Fifty Shades Of Grey Finally Hires Sam Taylor-Johnson To Direct
By Katey Rich published

In all the searching and speculating about who might be bold enough to direct the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey, more than a few people have hoped a woman might tackle the adaptation of the book that was such a hit with female audiences. Somehow, it actually happened. Fifty Shades author E.L. James tweeted that the job has gone to fellow Brit Sam Taylor-Johnson.
If Taylor-Johnson's name sounds a bit familiar, it might be because she shares it with her husband, Kick-Ass 2 and Avengers 2 star Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Sam Taylor-Johnson met him when he was starring in her only previous feature directing effort, Nowhere Boy, in which Aaron played a young John Lennon struggling with his own identity in the years before The Beatles. Sam Taylor-Wood, as she was called before the two married, was previously known as a fine art photographer and artist, and has directed a handful of short films and music videos, including one in support of International Women's Day that featured Daniel Craig as James Bond wearing a dress. You can watch that below:
OK, so that video is pretty out there-- and despite the stuffy biopic trappings of Nowhere Boy, that movie did a pretty good job tackling tough internal emotions and coming-of-age chaos (it helps that Aaron Taylor-Johnson made a pretty impressive John Lennon). Can any of that prepare Sam Taylor-Johnson for something as high-profile and tricky as Fifty Shades of Grey, with its promised NC-17 rating and huge fan base? Probably not-- but can anything?
To learn more about Taylor-Johnson, check out the interview I conducted with both Sam and Aaron at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where Nowhere Boy played as part of the festival.
(Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson image via Featureflash (opens in new tab) / Shutterstock.com (opens in new tab))
Staff Writer at CinemaBlend
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