interested in lil ol’ inconsequential me?” Bella Swan of “Twilight,” slapped the “Dynasty” name Anastasia Steele on her, and called it a day.
The writing is sub-“Twilight.” Christian Grey’s ties and eyes are gray, and Ana refers to her “inner goddess” as if she were a Sedona retiree. However, readers, a reported 80 percent of them women, ignored the writing quality in favor of plentiful sex scenes, and Christian’s clear feelings for Ana, despite his talk of a sex-only relationship.
But sex scenes that were NC-17 in the book will be R-rated in the film. And there’s no fast-forwarding at the theater. So it will be interesting to see how the book’s fans, with fewer distractions and robbed of a chance to skim, will react to some of the book’s cheesier aspects, writ large on screen.
More fascinating still will be seeing who shows up to see “Fifty” this weekend. Groups of women? Couples on a date? The anticipation is delicious.
In honor of this highly unusual Valentine’s Day film-going weekend, we offer a “Fifty Shades” quiz, as well as a breakdown of the novel/film characters and of author James and the film’s little-known lead actors (“the key players”).
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ quiz
How well do you know “Fifty Shades of Grey?” This quiz will test your knowledge of the character’s preferences, the author’s past and some details associated with the making of the movie.
To find out whether your “Shades” awareness is “very singular,” like Christian Grey’s tastes, see the answers below.
1. What is the name of Christian Grey’s company?
A) Grey Matter Technologies
B) Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.
C) Black, White and Associates
2. Ana and Christian both favor the same type of erotically charged casual shoe. What is it?
A) Clarks
B) Toms
C) Converse
3. Christian pilots his own helicopter. What’s the helicopter’s nickname?
A) Chuck Taylor
B) Charlie Tango
C) Whiskey Tango
4. After their first meeting, Christian sends a first edition of what book to Ana?
A) “Tess of the d’Urbervilles,” by Thomas Hardy
B) “Women Who Love Too Much: When You Keep Wishing and Hoping He’ll Change,” by Robin Norwood
C) “The Complete Book of Knots,” by Geoffrey Budworth
5. Ana jokingly calls the room where Christian keeps blindfolds, rope and other bondage accoutrements the Red Room of Pain. What does he call it?
A) The playroom
B) The rumpus room
C) The man cave
6. The director of “Fifty Shades of Grey” is married to what up-and-coming British actor?
A) Alex Pettyfer
B) Andrew Garfield
C) Aaron Taylor-Johnson
7. Ana blushes “crimson” or “scarlet” on nearly every page of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” James also uses a more colorful phrasing to describe a blush. What is it?
A) “Clown-nose vermilion.”
B) “As ruby as Dorothy’s slippers.”
C) “The color of the Communist Manifesto.”
8. Charlie Hunnam (“Sons of Anarchy”) was supposed to play Christian in the movie but bowed out. Which press-release quote from the studio, explaining his exit, is real?
A) “Charlie Hunnam does not think Dakota Johnson is all that.”
B) “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.”
C) “Charlie Hunnam met with his team of representatives, at which point it was decided that all involved wanted Hunnam’s career to continue past Feb. 13, 2015.”
9. Dakota Johnson, daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, was born in Austin, Texas, when one of her parents was filming which prophetically racy film?
A) “The Hot Spot”
B) “The Long, Hot Summer”
C) “Lolita”
10. Jamie Dornan is married to the ex-wife of which fellow Irish actor?
A) Liam Neeson
B) Colin Farrell
C) Chris O’Dowd
11. The R rating for “Fifty Shades” contains the usual parenthetical breakdown of reasons – “strong sexual content,” “graphic nudity” – as well as another descriptor the MPAA appears to have conceived just for it. What is it?
A) “Some unusual behavior”
B) “Depiction of behavioral disorders”
C) “Some visuals related to aberrant sexual behavior”
12. When E.L. James was writing fan fiction on “Twilight” forums, what was her online handle?
A) Regina Pantsalot
B) Edward4EverUK
C) Snowqueens Icedragon
Legend: 1. B. 2. C. 3. B. 4. A. 5. A. 6. C. 7. C. 8. B. 9. A. 10. B. 11. A. 12. C.
1-3 points: You are so vanilla, you should be a wafer. 4-6 points: You are only somewhat shady. 7-9 points: You read the book a few times, and did not skip the boring parts. Now go get some air. 10-12 points: Get it, girl!
The characters
Anastasia Steele: A lit major on the eve of graduation at the first book’s start, Ana meets Christian Grey when she interviews him for the college newspaper. The interview is a favor for her sick roommate, Kate, the newspaper’s editor. When Christian pursues Ana, she is flummoxed, because she does not think she is suitably attractive for the sophisticated billionaire. When Christian traces her cellphone to find her at a bar, Ana worries he is a stalker. When he tells her he is not available emotionally, she falls for him, anyway. Because red flags lose their power in the face of extreme handsomeness.
Christian Grey: A self-made mogul, Grey’s business interests are vague and his preference for kink over “vanilla” in the bedroom pronounced. Now a dominant, he started as a submissive, at 15, with his mother’s friend. Unsurprisingly warped by this experience, he now seeks “control in all things.” But he loses control every time the nervous Ana bites her lip.
Kate Kavanagh: Ana’s roommate (played by Eloise Mumford in the film) is rich and gorgeous but down to earth. Editor of the school newspaper, Kate is street smart and owns her sexuality. For fans of empowered females, she’s more interesting than Ana.
José Rodriguez: A school friend and talented photographer who harbors a big crush on Ana, he is, in “Twilight” terms, the Jacob to Christian’s Edward. He also says “dios mio!” and comes on too strong with Ana one drunken evening. Regardless of how José is portrayed in the film, actor Victor Rasuk, who starred in the wonderful 2002 coming-of-age film “Raising Victor Vargas,” just might be too good for this material.
The key players
Dakota Johnson: She is the 25-year-old daughter of Don Johnson and ex-wife Melanie Griffith. A one-time model, Dakota Johnson had a memorable scene in “The Social Network” as a Stanford student who wakes up in bed with Napster’s Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) and inadvertently introduces the tech inventor to an early version of Facebook.
Jamie Dornan: The Northern Irish actor, 32, is skin-crawlingly sociopathic in his role as a family man and serial killer on the British series “The Fall,” the second season of which now is out on Netflix. He also was convincing as the kind sheriff, Graham, on the first season of ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.”
E.L. James: Former television executive Erika Leonard, a long-married 51-year-old British woman with two children, adopted this pen name for her “Fifty Shades” trilogy. According to an article on the making of the movie in this month’s Vanity Fair, James has earned $100 million from the books and related “Fifty” merchandise. She also retained an unusual amount of control over the film, weighing in on details down to characters’ clothes. She comes off in the VF article as devoted to the “Fifty” fandom and keen to serve its interests.
This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 9:22 PM.