The Observer - 25.08.2019

The Observer

25.08.19 7

Since leaving the art world to

become a fi lm-maker, Sam Taylor-

Johnson has shown impressive

range. Her debut feature fi lm,

Nowhere Boy (2009) , was a tender

depiction of John Lennon’s

childhood. She followed it with the

less tender Fifty Shades of Grey in

2015. Now she’s back with A Million

Little Pieces , an adaptation of James

Frey ’s scandalous semi-memoir

about his rehab after years as an

alcoholic and drug addict. Taylor-

Johnson co-wrote the screenplay

with her husband, Aaron Taylor-

Johnson , who also stars in the

fi lm. They live, most of the time, in

Los Angeles.

You read A Million Little Pieces when it

came out in 2003. It obviously stayed

with you?

Yeah, it did. I remember reading

it and being really overtaken by

it; I think is the right word. I was

in the world with him and on the

journey. Then when it got optioned

by whatever studio it was and it was

going to be made into a big movie

and there was this director and that

director, I’d always have a tinge of

jealousy. Even though I wasn’t a

fi lm-maker then, I’d be like : “What

an amazing piece of material to

have.” So I tracked it for a long time

and I’d always keep my ear to the

ground.

When you adapted Fifty Shades of

Grey, you had a lot of clashes with its

author, EL James. Did you go in more

cautiously this time?

When I heard the rights had come

back round to James [Frey], I got an

email address and I emailed him.

Sam Taylor-Johnson

Film-maker and artist, 52

He called me within 20 minutes

and said: “You want to make the

movie of my book? I don’t want

anything. I know you’re an artist,

I wrote it as art, go make it as art.

And be free!” So it was a dream. And

obviously that wasn’t necessarily my

experience before.

Frey was taken down by Oprah

Winfrey in 2006 after sections of the

book were shown to be made up. Is

the controversy that surrounded the

book an irrelevance now?

I don’t think it’s irrelevant. It’s

obviously something that’s part

of its history and that history has

been chequered, but it wasn’t

anything that we were going to deal

with. We did talk about whether we

should address it within the movie,

whether we should, I don’t know,

fi nish it with the [Oprah] interview

or something. But I just wanted to

make a fi lm purely of the book, what

that meant to me.

You’ve said before that you had

times yourself when you were

drinking too much. Did the book

resonate personally?

It resonated with me on a personal

perspective having lost people very

dear to me through troubles with

addiction. So it was more on that

level. And the pain of the loss of

friends never diminishes really. For

me, back in my art-school, art-world

days, it [drinking] was par for the

course. But not addiction; addiction

really is a very powerful disease that

people struggle with.

Aaron gives a wild, kinetic

performance as “James”. Were you at

all surprised by how far he went?

Obviously, living with him, I’ve seen

him go through lots of different

characters. And every character he

creates, if you like, it’s a two-month

process where he gently slides and

descends into the space in which

that character lives. So I’ve got to

admit, when we fi rst started talking

about doing this, I wasn’t relishing

the prospect of living with him. After

living with the Nocturnal Animals

creature [in which he played a serial

killer], that was tough. So I was

prepared for it, because I’d seen

what his devotion to a role is.

Fifty Shades of Grey made more than

half-a-billion dollars worldwide. Did

you expect more doors to open to you

after that?

Yeah, it is kind of crazy. I feel like

every time I do something I go to

back to ground zero. I have to bang

on the doors and I have to remind

people that I’m ready to work and

capable. Does it surprise me? Not

any more; I’m a little more savvy to

it and I understand how it all works.

People feel like it’s getting better, the

needle is moving, and a lot of people

are trying to be seen to hire more

female directors, so that does help.

But it’s still got a long way to go.

A Million Little Pieces was shot in just

20 days on a very tight budget. Was

that an eye-opener for some of the

cast? Or for you?

Well, when Billy Bob Thornton

arrived on the fi rst day he said, “Oh

God, this is the fi rst time I’ve had to

share a trailer in about 25 years.” But

he was still completely game on. And

personally I’d say it was probably

the most creative freedom I’ve had

as a fi lm-maker, and it was the most

exciting thing I’ve ever done. But I

would like more time next time.

Do you miss the art world?

I’m still very close to a lot of my

artist friends and I have a studio and

I haven’t stopped making work. I

just haven’t been showing it.

Why not?

It’s that thing : having exited it so

abruptly, you become a lot more

tentative about stepping back into it.

And now it’s gotten to a point where

whenever my next show is, it’s a

comeback! So I’ve got to make sure

it’s a good one.

What are the best things about living

in LA?

We live on a nature reserve , so I can

get up in the morning – we’ve got

three dogs – and I can go walking

at 6am for two hours and not see

anyone. I love living in LA because

it’s a city that’s right in nature and it’s

wild, which you don’t really imagine.

You also keep chickens. Would you

recommend them as pets?

I grew up with chickens and it’s

funny the things you scorn as a

teenager and then fi nd you do as an

adult. I remember not liking having

them and then here I am, I’ve got six

chickens. Six chickens, three dogs,

four kids ... yeah it’s a lot to juggle.

Interview by Tim Lewis

A Million Little Pieces is out on

30 August

‘I’ve lost

people very

dear to me

through

addiction.

It’s a very

powerful

disease’

The fi lm-maker

on adapting James

Frey’s controversial

rehab memoir, A

Million Little Pieces,

and the joy of

keeping chickens

Sam Taylor-
Johnson.
Photograph:
Henny
Garfunkel/NYT/
eyevine