Dakota Johnson on Clashing With E.L. James on 'Fifty Shades' Films: "It Was Always a Battle"
The actor shares the difficulties she faced working with the author on set.
Dakota Johnson is opening up about her experience working on the Fifty Shades film trilogy. The actor revealed she faced challenges, particularly with the books’ author, E.L. James, who had a very specific vision on how she wanted the movies portrayed.
“It just became something crazy,” Johnson told Vanity Fair in a new interview. “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.”
In addition to starring in the film franchise, Johnson was also a producer. However, that didn’t stop the disagreements from happening. “She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day, and she just demanded that certain things happen,” Johnson added. “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 also noted how upset James was when Charlie Hunnam, who was originally supposed to play Christian Grey, backed out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. He opened up about the work culture after exiting the project.
“It was the worst professional experience of my life,” Hunnam told V Man magazine in 2015. “It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I’ve ever had to deal with professionally. It was heartbreaking.”
