Book agents aren't the only ones rabid for racy sexual material a la EL James' "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy. Vince Vaughn is developing the book "I Was a Teenage Dominatrix" for FX, and Showtime's mulling over "The Box," based on the real-life experiences of famed Mistress Raven.
Fifty Shades of Grey is apparently a hard book to put down, at least for one British woman.
U.K.-based Emma McCormick’s boyfriend of about five years, Raymond Hodgson, 31, reportedly demanded that she stop reading author E.L. James’ hit erotic novel, which has been dubbed “mommy porn.”
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After she refused, Hodgson went to her home and squirted her with a bottle of steak sauce, according to the U.K. paper Carlisle News & Star.
He later told police that he found the book “distasteful” and “pornographic.”
Apparently, the two began arguing June 25, after McCormick read excerpts of the book to him. They were still arguing the following day and exchanging text messages about it.
“Mr. Hodgson thought that the book was pornographic and that she should not read such literature,” a prosecutor said in court.
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So that night, he went to her house, where the two continued their argument. (Both McCormick and Hodgson still live with their respective parents.)
“He went to her home at 7 p.m. on June 26 and took with him a bottle of brown sauce,” the prosecutor said, adding that “she went to close the door and he jammed his foot into the door, slapped her once in the face and then squirted her with this bottle of sauce.”
In court, Hodgson pleaded guilty to a single charge of common assault. A judge ordered him to pay McCormick £100 compensation and £85 in attorneys fees in addition to imposing a six-week 6 p.m.-8 a.m. curfew and six months of community service.
Hodgson’s lawyer denies that he slapped McCormick. He also said his client is “extremely sorry” about the incident and that they couple are now “friends” and have since been “in touch with each other.”
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Fifty Shades has sparked a frenzy across the U.S. as well, where sales of the trilogy are expected to pass the 20 million mark this week. In comparison, it took the Twilight series more than three years to hit that mark, whereas Fifty Shades did it in less than six months.
James’ trilogy started as a takeoff on Twilight posted to a fan fiction site and was intended to help her deal with her “midlife crisis.” She is estimated to have made at least $50 million and counting from book sales, international royalties and the sale of movie rights to Focus Features.
