The Very Un-Sexy Production of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

Fifty Shades of Grey is one of those movies that has caused divisiveness among audiences since the day it was released. Some loved it and wanted more, other despised it and thought it was way too much to adapt theatrically. First a novel by E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey is part of the erotic romance genre. It follows Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) a recent college graduate who takes an opportunity to interview high-powered businessman Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). The pair slowly begin to form a romantic relationship, but before they do Christian informs her that their relationship will be strictly sexual, specifically of the BDSM-nature. What results is an exploration of a dominant/submissive relationship and the subsequent romance that blooms from it. Audiences have called the film out as not being true to proper BDSM practices, claiming that the movie is instead romanticizing abusive relationship practices. But that’s not the only issue the movie has faced, because the production was just as messed up.

Fifty Shades of Grey

Literature student Anastasia Steele’s life changes forever when she meets handsome, yet tormented, billionaire Christian Grey.

Release DateFebruary 13, 2015

Runtime125 minutes

Main GenreDrama

WritersKelly Marcel , E.L. James

StudioUniversal PicturesFIfty-shades-of-grey

TaglineMr. Grey will see you now.

Sam Taylor-Johnson Clashed With E.L. James

When it comes to adapting books for the big screen, the biggest complaint that follows the release is that the film doesn’t live up to the book. So when you have the author working closely with the movie it can either be a blessing or a curse, and in the case of Fifty Shades of Grey it was seemingly a curse. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sam Taylor-Johnson spoke about working with author E.L. James on the film.

“This was her book and she had a very particular vision of how she wanted to see this film, and I had a diametrically opposed vision. Where we got to is where we got to. The success of it was great, but the experience of it was tough. It took me about four years to regain my confidence and composure. I’m going back to being an artist where I can make all my own decisions, answer to myself and present the world with something that I’ve created.”

Charlie Hunnam Dropped Out As the Lead Role

When the film was first announced many actors and actresses auditioned for the role, but it was Charlie Hunnam who landed the role of Christian Grey. At least, before he dropped out. In a 2013 red carpet interview with Us Weekly Hunnam spoke about how he landed the role.

« I met with Sam Taylor-Johnson a couple of times. She’d asked to meet me and we talked at length about the role, the movie and what her intention was. I felt really intrigued and excited about it so I went and read the first book to get a clearer idea of who this character was, and I felt even more excited at the prospect of bringing him to life. » He did ask to learn more about the character, so director Sam Taylor-Johnson suggested he do a reading with Dakota Johnson beforehand. « We kind of both suggested I do a reading with Dakota, who was her favorite, and as soon as we got in the room and I started reading with Dakota I knew that I definitely wanted to do it. There’s just like a tangible chemistry between us. It felt exciting and fun and weird and compelling. »

With how highly Hunnam spoke of the role, it begs the question, why would he drop out of the role? Supposedly it was due to scheduling conflicts, as Hunnam was due to be filming Season 7 of his acclaimed series Sons of Anarchy in which he was the lead. But it seems as though there’s more to the story than anyone really knows as he revealed in an interview with Elle that he has not watched the movie. When asked why he said, « I developed a friendship with director Sam Taylor-Johnson, but that was a somewhat traumatic experience for me. I didn’t want to open that wound. » It’s unknown what that “traumatic experience” was but it was enough to keep Hunnam from ever watching Fifty Shades of Grey so it was clearly something big.

Dakota Johnson Has Been Very Vocal About Behind-the-Scenes Issues

Dakota Johnson is notorious for the interviews she gives when promoting her films. Sometimes she seems disinterested, sometimes she seems like she hates the movie. She’s rarely shy about her opinions on whatever work she’s done and we love the transparency. Fifty Shades of Grey is no different, and she’s been very vocal over the years about how she feels about the movie. Johnson got candid in a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, where she first cleared up rumors of a feud between her and Jamie Dornan. “There was never a time when we didn’t get along. I know it’s weird, but he’s like a brother to me. I love him so, so, so much. And we were really there for each other. We had to really trust each other and protect each other.”

As for the film itself? Johnson has described the process of making the movie as “psychotic” for many reasons. First, and perhaps the biggest reason, was that she was led to believe she was signing onto a much different movie. She knew, of course, what Fifty Shades was, but the audition process gave her a different idea as to how it would be executed on film. “I’m a sexual person, and when I’m interested in something, I want to know so much about it. That’s why I did those big naked movies. I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making.” Johnson explained, later adding that her audition required her to read a monologue from the Ingmar Bergman film Persona. She says this led her to think that the project was going to be « really special ».

Johnson echoed Taylor-Johnson’s claims about James (whom Johnson refers to as Erika in the Vanity Fair interview).

“She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day, and she just demanded that certain things happen. There were parts of the books that just wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was at times incredibly cheesy. It wouldn’t work to say out loud. It was always a battle. Always.” Johnson said of working with the author. “I was young. I was 23. So it was scary. It just became something crazy. There were a lot of different disagreements. I haven’t been able to talk about this truthfully ever, because you want to promote a movie the right way, and I’m proud of what we made ultimately and everything turns out the way it’s supposed to, but it was tricky.”

Dakota Johnson also revealed that she, Jamie Dornan, and Sam Taylor-Johnson all fought to keep some of the original script intact. “We’d do the takes of the movie that Erika wanted to make, and then we would do the takes of the movie that we wanted to make. The night before, I would rewrite scenes with the old dialogue so I could add a line here and there. It was like mayhem all the time.”

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Dakota Johnson Doesn’t Regret Making ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

Despite some major creative clashing and just an overall messy filming situation, Dakota Johnson went on to say that she doesn’t necessarily regret doing the film, she just wishes she would have known what it would be like. “I don’t think it’s a matter of regret. If I had known at the time that’s what it was going to be like, I don’t think anyone would’ve done it. It would’ve been like, ‘Oh, this is psychotic.’” She explained. “But no, I don’t regret it.” She also did speak kindly of author E.L. James as well, saying that she was always kind to her and that she’s grateful for being cast, so it wasn’t entirely bad blooded.

Even though things weren’t always great behind the scenes, Johnson has said that the movies boosted her career and for that she’s grateful. Which is true. Nowadays Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are well-known in the industry, and the fact of it is that Fifty Shades was the film to give them that boost. All in all, Fifty Shades of Grey is a pretty problematic film in just about every way. From audience and critical reception to the actual production. But the fact of the matter is that Fifty Shades of Grey was always going to be a hit-or-miss among audiences. It was unavoidable. But it did get people talking, and while it hasn’t always been good, controversy does tend to pique interest, and so Fifty Shades of Grey was made. For better or for worse.

Fifty Shades of Grey is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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