Sam Taylor-Johnson may have broken box office records with Fifty Shades of Grey, but according to the director, she barely survived filming.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor-Johnson reflects on shooting the 2015 erotic film, and the "uphill" battle she had with Fifty Shades author, E.L. James.
"Two different creative visions," Taylor-Johnson recalled of working with James, whose real name is Erika Mitchell. "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," she explained. "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.'"
Fifty Shades of Grey became the second-highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman, behind 2008's Mamma Mia!, and though Taylor-Johnson reportedly earned more than $2 million for directing the flick and was in talks to helm the following two movies, Universal dropped her from the sequels, hiring James Foley for Fifty Shades Darker and the upcoming Fifty Shades Freed.
"There was a tentative plan that I would be involved with the following two," Taylor-Johnson said. "[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."
