TERRA NOVA Creator to Adapt 50 SHADES OF GREY

Looks like things are about to heat up for Terra Nova creator/exec producer Kelly Marcel.

Deadline reports that the scribe has beaten out her competition for the hotly contested writer's position for Universal and Focus Features' film adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey, the E.L. James novel that has swept the nation with its sex-fueled narrative.

The book, which began as Twilight fan fiction, follows the sexual exploits of a young journalist named Anastasia Steele after she meets the brooding billionaire Christian Grey. Fan speculation is running rampant over who will be cast in the film versions, but as IMDB points out, Marcel formed a theater company with Tom Hardy back in 2010, so perhaps there could be a spot for him.

Marcel hasn't had any produced screenplays of her own yet, but she wrote Saving Mr. Banks, Disney's upcoming high profile Tom Hanks/Emma Thompson starrer that will certainly see the light of day (production is underway right now in Los Angeles). How she'll transition from something family-friendly to what should be X-rated remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: a lot of people are going to be very curious to see what a movie version of 50 Shades of Grey looks like.

Do you think Marcel is the right person for the job, or would you have liked to see someone like the once-rumored Bret Easton Ellis adapt the book for the screen?