NEW Interview of Dakota with Yahoo!

EN Interview 1 - The build-up to the release of Fifty Shades of Grey has been so intense that advance ticket sales for the film set an all-time record. It's the kind of pent-up tension that parallels the intense erotic dynamic that is at the heart of the eponymous best-selling novel itself. Very rarely do big budget Hollywood films contain explicit sex scenes. It's even rarer still when a mainstream movie ventures into BDSM culture that is still a largely underground phenomena. But Fifty Shades is now ready to tantalise audiences with Jamie Dornan in the role of billionaire Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia.

Not since Last Tango in Paris and 9 1/2 Weeks has a film achieved such notoriety for pushing the sexual limits in a film that seems destined to become a massive box-office success. 

Dakota Johnson, whose mother (Melanie Griffith), father (Don Johnson), stepfather (Antonio Banderas) and grandmother (Tippi Hedren) have all enjoyed major Hollywood stardom, is very much aware of the high stakes nature of the film and how this is her chance to carry on a family legacy.

"I saw this film as a great challenge," Johnson, 25, says. "I've always admired by grandmother and mother for having done some extraordinary work and have played some very famous and substantial roles. They both pushed boundaries and they each made their mark in their acting careers. Although I didn't do this film specifically because I was trying to emulate that, I hope that maybe this film will help me make my mark, too."

The high expectations are for Fifty Shades of Grey are amplified and perhaps complicated by the fact the millions of fans of the book - overwhelmingly women - have already formed their own impressions of Grey and Anastasia. That perhaps explains why both Dornan and Johnson have seemed nervous and rather uncomfortable with each other in early interviews.

But with the release of the film at hand, both actors have started to look much happier and more relaxed and advance public screenings have seen audiences highly satisfied with Dornan and Johnson's performances as well as the screen chemistry between them.

With respect to Grey co-star Jamie Dornan and his view of the film's erotic impact, he had this to say: "I think it's sexy. I think it's erotic, but we stayed true to the love story above all, which is so important. Of course it's erotic, but you don't get a series of three books like that - a story that's spanned over three books, purely out of erotica."

Following her mother Melanie Griffith's divorce from Don Johnson of Miami Vice fame, Dakota grew up in Los Angeles where she was raised by her mother and stepfather Antonio Banderas along with her younger sister Stella, now 18.

Dakota's first acting experience came as a 10-year-old in Banderas's directing debut, Crazy in Alabama, where she and her step-sister Stella played the daughters of their real-life mother Melanie's character. 

Later, Dakota has small parts in films like The Social Network, 21 Jump Street, and The Five-Year Engagement. She also played in the TV series The Office. She is rumoured to be in a relationship with Welsh model/musician Matthew Hitt.

THE INTERVIEW

Q: Dakota, there's been a huge wave of anticipation surrounding this film. How does it feel now that it's finally arriving in theatres around the world?

JOHNSON: It's very exciting and I feel relieved that it's finally going to be seen. I'm proud of the work I've done in this film and proud of everyone involved. We've tried to make a film that has artistic integrity and is also going to appeal to fans of the book who have invested so much in their appreciation of it and now they're going to be able to see whether we've fulfilled their hopes. It's nice to see how anxious and excited people are about it.

Q: Do you see the story as something about a complex or daring sexual relationship or is their real romance at the core of it all?

JOHNSON: I think it's a incredible love story about a powerful man and a woman who undergoes this transformation and gains a greater sense of herself as the story evolves. I'm very proud of Ana. I see her as a strong woman who makes her choices and isn't afraid to enter into this journey she takes with Grey. She's intelligent and curious to explore this (BDSM) world which she knows nothing about. 

Q: What was your experience working with Jamie Dornan?

JOHNSON: Jamie was awesome! He was always very supporting and protective of me. We were able to laugh a lot while we were on the set and that made everything so much easier. I was very kind and gentle and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to be working with while we were doing those scenes and making the film.

Q: What was the biggest challenge of the film in terms of telling this kind of erotic tale and handling the more graphic sequences from the book?

JOHNSON: You're dealing with two components - the love story and the (BSDM) subculture - and you want to stay true to the fans who loved the book and worshiped certain moments. I think Sam (director Sam Taylor-Johnson) is a true artist who knew what she had to do to be faithful to the story and captures all the key components of the book that will satisfy the fans. She's been able to explore the sexual as well as emotional elements in a very beautiful way and made a film that will stand on its own.

Q: How did you deal with the nudity and shooting the various sex scenes?

JOHNSON: I didn't have a problem with the nudity. Women in general should feel less anxious and ashamed over their bodies and I hope maybe this film helps make a statement about being comfortable and secure that way.

I feel confident about my body and even though I'm a bit nervous that millions of people are going to see me naked I know that it's not me they're really seeing in a sense, it's a character that I'm playing and it's not the same as if they're watching me in my home.

Q: What was the hardest moment for you in the film?

JOHNSON: The most difficult moment was when I had my hands and legs tied while blindfolded. Since you have to do many takes you're still there tied up when the director calls cut and it's not as if you can just leave and go back to your trailer or chat with people on the set the way you would with other scenes. 

Even though (those scenes) were all very technical and choreographed and I always knew exactly what we were going to be doing in those moments, it was still hard to deal with and I you just want to do the work and get it over with. Those scenes left me feeling drained and I would only start to relax and feel normal again when I would drive home at night.

Q: Did you feel very exposed and vulnerable in every sense doing those scenes or did you eventually get used to it?

JOHNSON: You never get completely comfortable in those situations... When Ana's limbs are tied up, your senses sort of get taken away and you don't have all of your defence mechanisms, in a way.

So it was difficult and just so exhausting because it's not like it just happens once. Obviously, when you're filming you do it over and over again, so that day was a little rough. But it turns out looking really, really extraordinary. 

Q: Did you and Sam talk a lot to prepare for the sex scenes?

JOHNSON: Sam was very intent on bringing out the emotional backdrop to those scenes and creating an atmosphere where the audience would understand the context and what Ana and Grey were feeling and thinking. It was a way of giving the audience the right vibe about each of those scenes rather than just watching naked bodies.

Q: Would you prefer that your parents not see the film?

JOHNSON: At first I didn't want them to see it but now I'm wondering maybe it might be OK as long as they don't tell me! (Smiles)

Q: You're a natural blonde. Was it a shock to see yourself with dark brown hair?

JOHNSON: It was hard to get used to seeing myself with darker hair. But now I actually prefer this (dark brown) colour! I was blonde for 25 years and it feels very refreshing to change your look! (Smiles)

Source | Thanks to lovely JDornanLife for the help :)