Focus Features(NEW YORK) — The hotly anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey opens Friday, and as to be expected, the filmmakers and cast are making the publicity rounds. One voice yet to be heard from, though, is the writer of the bestselling erotic novels on which the film is based, E.L. James.
Asked if she’s heard from James while on the promotional tour, director Sam Taylor-Johnson told HuffPo Live on Monday, “No…I think we will get to the end of this — we’ve been moving at such a pace — [that] hopefully when we get to the end of this, that will happen.”
In the meantime, Taylor-Johnson and stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson are making plenty of headlines on their own.
Here’s what you need to know about Fifty Shades just days from its release.
Why We Haven’t Heard from E.L. James
Taylor-Johnson has made no secret of the fact that she and James clashed over creative differences on how to bring the books to the screen.
“It was tough for many reasons. I know a lot has been said of that,” Taylor-Johnson told HuffPo Live on Monday. “The thing was, Erika [Mitchell aka E.L. James] and I did work closely together and I think on any movie set, there’s tension, but especially when you have two people with strong visions, you’re going to lock horns. And it’s important creatively to do that because you thrash things out.”
Will There Be a Sequel?
James wrote three novels about Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, so we are likely to see more of them on the big screen.
“I’m signed on,” Taylor-Johnson told E! News when asked about plans for a sequel. “Let’s see how this one goes first.”
How They Shot the Sex Scenes
“[The sex scenes] were very choreographed,” Taylor-Johnson told E! “It had to be choreographed because I didn’t want to make them go through it [countless times]. It’s an uncomfortable environment. You have to base it on trust. You have to build that trust to get there.”
Who Won’t Be Seeing the Film
Johnson, who plays Anastasia, comes from an acting family — Alfred Hitchcock muse Tippi Hedren is her grandmother and Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson her parents.
Hedren has already made it clear she won’t be seeing the film. And now, Griffith says she’ll pass as well.
“No, she doesn’t want me to see it,” Griffith told reporters at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party of her daughter.
“I don’t want to see it. I would be very uncomfortable seeing it,” she continued. “I am so proud of her and supporting her in every way that I can.”
Nor, it seems will Dornan’s wife.
“She hasn’t seen the film,” the Irish actor who plays Christian admitted to E! News, adding that she will “definitely not” be watching it with him.
“She has a deep understanding of work and how you get work and the process of making films,” he said. “That is beneficial.”
Dakota Johnson’s Favorite Sex Scene
As it turns out, Johnson has actually banned her parents from seeing the movie.
“I don’t want them to see it,” she told the UK’s Telegraph. “I wouldn’t want to see them doing it. At all!”
Having already seen the film, Johnson said watching the sex scenes she was “completely detached.”
“It was like watching someone who looked a lot like me doing really bizarre things,” she told the Telegraph.
But she does have a favorite love scene. She revealed to Access Hollywood, that the moment where Christian uses his mouth to run an ice cube down Anastasia’s body was her favorite.
She was also pretty happy with the scene where Anastasia loses her virginity to Christian.
“The virginity scene is something that is so beautiful,” she told Access. “And the way that [cinematographer] Seamus [McGarvey] and [director] Sam [Taylor-Johnson] shot that scene, it’s really incredible. And the colors! It’s so saturated, and then just watching a really profound moment in a young girl’s life, I think that was pretty special to do.”
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