Home Archive Fifty Shades of Grey director officially unveiled

Fifty Shades of Grey director officially unveiled

Fifty Shades of Grey director officially unveiled

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson has been given the task of bringing Fifty Shades of Grey to mainstream movie audiences next summer. Author EL James made the announcement on her Twitter account on the 19th of June and it was later confirmed by Universal Pictures co-chairman Donna Langley and Focus Features CEO James Schamus.

The BAFTA-nominated director began her career as an artist and photographer, winning the Illy Café Prize for Most Promising Young Artist in 1997 and receiving a nomination for the Turner Prize in 1998. She met her husband Aaron during filming of the last movie she directed, Nowhere Boy, a drama depicting the early life of John Lennon.

The casting is yet to be announced but there are rumours that Taylor-Johnson may choose to cast her much younger husband as Christian Grey. A recent survey conducted by Lovehoney revealed that the public’s choice to play Grey is Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder and the ideal Anastasia Steele would be played by Mad Men’s Alexis Bledel.

The Lovehoney survey also revealed that 90% of fans felt the raunchy sex scenes should not be toned down in the film. In an official statement, producer Michael De Luca reassured fans, saying: “Sam’s unique ability to gracefully showcase complex relationships dealing with love, emotion and sexual chemistry make her the ideal director to bring Christian and Anastasia’s relationship to life.

Lovehoney does have a vested interest in the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie of course, having developed the Official Fifty Shades of Grey Pleasure and Sensual Care collections in association with EL James. “The huge interest around this announcement shows that Fifty Shades of Grey is still the biggest name in the business,” said Lovehoney commercial director Ray Hayes. “The recently launched Fifty Shades of Grey Sensual Care Collection and the original Fifty Shades of Grey Pleasure Collection give retailers the ideal opportunity to convert this interest into sales.”

The Official Fifty Shades of Grey Collections can be seen this weekend on the ABS Holdings stand at the ETO Show, which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham.