Dakota Johnson is among the leading names in the entertainment industry and is quite popular for her charismatic personality and infectious smile. The talented actress played a minor role in The Social Network released in 2010, however, she rose to fame and stardom with the erotic romance drama trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey. The actress was immensely appreciated for her breakthrough performance and even received a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination for it.
The High Note actress opened up about her disagreements with Fifty Shades author E. L. James during the production of the Fifty Shades of Grey movies.
Dakota Johnson on creative battle with Fifty Shades of Grey author
Dakota Johnson was the female protagonist of the movie adaptation of the erotic novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, alongside Jamie Dornan‘s Christian Grey. The novel is written by author E. L. James, who became one of the highest-paid authors with earnings upwards of $95 million, comprising the $5 million from Focus Features for acquiring the film rights.
The trilogy was a blockbuster hit and made a benchmark for the actress. She garnered wide appreciation for her steamy performance in the films. But it may come as a surprise when the cast and crew members shared that the movie was very different from its novel adaptation.
Dakota Johnson spoke with Vanity Fair about the constant creative battle while filming the Fifty Shades of Grey movies. She revealed that the movie resulted in something she did not expect as the production team’s vision differed from the author’s point of view. She said,
“I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making.”
The How to Be Single fame described herself as a s*xual person and revealed she did the big n*ked movies because she was interested in the concept.
Talking about the novel’s author and producer of the adapted film, E. L. James, Dakota shared that she wanted creative control over the movie. She said,
“She had a lot of creative control, all day, every day. She just demanded that certain things happen.”
Johnson revealed that there were parts of the books that wouldn’t work in a movie, like the inner monologue, which was often cheesy. She knew that it wouldn’t work to say them out loud, but the author’s demand for inclusion made it quite tricky.
Dakota Johnson deeply respects Fifty Shades of Grey author despite the chaos
The actress appreciated the author despite her criticism and interference with the movie. She said,
“If I had known at the time that’s what it was going to be like, I don’t think anyone would’ve done it. It would’ve been like, ‘Oh, this is psychotic.’ But no, I don’t regret it…There are things that I still cannot say because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s career and I don’t want to damage anybody’s reputation, but both Jamie [Dornan] and I were treated really well. [James] is a very nice woman, and she was always kind to me and I am grateful she wanted me to be in those movies.”
Dakota Johnson was 23 years old when she signed up for the role of Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey. The actress gave her best for the movie, despite the creative differences with the author. Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan became an iconic pair with the release of the movies and became renowned names in Hollywood.
Source- Vanity Fair
