Dakota Johnson Calls Fifty Shades Of Grey Production “Psychotic”

Dakota Johnson has some thoughts on her breakout role in the Fifty Shades franchise and they are not...positive.

By Douglas Helm | Published

dakota johnson

Dakota Johnson made her name in Hollywood with her breakthrough role in the Fifty Shades of Grey series. Johnson starred opposite Jamie Dornan in Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, but apparently she “signed up to do a very different version of the film” and that the filming process was “psychotic” but that she doesn’t regret it.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Dakota Johnson revealed these details and more, talking about the turmoil on set throughout the filming process. It seems like one of the biggest issues was that E.L. James, the author of the source material books, had a lot of creative control and was constantly making changes. After Charlie Hunnam dropped out of the Christian Grey role that Dornan eventually took on, Johnson mentions that E.L. James scrapped the Patrick Marber penned script.  Sam Taylor-Johnson, who directed the first film, worked on bringing back Marber’s script and it was a constant battle to include scenes from that script and make the movie that E.L. James wanted.

Dakota Johnson went on to detail how different the experience of filming the second movie was since James Foley was brought on to direct. Taylor-Johnson had brought a woman’s touch to the director’s chair while Johnson said Foley had a “different energy.” Johnson went on to clear the air saying that she and Jamie Dornan were “treated very well” and the movie was “great for our careers.” It’s good that she doesn’t hold any regrets about starring in the Fifty Shades franchise, but it seems like Johnson is glad to be moving on to other projects.

As far as those other projects go, Dakota Johnson has a lot in the works. The first film she produced, Cha Cha Real Smooth, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and then on Apple TV on June 14. Johnson also starred in the film that was written and directed by Cooper Raiff. The coming-of-age film told the story of a Bar Mitzvah party DJ falling in love with the single mother of an autistic teen. Johnson also starred in and produced the film Am I OK? which tells the story of Lucy and Jane, lifelong friends whose friendship is tested when Lucy embarks on a personal journey. Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro co-direct the script by Lauren Pomerantz.

The last upcoming project that Dakota Johnson has scheduled for release in 2022 is Persuasion, a Netflix film based on the Jane Austen novel. It tells the story of Anne Elliott meeting the man she loved eight years after she was persuaded not to marry him. Carrie Cracknell directs the script by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow. That film is hitting Netflix on July 15, so you won’t have to wait long to check out Johnson’s next big role. Johnson also recently signed on to star in the upcoming Sony Spideverse film Madame Web, where she’ll play the clairvoyant mutant from the comics alongside co-stars Isabela Merced, Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts, Celeste O’Connor, and Tahir Rahim. That movie isn’t expected to come out until the summer of next year, so we’ll probably be getting some more projects from Johnson before then.