As the fiasco that is Fifty Shades of Grey' sequel rumbles on, one thing is for certain - EL James is in charge whether you, Universal or anyone else likes it or not.
It was announced late last night that Fifty Shades Darker, the second instalment in the Fifty Shades trilogy, will have a writer in Niall Leonard.
The Belfast-born screenwriter previously worked on TV's Wire In The Blood, Hornblower, Holby City and Monarch of the Glen.
Oh, did we mention his wife is EL James? Yeah, that's kinda important.
Pretty much from the get-go, Fifty Shades Darker's been in turmoil. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson departed the series pretty much as soon as the cameras stopped rolling, along with Kelly Marcel.
Rumours abounded for several weeks that Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan were unhappy and wanted out, however it's now understood that the two are angling for a bigger pay cheque this time out.
Not only that, EL James pretty much demanded that she write the Fifty Shades sequel. We're guessing the hiring of her actual husband is some way to appease James' demands and have an experienced writer looking after the franchise.
So, what to make of all this? Look, the first one was a pretty dull and uninteresting affair. You could hire the best writer in the world to take a run at this and you'd still run into trouble.
Why? EL James' unprecedented levels of control, that's why. Either way, the sequel's going to make huge money for all concerned so nobody really cares about the quality. They obviously just wanted it pushed out the door.
Via THR.com
