The Challenges Faced by Fifty Shades’ Sam Taylor-Johnson During Filming
15. Director Exits
Taylor-Johnson did not return to the franchise, partly due to difficulties working with James, who had a lot of creative control. James even brought in her husband, Niall Leonard, to write the scripts for the sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.
“We would have proper on-set disagreements,” Taylor-Johnson mentioned to Porter magazine in 2015. “I’m not confrontational, but it was about finding a balance between her vision in the writing and my vision for bringing it to the screen.”
She also shared with The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that James admitted it was a challenging process. James mentioned in an MSNBC appearance that clashes were inevitable, which is exactly what occurred.
Talking to the Sunday Times magazine in 2017, Taylor-Johnson expressed that while she doesn’t regret doing the film, in hindsight, she wouldn’t go through it again. She said, “I like everyone, and I get really confused when they don’t like me. I was so confused by EL James. I don’t understand when I can’t navigate a person, when there’s no synergy.”