
I've been hearing a lot about Fifty Shades of Grey lately—that every middle-aged woman in America is either reading it or talking about how they are absolutely not going to read it; that you have to be 18 to buy the thing; that it's changing the way some couples view their marriages.
Really? It seems some readers are taking whatever they want from Grey. So, is this a pulpy romance novel, a dark anti-romance novel, an accidental guidebook, a menace to society?
I suppose I'll let Brooklyn Decker explain.
I knew this was a phenomenon when a soft-spoken request for the book from the mousey housewife in line in front in line at a Houston Barnes & Noble last weekend elicited an exasperated “I'm too old for this” eye roll from the clerk.
Of course, with any literary property that has success like Grey comes discussion of a movie franchise, and Deadline is reporting that actor, director and part-time New Orleanian Angelina Jolie has had preliminary discussions about helming the picture.
Sure, she once wore a vial of her husband's blood as a necklace on the red carpet—but those were her Billy Bob Thornton days—it's still too early to tell if the racy novel is up Jolie's alley. For now this rumor seems, much like the book itself, I imagine, to be a lot of wishful thinking.
Most recent The Movie Filter blog posts
Multimedia
How to master the fish fillet
Step-by-step instructions for filleting fresh fish, which is a particularly useful culinary skill for those of us fortunate enough to live in southeast Louisiana.
Social media style
With our cover story featuring 25 must-follow Twitter accounts in Baton Rouge, and examining the growing social media site's impact on the local community, we wondered what Twitter might look like in the flesh—living, breathing, fashionable flesh. Prices are approximate, and price and availability are subject to change. (Styling: Erin Mehta)
Bad Guys, Good Eats! Pop-Up Dinner at Restaurant IPO
Chef and 225 contributor Jay D. Ducote and Chef Chris Wadsworth hosted the Bad Guys, Good Eats! dinner at Restaurant IPO Wednesday night. The dinner was themed around famous movie villains, pairing cocktails and ales with plates of food resembling famous baddies like The Joker, Lord Voldemort, Hannibal Lector, and many others. The highlights of the night were the three middle courses—a black bean soup laced with blood sausage to signify Lord Voldemort, a brace of coneys on black eyed peas resembling Sauron, and lamb medallions atop a fava bean puree to pay homage to the famous favorite of Hannibal Lector.
Summer Crush
Elizabeth Arkley Hammett, a local nursing student and Fur Ball co-coordinator, and her husband Grey Hammett III, who works in commercial real estate, will take you through our summer guide. And they'll look good while doing it, too. Where noted, their clothes and accessories are available from local retailers.






