Relative Unknown Chosen to Direct ‘Fifty Shades’

It was coveted by a range of big-time filmmakers, but a woman from the cinematic minor leagues won the job: Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct the film adaptation of the best-selling erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Universal Pictures and its arthouse division, Focus Features, announced on Wednesday.

The selection of Ms. Taylor-Johnson, 46, to handle the project was surprising because her résumé is slim; her only previous feature-length directing effort was in 2009, with “Nowhere Boy,” which took in $6.6 million at the box office.

But “Nowhere Boy,” a look at John Lennon’s adolescence, won strong reviews. One of her short films, “Love You More,” was also critically acclaimed.

“Sam’s unique ability to gracefully showcase complex relationships dealing with love, emotion and sexual chemistry make her the ideal director,” Michael De Luca, a producer of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” said in a statement.

Written by E L James, the book version of “Fifty Shades of Grey” became a publishing sensation because of its depiction of kinky sex, selling roughly 70 million copies in print and e-book formats worldwide. The novel follows the dominant-submissive relationship between a Seattle billionaire, Christian Grey, and Anastasia Steele, a college student.

“For the legions of fans, I want to say that I will honor the power of Erika’s book and the characters of Christian and Anastasia,” Ms. Taylor-Johnson said in a statement. “They are under my skin, too.”

Ms. Taylor-Johnson, who is British and is married to the actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Nowhere Boy,” the “Kick-Ass” series), and Universal will now turn to casting the lead roles.