15. Director Exits
Taylor-Johnson didn’t return to the franchise, at least in part due to her problems working with James—who exercised as much creative control as she could, even bringing in her husband, Niall Leonard, to write the script for the sequels, 50 Shades that are darker And Fivety Shades for Free.
“We would have proper on-set barneys,” Taylor-Johnson recalled to Porter magazine in 2015. Magazine in 2015.
Also, she shared her story. The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that James “would be the first to say as well that it was not easy. This was no easy task. It was not easy, but we made it. It was a painful experience for both of us. In an MSNBC appearance, James stated that people were going to “butt their heads” and this is what actually happened.
This is the opening of Sunday Times magazine in 2017, Taylor-Johnson said she didn’t regret doing the film, per se, “because that would just finish me off. Would I do it over again with the benefit of hindsight? It’s not possible. It would be insane.
She continued, “I like everyone, and I get really confused when they don’t like me. EL James made me so lost. It’s hard for me to understand why I cannot navigate another person when there is no synergy.