Bret Easton Ellis is the kind of off-his-rocker writer we admire around here. The writer of 'American Psycho' and the upcoming film 'The Canyons' has some ideas about a 'Fifty Shades of Grey' adaptation.

Ellis says he would ideally cast Lena Dunham (creator and star of HBO's 'Girls') in the role of young college student Anastasia Steele, a clumsy, lip-biting technophobe who engages in a BDSM lifestyle with the older Christian Grey, even though, you know, she doesn't really like it, but we should all do whatever a guy wants if we ever expect him to love us. Oh, and it's a trilogy of books. And they started out as 'Twilight' fan-fiction.

The author posted the following on his official Twitter feed:

"I would love it if we lived in a world where Lena Dunham could be Ana in 'Fifty Shades of Grey' but I don't think we do. Hope E.L. James doesn't think I'm being a prankster. I really want to adapt her novels for the screen. Christian Grey is a writer's dream… I think David Cronenberg is a great idea for directing 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and we worked together on 'American Psycho' in its initial phase."

Ellis asserts that he's approaching the studio with his pitch this week, and we have to say, it's just the sort of material that might be in Ellis' wheelhouse. If you're unfamiliar with the book, you can read our explanation. It's soapy nonsense that misappropriates a sexual proclivity as a dark and dangerous habit indicative of mental illness. It's not incredibly provocative, and the only reason it's become popular, as opposed to your run of the mill Harlequin romance tripe, is that it involves BDSM, a culture with which the book's target demo isn't very familiar.

There's a chance Ellis could change that, though, and elevate the material into something more sex- and female-positive. Or he could just go full-trash and embrace its awfulness. It seems like Ellis might not exactly be a fan of the books, either, and is more interested in the concept of Christian Grey and exploring that character through his own microscope.

Ellis is currently working on 'The Canyons,' a film which recently cast troubled actress Lindsay Lohan alongside porn star James Deen.

 

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