E. L. James E. L. James Erika Leonard (née Mitchell; born 7 March 1963), known by her pen name E. L. James, is an English author. She wrote the bestselling erotic romance trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey", "Fifty Shades Darker", and "Fifty Shades Freed", along with the companion novels "" and ""; and under the name Snowqueen's Icedragon the Twilight fan fiction "Master of the Universe" that was the basis for the Fifty Shades trilogy. The combined novels have sold over 125 million copies worldwide, over 35 million copies in the United States and set the record in the United Kingdom as the
Fifty Shades of Grey (film) the rights to the trilogy in March 2013. Author James sought to retain some control during the movie's creative process. James chose "The Social Network" producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti to produce the film. Although "American Psycho" writer Bret Easton Ellis publicly expressed his desire to write the screenplay for "Fifty Shades of Grey", Kelly Marcel, screenwriter of "Saving Mr. Banks", was hired for the job. Patrick Marber was brought in by Taylor-Wood to polish the screenplay, specifically to do some "character work". Universal hired Mark Bomback for script doctoring. Mark Bridges served as the costume designer. "Entertainment