50 Shades Of Grey's E.L James And Dakota Johnson Talk Movie On Lunch Date

Here's the very first sign that filming is almost underway for the controversial 50 Shades Of Grey movie – the racy novel's author is having lunch with none other than Anastasia Steele...

50 Shades Of Grey filming is almost underway… and here's proof. 50 Shades Of Grey author E L James met with Dakota Johnson and Dana Brunetti for lunch in New York yesterday, for the first time since it was announced that Dakota would take on the racy role of Christian Grey's timid girlfriend, Anastasia Steele.

The trio excited fans when they posed together for a picture, which E L James then shared on her Twitter page. She said: 'The beautiful, talented, funny as feck, Dakota Johnson. Oh and that bloke @danabrunetti.'

Dana Brunetti, the movie's producer, made headlines himself last week when he openly discussed why Dakota – and her co-star Charlie Hunnam – were picked to play the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in the hotly-anticipated movie adaptation. Dana was responding to a Twitter backlash as fans compiled a petition requesting a re-casting of the roles in favour of their own top picks – Matt Bomer or Ian Somerhalder.

Dana said: 'There is a lot that goes into casting that isn't just looks. Talent, availability, their desire to do it, chemistry with other actor, etc. So if your favorite wasn't cast, then it is most likely due to something on that list. Keep that in mind while hating and keep perspective.'

Charlie Hunnam missed out on the lunch as he was busy promoting the latest series of Sons Of Anarchy in LA yesterday, but he did speak about his new role for the very first time, revealing: 'I've done sex scenes before, my first ever job was on the Channel Four miniseries Queer as Folk, and there was very explicit sexual stuff in there. That was a baptism of fire for me, and if I could do it when I was 18, I'm certainly not going to sweat it at 33.'

Roll on August 2014!

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