50 Shades fans line up for fantasy
Is it a romance for the ages, a misogynistic fantasy or just a bit of harmless fun?
Ask 50 people about the 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon and you will get as many different answers.
Whatever you make of its gender politics, the first instalment in what is expected to be a 50 Shades of Grey film trilogy was always going to be an event.
Thousands of moviegoers, mostly women, filled opening sessions in Perth yesterday. Cinemas say the interest is unprecedented, with many peak-time sessions over the next week sold out.
The films are based on books written by Erika Leonard under the pseudonym E.L. James. The novels started as fan-fiction featuring characters from another blockbuster book series - Stephanie Meyers' Twilight - re-imagined in a BDSM (a broad term that covers bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism) relationship.
It became a global hit with bookstores and its popularity was credited with driving sales for adult sex shops.
However, the franchise is controversial, with some arguing it is misogynistic and glamorises the emotional and physical abuse of women. Some anti-abuse groups called for a boycott.
But those in the theatres yesterday were there for a bit of fun.
Most women said they were fans of the books and interested to see how it played out on-screen.
Jenny Fraser and her friends were among the first at Event Cinemas in Innaloo for a 10am screening. The group has spent Thursday mornings together for about 10 years.
"I bought the tickets in November," Ms Fraser said. "We've read the books and are very excited."
Lauren Stacey and Wendy Lewis arrived fresh from the school run.
Ms Lewis said her daughter asked about her plans for the day.
"I said I'm going to the movies with Lauren and she said what movie, and I said I don't remember," she said with a laugh. "She said what's it about and I said it's about two people falling in love."
Last night, the cinema was overrun by women drinking champagne and frozen cocktails and taking selfies with posters of Christian Grey at a Chicks at the Flicks screening of the film.
Jenny Ljunggren said she was excited to see how the book translated into a movie.
Event Cinemas WA and NT marketing manager Jo Rao said the cinema had already sold more than 10,000 pre-booked tickets for the film's opening week.
