Money talks, and opinions walk. That’s certainly the case with "Fifty Shades Of Grey." Hardly a critical darling, the movie nonetheless opened with a massive $239 million worldwide last weekend, and one can only imagine that Universal wants to get the gang back together to make "Fifty Shades Darker." In fact, the followup films are reportedly in the works, but could the meddling ways of author E.L. James have ruined the kinky fun for director Sam Taylor-Johnson?
While it has already been said there are currently "no discussions" for Taylor-Johnson to return to helm any sequels, it would seem her clashes with the writer have taken a toll. “I feel like I never want to make a movie again,” Taylor-Johnson told Variety last month, “Maybe that will possibly change soon.” As for actors Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, they are contracted to return.
Whatever you might say about their chemistry (or lack thereof), one narrative that is beginning to emerge is that Johnson is the best thing about ‘Fifty Shades’ whether you like the movie or not. And apparently that talent was noticed right from her audition, which required reading a particularly challenging piece of material — a monologue from Ingmar Bergman‘s "Persona."
“She blew us out of the water,” Taylor-Johnson told Vogue. “She understood the nuance of that passage and how to play something delicately. Dakota has the ability to play so fragile and vulnerable, but with this underlying strength that makes you feel she is going to triumph.”
And yet, for the talent on screen and the popularity of the movie, it seems there are still a significant number of folks who can’t bear to buy a ticket that says "Fifty Shades Of Grey" on it. A recent report notes that there were over 300,000 illegal downloads of terrible "cam rips" of the movie on opening weekend. If you’re going to use your eyes on a crappy version of ‘Fifty Shades,’ you might as well just read the book, right?
