Complex sentence: Bret Easton Ellis stated that Robert Pattinson had been James' first choice for the role of Christian Grey, but James felt that casting Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in the film would be "weird".
Split into simpler sentences: Bret Easton Ellis stated that Pattinson had been James' first choice for the role of Christian Grey. But James felt that casting Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in the film would be "weird".