10 Films Directors Regret Making
9. Fifty Shades Of Grey - Sam Taylor-Johnson
2015's big-screen adaptation of hit erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey cycled through a bevy of name filmmakers such as Patty Jenkins, Bill Condon, Bennett Miller, Steven Soderbergh, and Joe Wright before finally landing with on-the-rise director Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy).
The film was ultimately panned by critics and Taylor-Johnson received a Worst Director Razzie nomination for her work, yet her filmmaking was certainly totally competent, if unsurprisingly unable to elevate an atrocious script.
Though the director was reportedly paid over $2 million for her work and initially approached to return for the two sequels, she opted to walk away due to her difficulty working with the series' author, E. L. James.
In a 2017 interview with The Sunday Times, Taylor-Johnson revealed that while she couldn't quite bring herself to say out-loud that she regretted the experience, that's basically what she feels in retrospect:
"I can never say I regret it because that would just finish me off... With the benefit of hindsight would I go through it again? Of course I wouldn't. I'd be mad... It was a struggle and there were lots of onset tête-à-têtes, with me trying to bat it into the [right] place. I like everyone - and I get really confused when they don't like me. I was so confused by E.L. James. I don't understand when I can't navigate a person, when there's no synergy."