It may have been a huge hit at the box office, but director Sam Taylor-Johnson has revealed to The Sunday Times that she regrets taking on Fifty Shades of Grey, mainly due to her on-set conflicts with author E.L. James.
“With the benefit of hindsight would I go through it again? Of course I wouldn’t. I’d be mad. 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.”
Taylor-Johnson also spoke to THR about her struggles with James, adding that: “Two different creative visions. 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.’”
Given the tension on set, it’s little surprise that Taylor-Johnson departed the series after the first instalment, with James Foley coming in for this year’s Fifty Shades Darker, and the trilogy-closing Fifty Shades Freed, which is set for release in February 2018.