Fifty Shades of Grey Director Sam Taylor-Johnson Reveals E.L. James Was ''Difficult'' to Work With: ''We Definitely Fought''

Director tells Porter magazine, "They were creative fights and we would resolve them"

By Bruna Nessif Feb 04, 2015 11:32 PMTags
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No need to hold back now, right?

Fifty Shades of Grey director Sam Taylor-Johnson spilled on what it was really like to work on such a highly anticipated film during an interview with Porter magazine—and apparently, there was a lot of tension (and we're not talking sexual tension).

Instead, there were a lot of differences in creative opinion between Taylor-Johnson and author E.L. James when it came to figuring out how to best portray the erotic novel on the big screen.

"It was difficult, I'm not going to lie," the 47-year-old, who posed poolside in a glamorous (and wet!) red dress for the mag, told Porter of working with James.

"We definitely fought, but they were creative fights and we would resolve them. We would have proper on-set barneys, and I'm not confrontational, but it was about finding a way between the two of us, satisfying her vision of what she'd written as well as my need to visualize this person on screen, but, you know, we got there."

(You might remember that she hinted at similar issues during a recent interview with Red magazine as well.)

So as for their relationship now that the film has wrapped? Well, don't expect these two to be buddy-buddy in the slightest. When asked if she's friends with James now, Taylor-Johnson hesitated to answer and then was relieved when told she didn't have to.

One famous gal-pal is Angelina Jolie, who was also vying for the job of directing the S&M film but lost out to Taylor-Johnson. "I got an email out of the blue from her saying good luck on your journey. I thought that was incredibly sweet of her," she told the mag.

Universal Pictures and Focus Features

"I knew how it should be made, needed to be made, and I felt a certain responsibility to make it the right way," Taylor-Johnson continued of the R-rated flick. "I felt it was an incredible story. It's like a dark twisted fairy tale, very romantic, and it was interesting how troubling it was, and how romance and the darkness interweaved."

To see the full interview with Sam Taylor-Johnson buy the latest issue of Porter, on sale globally on Friday, Feb. 6. It is also available as a digital edition or subscribe here.

Can't wait to see the finished product when Fifty Shades of Grey hits theaters next weekend!

(E!, Universal Pictures and Focus Features are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)

PHOTOS: Fifty Shades of Grey movie pics