Nicholas Sparks Reinvented Shade-Throwing When Asked About 'Fifty Shades of Grey'

I had the opportunity to ask Nicholas Sparks one question yesterday during a press junket for upcoming film The Longest Ride in NYC yesterday. Naturally, I had to know whether the undisputed romance novel king is a fan of Fifty Shades of Grey. His reaction was nothing short of incredible. "I have read the novel," Sparks began. "I did not see the film." [Long pause, eye roll.] "Ummmm. Am I a fan? What I would say is that I'm very comfortable writing what I write."

Cue silence throughout the room and the "OH SNAP" shouting inside everyone's minds. Thankfully The Longest Ride star Britt Robertson broke the silence. "Oh, I've gotta know more. C'mon!" she said, attempting to pry additional thoughts out of the author. But there he sat, refusing to further comment on a book to movie adaptation he deems unworthy of his time. His way of rejecting Fifty Shades was diplomatic, poetic, and everything I would expect from a romance novelist. Bravo, sir.

Although Sparks is not be a fan of the raunchy franchise, it may have affected him and The Longest Ride team just a little bit. (You see Scott Eastwood's butt in the movie.) "I think when we shot that [Scott] probably didn't know we were shooting it," director George Tillman, Jr. said. "We felt that most movies like this, most of the time when you see nudity or some nudity, you see the woman. And we just felt like, 'Let's show Scott.' And he always had his shirt off. [Laughs]."

I support all of this.

Ansel Elgort knows how it feels to let a good Sparks movie adaptation get the best of him.

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[Photo Credit: Getty/@taylorferber]