What the fuck sort of movie did Dakota Johnson think 50 Shades of Grey was going to be?
50 Shades of Grey is a bad book that became a bad film.
Not only is it poorly written, hammily acted and about as erotic as clipping your toenails but it also presents a very unhealthy version of a sub-dom sexual relationship.
But, bless her heart, Dakota Johnson says she had different expectations at the outset. Very different expectations.
The American actress, speaking to Vanity Fair, described the production of the film as “crazy” and that she “signed up to do a very different version of the film [she] ended up making”.
Lest we forget 50 Shades of Grey, the book, began life as erotic Twilight fan-fiction before morphing into its own publication and quickly becoming one of the most popular books of all time.
A film adaptation was inevitable and, despite the book’s schlocky origins, Dakota appears to have thought the film would be aimed at the arthouse market.
Laying the blame squarely on the door of 50 Shades author E.L. James, Dakota said:
“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. When I auditioned for that movie, I read a monologue from Persona and I was like, ‘Oh, this is going to be really special.’”
Let’s just repeat that: She read a monologue from Persona. Unfortunately she doesn’t say which one.
Persona, directed by Ingmar Bergman, was released in 1966 and is considered one of the greatest films of all time. It is a psychological drama that’s an exploration of duality, insanity, and personal identity.
50 Shades is (bad) erotic fan-fiction.
What monologue could it have been?
Dakota does stress she is ‘proud’ of the finished film but also says she wouldn’t have done it if she’d known how it would end up:
“I don’t think it’s a matter of regret. If I had known… 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.’ But no, I don’t regret it.”
Johnson’s remarks about author E.L. James echoed what director Sam Taylor-Johnson said in 2015 (the director did not return for the sequels). She said:
“We’d often clash and have to find a way to work through that to get to some sort of resolution. She would be the first to say as well that it was not easy. It was not easy. But we got there. I think both of us felt it was an incredibly painful process.”
Taylor-Johnson added:
“Two different creative visions. 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. 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.’”
Such was her stubbornness it was reported that James threatened to walk of the project (effectively disavowing it) if any of the dialogue from the book was rewritten.
The film was slated by the press but raked in a $571 million worldwide gross.
Chapeau to both of them for their apparent efforts to make the film better (or at least more interesting) than the book.
But come on guys, it was 50 Shades and the trade press had already revealed that James wanted to be very hands-on with the development.
This was never going to be Persona or anything like it.
Read the full profile of Dakota Johnson here.
