Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James: a behind-the scenes account of the hotly-anticipated film adaptation of her erotic romance

“The biggest challenge was the sex scenes — but we got there in the end,” says author E.L. James who delivers her verdict on the much hyped about film.

Getting a straight answer out of author-turned-film producer Erika Mitchell, better known by her pen name E.L. James, is as about as difficult as it would be to seduce her bondage and discipline-oriented leading man, Christian Grey, with rose petals and a home-cooked meal.

Since Mitchell has just watched the hotly-anticipated film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey in New York with a cinema full of hand-picked fans — a privilege denied to critics and journalists ahead of its Australian release — the obvious first question has to be: what’s her verdict?

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Close encounters ... Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in a scene from Fifty Shades of Grey. Picture: Supplied.

“Just seeing the fan reaction was everything I had hoped it would be so I am delighted.”

Mitchell’s reaction to the film, then, would appear to be a vicarious one, based primarily upon the opinion of her fans.

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It’s the first of what turns out to be a series of heavily-scripted responses that do nothing to hose down speculation of an unhappy set on which Mitchell reportedly had stand-up rows with director Sam Taylor-Johnson over the way the boundary-pushing sex scenes were filmed.

However, since Mitchell was born in Buckinghamshire, her clipped delivery might also be attributed to British reserve. Or even modesty. And it seems important to revisit the question, this time from a slightly different tack, in case we are somehow at cross-purposes.

Sexy and brooding ... James gives Dornan the thumbs up. Picture: Supplied

Is the film adaptation of her phenomenally successful erotic romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey, which has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide, how she envisaged it?

“Parts of it are very much as I envisaged. I am delighted with that. Some of it less so. But the film’s a film. The book’s a book. I have worked in television all my life so I do understand.”

Again, it’s the sort of obfuscating answer that would do Yes Minister’s Sir Humphrey Appleby proud.

Fifty Shades of Grey will reveal its true colours at the box office once the front-end heavy fan action dissipates and word-of-mouth takes over.

But with nothing tangible to counter the impression thus far, there’s a creeping sense of ambivalence around the project, two just-announced sequels notwithstanding.

Speculation ... Author E.L. James seems to be holding back when asked questions about the film. Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

When asked about reports that the film’s two leads — Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan — exhibit a worrying lack of screen chemistry largely because the pair can’t stand each other, Mitchell has a twofold response.

First, they are professional actors, so of course they can create sparks on screen.

Second, she discounts any talk of animosity as “rubbish”, though she doesn’t seem inclined to elaborate on the subject except with a half-hearted anecdote about how she has noticed that Dornan doesn’t always “get” Johnson’s teasing humour.

As a counter argument, it’s a lot like damning by faint praise.

Mitchell is, however, a little more forthcoming about the performance of Johnson, the granddaughter of Tippi Hedren and the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.

“There was a big hoo-haa over the casting — there always is when one of these major books gets made into a film. I remember it was the same with Twilight, with Hunger Games.

In command ... Johnson in a scene from the film. Picture: Supplied.

“But I think Dakota is going to surprise everybody.

“She’s luminous on screen. She’s a terrific actress and she looks the part, as well, with her big blue eyes.

“For me, Ana was always, from day one, the strongest of the two of them. Christian is actually incredibly fragile but we don’t realise that. She is the one in command from the beginning but she doesn’t realise that either.

“It was important to find someone who could do both — she challenges him and she intrigues him — and Dakota does that beautifully.”

Mitchell describes Dornan’s screen presence as “brooding” and “sexy”.

“I think everyone is going to be happy with the cast.”

The way she tells it, Mitchell took a producers role on the film adaptation because she could, and because it allowed her to protect her fan’s interests.

Fans first ... Dornan and Johnson at the screening in New York. Picture: Getty

“I was given the opportunity to become involved and I thought: yes, I want to honour the fandom that has given me this opportunity.

“I want to make sure that they are happy. I am going to fight for my story every step of the way.

“Because of the success of the books, I was able to become a very active producer on the film and I fulfilled that role.”

The 51-year-old author does, however, suggest that her clout has been somewhat over-estimated.

“I didn’t have approval over the cast. I had a say along with the other producers and the studio and the director and everybody else.”

She also plays down talk of conflict between herself and Taylor-Johnson.

“You are going from a book that has been created by one person to a committee to get it onto the screen.

Hoo-haa ... Not everybody was happy with the casting decision. Picture: Supplied

“You have got a studio, you have got a production company, you have got executives from both, you have got three producers, you have got the director, the actors … Of course there were creative discussions that got quite lively at the time, but that’s the process of any film.

“My only concern was that the fans would be happy. And that’s where I was coming from in all of these discussions.”

It’s interesting, however, that during the course of our discussion, Mitchell never once refers to director Sam Taylor-Johnson by name.

The biggest challenge in adapting the first novel in her erotic trilogy into a film, she says, was the sex scenes.

Luminous ... James says Johnson even looked the part. Picture: Supplied

“I was very worried about translating the sex onto the screen. I was concerned that it look classy and not trashy and that it should be sexy and erotic.

“I know that you don’t have to reveal a huge amount. You only have to think about the wonderful sex scene in The Big Easy where Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin are on a bed, they are fully clothed, and that is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen.

“Just keeping a handle on that and making sure it was sexy, that was one of my biggest concerns and we got there in the end. “

Fifty Shades of Grey is now screening.

Originally published as Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James: a behind-the scenes account of the hotly-anticipated film adaptation of her erotic romance