‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Movie Rights Acquired By Focus Features, Universal Pictures

Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic romance novel with prominent BDSM themes, is coming to theaters near you.

Focus Features and Universal Pictures acquired the movie rights to British author E.L. James' racy novel, the first in a trilogy, the Associated Press reported.

Modern-day romance novels have been adapted for the screen before, but that has mostly been restricted to television. Several of romance author Nora Roberts' books, for example, including Montana Sky and Carolina Moon, have been made into Lifetime movies.

But now a romance novel -- one with graphic BDSM scenes, no less -- has been picked by the movie gods that be for a journey to the big screen.

Fifty Shades is about Anastasia Steele, a college student who sets out to interview Christian Grey, a young and handsome rich guy, for her campus magazine. What follows is a relationship that incorporates BDSM.

The story started off as Twilight fan fiction, with Bella and Edward as the lead characters. The author then rewrote the work and published it through an Australian publishing house.

Vintage Books acquired the publishing rights to the trilogy earlier this month and will release it in paperback form in April.

Facebook and Twitter were aflutter with comments on the movie news.

Yeah! The fantasy lives! one woman wrote on a Facebook page for the trilogy.

It better be NC 17 and not some corny romance flick, wrote another woman.

Twilight favorite Robert Pattinson is already being supported by fans via Twitter and Facebook as a choice for the role of Christian Grey. Other names suggested on the Facebook page included Chris Hemsworth, Wentworth Miller, and Ian Somerhalder.

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