Singer Rita Ora reportedly cast in '50 shades of Grey' film - Los Angeles Times
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Singer Rita Ora reportedly cast in ’50 shades of Grey’ film

Singer Rita Ora has reportedly been cast as Mia in the film version of "50 Shades of Grey."
(Ben Stansall / AFP / Getty Images)
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Rita Ora is reportedly the latest to be cast in the film adaptation of the steamy book “50 Shades of Grey.”

The 23-year-old “Hot Right Now” singer will play Mia, the bubbly, adoptive sister of the titular character Christian Grey, according to Variety. (Think Ashley Green’s Alice Cullen in “The Twilight Saga.”)

The British singer, born in the former Yugoslavia, had her most recent album, “Ora,” go platinum and hit No. 1 in Britain, Variety reported. She’s also become known for her headline-making fashion choices and her own brand of sex appeal.

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The blond bombshell has few acting credits to her name, save for an uncredited appearance in last summer’s “Fast & Furious 6” and a cameo in “90210,” according to IMDb.

The singer joins “Once Upon a Time” alum Jamie Dornan, who has been cast as Christian Grey. The playboy billionaire seduces ingenue Anastasia Steele (played by actress Dakota Johnson) into his subversive world of B&D sex. “Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam was previously cast as the leading man before he abruptly dropped out of the highly anticipated project in October.

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“I’m a fairly worldly guy,” Dornan told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published last month. “I grew up in a very liberal place. I’m not saying we had a playroom, but I’m not shocked by [the sex in the book]. It’s essential to tell the story. I can’t believe films that don’t invoke the sexual side of it. So it works for me.”

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The film, chronicling Christian and Ana’s romantic and erotic exploits, is based on E.L. James’ explicit work that began as “Twilight” fan fiction but went on to sell sold 90 million copies worldwide.

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The Universal and Focus film recently cast “Lone Star” alum Eloise Mumford as Anastasia’s best friend and journalist, Kate Kavanaugh, and “Revenge” actor Max Martini as Christian’s bodyguard Jason Taylor, who is simply referred to as Taylor in the books. Jennifer Ehle has been cast as Anastasia’s mother.

James, who usually makes casting announcements on Twitter, has yet to confirm the news about Ora on social media.

However, Ora reportedly wasted no time letting her friends and followers know that she’d joined the cast, People reported, but those tweets have since been removed. (Our eyebrows have been raised.)

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson and the crew began shooting in Vancouver on Sunday and Dakota Johnson was seen filming a scene in a coffee shop, Us Weekly reported.

The release date has been pushed back, Movies Now said, from August 2014 to a Valentine’s Day-oriented release date of Feb. 13, 2015, which has raised concerns about the film losing its appeal the further its release date gets from the height of the books’ popularity.

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