Sam Taylor-Johnson Talks About Jamie and Dakota

JANE CAMPION: When I met you, I was really struck by how beautiful you are. You have a curious strength and humanity, kindness, and vulnerability. I know you must be ambitious, but there's nothing of the male-directed machine about you. Clearly you have your opinions, but you're not at all aggressive in your manner. Is that how things work with you on the set with your collaborators, as a director? How do you get what you want?

SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON: With a movie like this, I had to build trust and make Dakota and Jamie feel secure that they'd never be violated or put in a position where I was going to take advantage. I had just a few weeks to build an enormous security blanket around the three of us. Whatever we did was a discussion and a place of love and safety. Not too far from what we were talking about, really.

JANE CAMPION: With Dakota, it's easy to understand, because women are so used to being objectified sexually, but for Jamie, was that a struggle for him at all?

TAYLOR-JOHNSON: I think Jamie was definitely a little shy. His wife, Millie, just had a baby about four days, I think, before we started shooting. To be in the head space of a new father, very protective of the world, and then to step into this role of powerful dominant—it took enormous courage for him to be able to do that and be naked and be sexual at a time when he was feeling very different. I think both of them struggled with the nudity and the sex. They were both fully aware that that was what they signed on for, but when it comes to that moment, both of them were terrified of where we were going to go. Everyone said, "What was the chemistry like? Was it powerful?" As you well know, when you're shooting an  incredibly erotic scene, you've got your gaffers and your grips and your lighting and your sound. [Campion laughs] It's hard to create that intimacy.

Read full interview HERE
via @Shades_Blog