The reason why Sam Taylor-Johnson hated ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
British filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson might have a relatively small oeuvre, but it is still a respected one. A filmography containing Nowhere Boy, the biographical drama based on the early years of The Beatles’ John Lennon, and episodes of Gypsy, where he starred alongside Naomi Watts, there’s an artistic sensibility running through the very core of her work. Additionally, with the imminent release of the late Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black, it seems as if Taylor-Johnson is about to add another commendable title to her list of credits.
With Taylor-Johnson being so adept at filmmaking, there was no surprise that after her breakout projects, Hollywood came knocking. After much deliberation and directors such as Joe Wright and Steven Soderbergh touted, in June 2013, it was announced that she had signed on to direct Fifty Shades of Grey, the first film adaptation of E.L. James’ trilogy of erotic books.
Starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, the 2015 movie was a box office success, making more than $571million worldwide, despite being critically panned across the board. Notably, although the film was an economic triumph compared to its $40million budget, Taylor-Johnson did not work on the sequels she was initially attached to. After Fifty Shades of Grey was released, the director revealed that she didn’t enjoy working on the project at all. Much of this was due to her strained relationship with E.L. James, who also served as a producer.
“I can never say I regret it because that would just finish me off,” she told the Sunday Times in June 2017. “With the benefit of hindsight would I go through it again? Of course I wouldn’t. I’d be mad.”
“I’d be mad [to do it again],” she continued. “It was a struggle and there were lots of onset tête-à-têtes, with me trying to bat it into the [right] place. I like everyone — and I get really confused when they don’t like me. I was so confused by E.L. James. I don’t understand when I can’t navigate a person, when there’s no synergy.”
Then, when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor-Johnson expanded on the issues she encountered with E.L. James, explaining that they had “two different creative visions.”
The director concluded: “Her vision versus mine, and they were polar opposites. Every scene was fought over. It was tough. It was like wading uphill through sticky tar. Her thing was, ‘This is what the fans expect.’ I’d be like, ‘Well, let’s try and hit those marks but create a new universe at the same time.'”
