Fifty Shades of Grey Director Sam Taylor-Johnson Recalls Friction With E.L. James

There is no love lost between the director of the film and the franchise's creator

By Corinne Heller Jun 16, 2017 4:15 PMTags
Watch: Dakota Johnson on How "Fifty Shades" Has Evolved Her

There is no love lost between Sam Taylor-Johnson, who helmed the Fifty Shades of Grey film, and E.L. James, who penned the book and created the franchise.

The director did not direct this year's sequel, Fifty Shades Darker. In recent interviews, recalled her and James' friction over the original film.

"Two different creative visions," Taylor-Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter in comments posted Friday. "Her vision versus mine, and they were polar opposite. 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.' "

James, whose real name is Erika Mitchell, has not commented.

"There was a tentative plan that I would be involved with the following two," Taylor-Johnson told The Hollywood Reporter. "[But the studio] wanted to see how the first one went before any discussion. It went well in terms of box office. But less well with my relationship with Erika."

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Fifty Shades Darker World Press Tour
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A source told E! News in 2014, while production on Fifty Shades of Grey was underway, that "E.L. James wants the movie to match the book exactly, but Sam has a different perspective. Sam is reminding E.L. she writes books and she makes movies. This has caused some tension between the two of them."

In an interview with the U.K.'s Sunday Times earlier this week, Taylor-Johnson said making Fifty Shades of Grey was "a struggle" and that "there were lots of onset tête-à-têtes, with me trying to bat it into the [right] place." She added that she was "so confused" by James.

"I like everyone, and I get really confused when they don't like me," she said. "I don't understand when I can't navigate a person, when there's no synergy."

In 2015, Taylor-Johnson told Porter magazine that it was "difficult" to work with James.

"We definitely fought, but they were creative fights and we would resolve them," she said. "We would have proper on-set barneys, and I'm not confrontational, but it was about finding a way between the two of us, satisfying her vision of what she'd written as well as my need to visualize this person on screen, but, you know, we got there."

Taylor-Johnson told Red magazine she wanted to "protect" her "vision" while making Fifty Shades of Grey.

"There are so many voices. You have to try and keep all those people at bay," she said. "You think, you hired me because I'm a creative artist with a vision. Don't try and knock it out of me."