Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson is ‘going out of my mind’, says movie is about ‘empowerment’

FIFTY Shades of Grey — the movie — hasn’t even been released yet but you’ll never guess how many times director Sam Taylor-Johnson has already seen it.

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IT’S one of the most anticipated movies in Hollywood — the big screen adaptation of racy novel Fifty Shades of Grey.

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson has revealed she’s already “seen this film over a thousand times” as she puts the finishing touches on it ahead of its global release next month.

In a revealing interview with Red, Taylor-Johnson said the film is about “empowerment” and “not falling prey”.

Dakota Johnson is Anastasia Steel. Picture: AFP

Jamie Dornan plays Christian Grey. Picture: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images

Taylor-Johnson has compared the making of Fifty Shades of Grey — the movie — to “like walking on a knife edge”, in an the interview with Red, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I have seen this film over a thousand times, and I’m now in a blancmange,” Taylor-Johnson, 47, said.

Nearly there ... Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson, pictured with her husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Picture: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

“But the nuances within — the tiniest shift, look, blink of an eye — can make all the difference and flip it into the wrong territory,” the Nowhere Boy director said.
“It’s like walking on a knife edge.”

Speaking about the lead character — Anastasia ‘Ana’ Steele (played by Dakota Johnson) — Taylor-Johnson said: “I felt like I had a responsibility to empower the lead character”.

“Anastasia had to go on a journey of sexual exploration but, by the end, it had to be about empowerment,” Taylor-Johnson said, speaking to Red.
“It is all her choice. All decisions, she’s clearly made. She is not falling prey.”

Fifty Shades of Grey is out in Australia on February 12.