While Fifty Shades of Grey was not everyone’s cup of tea, it did wonders at the box office. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and James Foley, the films went on to make a combined figure of over a billion dollars. However, the film could’ve turned out to be a bit different if Angelina Jolie had been the director, as some reports once suggested.
Given the theme of the franchise, you might find Angelina Jolie’s name to be a bit out of place here. The actress has directed her fair share of movies, including In the Land of Blood and Honey and Unbroken. However, none of these films fall into the same category as that of the Fifty Shades trilogy. Angelina Jolie was asked upfront about the rumors and here’s what she had to say about it.
Did Angelina Jolie Almost Direct Fifty Shades of Grey?
The Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan starrer, contrary to people’s expectations, went on to become a box office hit. The success was even though the film received tons of negative reviews and even Rotten Tomatoes could only spare it a score of 24%. Well, we wonder if things would have been different if another director had been at play here.
All the way back in 2012, reports were stating that Angelina Jolie was in talks to direct the first film of the steamy franchise. This was even before Johnson and Dornan were selected for their respective roles. Of course, this never came to fruition and Sam Taylor-Johnson was finally announced as the director.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jolie was asked to address the said rumors and according to the magazine, she answered only after laughing and blushing at the question. She replied quite vaguely stating,
“I came very clear out of the gate: after Blood and Honey, if I ever directed again, it would have to be a certain kind of film. You know, I am looking forward to seeing what Sam [Taylor-Johnson] does with Fifty Shades and she’s amazing…I think they’re just…it’s funny, I think with direction, you just think: I’m better at telling some stories than others but um, who knows?”
While Jolie herself is a fan of Taylor-Johnson’s work, it sure is interesting to think about what Jolie would have done with the franchise if it was under her control!
Mark Wahlberg Wanted to Produce Fifty Shades
While Jolie’s interest in the franchise might have been nothing more than a rumor, Mark Wahlberg was totally looking forward to being a part of the film. Don’t get us wrong though, he didn’t want to play the charismatic Christian Grey, he just wanted to be a producer!
During The Hollywood Reporter’s Producers Roundtable, Walhberg stated that he was looking forward to producing the film and when that didn’t happen, his disappointment almost led to his agent’s dismissal.
“I almost fired my agent, Ari [Emanuel] over [Fifty Shades] – not because I wanted to play the part. We were aware of the book from very early on, and we were close to securing the rights and then we get into this bidding war. We were so close to having [it]. That was one of the few times I was going to fire Ari.”
Talk about missed opportunities as the film went on to make almost $570 million at the box office. It looks like Wahlberg knew from the very beginning that the film was going to be a success!
You can stream Fifty Shades of Grey on Peacock Premium and you can also rent/buy it on Prime Video.
Source: Showbiz Cheatsheet
