By early 2013, several Hollywood studios were keen to obtain the film rights to the bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy, with Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount, Universal and Mark Wahlberg's production company all putting in bids. Universal Pictures and Focus Features secured the rights in March 2012.
Author E.L. James sought to retain some control over the creative process and chose The Social Network producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti to produce the film. Although American Psycho writer Bret Easton Ellis publicly expressed interest in writing the screenplay, Kelly Marcel, screenwriter of Saving Mr. Banks, was hired instead.
Patrick Marber was brought in to polish the screenplay with character work, and Universal hired Mark Bomback for script doctoring. Mark Bridges served as costume designer, with the film's budget estimated at around $40 million.
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