Forget the Grey, it’s the wonderful shades of green getting Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson all hot and bothered.
The stars of the phenomenally successful Fifty Shades of Grey movie are set to take home seven-figure salaries for appearing in the second film of this S&M-inspired trilogy.
Johnson and Dornan were paid a relatively modest $250 000 each to appear in the first film, but the pair are likely to command major bonuses and a significant pay increase after the film raked in a whopping $550-million at the box-office.
“It was a very basic franchise starter deal,” a source told Hollywood Reporter. “Look at Twilight and Hunger Games, and that's where it is heading.”
The big money offering may have played a role in Dornan signing up for a sequel. The actor’s wife reportedly had concerns about the impact his Christian Grey character would have on his future film career, and industry gossip suggested that Dornan was about to turn his back on the franchise.
However, when news of the lucrative contract surfaced, Dornan’’s representatives contacted the Daily Mail to inform them that Dornan was happy to do a kinky encore.
“Jamie is delighted that the film is breaking box office records worldwide and whilst the studio has not made any formal announcements about sequels, he is looking forward to making the next film,” they revealed.
Sam Taylor-Johnson however, won’t be sharing in the wealth. The film’s director is unlikely to take up the helm a second time after revealing the bad blood between her and the author of the Fifty Shades series of book EL James.
James, in her film deal with Universal, retained the rights on her creation and exercised them enthusiastically, demanding that the script be rewritten and that Taylor-Johnson inject more spice into the sex scenes. It led to many ugly, on-set spats between the two creatives.
However, since the first movie was a financial success, James is said to want to increase her involvement in the next movie, possibly writing the script herself.