Hype, anticipation surround steamy premiere of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'
NEW YORK (WABC) -- If you're looking for something to warm you up during these frigid times, one of the most highly-anticipated and sizzling movies in quite some time hits theaters this weekend.
Many turning out for the steamy premiere at midnight Friday, and Hollywood is hoping for a new box-office record because the movie version of "Fifty Shades of Grey" seems perfectly timed to capitalize on the fact that Valentine's Day just happens to fall on a weekend.
To say the film was eagerly anticipated would not be an exaggeration. Call it the "Fifty Phenomenon," books so popular they have sold a staggering 100 million copies, thus creating a pent-up demand for the movie.
Fans had varying expectaions.
"We're just excited," one midnight movie-goer said. "I think it's going to be a big pop culture moment, so we can't wait."
"I hope it translates fairly true to the book, because we were big fans," another said.
"Well, the movie's not going to live up to the book just because the book is way more in detail," a third said. "But I'm just excited to see the characters come to life."
Mr. Grey is, of course, Christian Grey, a very rich businessman with very particular tastes. And his seduction of Anastasia Steele begins when she interviews him for her college newspaper.
Jamie Dornan, from ABC's "Once Upon a Time," and Dakota Johnson, daughter of Hollywood stars Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, must meet the high expectations of so many women.
"It's just something so different," one fan said. "It's not just this classic love story. It has a twist, and it's interesting."
But sex sells, it is often said, and so it will again on Valentine's Day.
Shaquina Blake was among so many in line to see the movie at midnight, and quite a few of those were Eyewitness News viewers who wanted to know what entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon thought of the picture. For that, you'll have to wait until Eyewitness News First at Four, when he will have my review of the film.
