The “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide at the box office, but the erotic thriller’s humble origins were in fan fiction. Author E.L. James was inspired by Stephanie Meyers’ “Twilight” series, and wrote a decidedly more adult take on Edward and Bella’s story of forbidden love, and became a best-selling author in the process. Now another story based on fan fiction is heading to theaters, “After.” A new trailer just dropped for the Jenny Gage-directed pic.
The spot kicks off with Tessa (Josephine Langford) leaving her hometown behind to attend college. She tries to reassure her concerned mom (Selma Blair) by telling her “it’s not a survival course,” but her first few days on campus suggest otherwise. Back home, Tessa seems to have been sheltered from mean girls and peer pressure. When she finds herself teased about being a virgin and asked to kiss a a guy in a game of Truth or Dare, she flees.
Tessa’s introduction to Hardin (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin) doesn’t end with a kiss, but it’s not long before the pair are doing plenty more than smooching. Despite being warned that the brooding rebel will break her heart, Tessa falls for him and begins a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening. “Nothing could ever change the way I feel about you,” she tells him. But it looks like that claim will be tested with some serious drama.
“After” is based on Anna Todd’s international best-seller of the same name. Todd first posted chapters of “After” on Wattpad, a fan fiction sharing site. The story’s popularity caused the site to crash within a week. Hardin is inspired by former One Direction member Harry Styles. Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, has since published five books in the series, which has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.
Gage made her feature debut with 2016’s “All This Panic,” a documentary following teen girls coming of age in Brooklyn. When we asked her advice for fellow female filmmakers, she said, “Make stories you want to see — if you do that you will always find an audience.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNLta4nDM10&feature=youtu.be
