She was breathless. He was stoic. Then the lift door closes on them. The ending of the hotly anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015 left legions of women yearning for more.
This year, the burning desire was fulfilled with Fifty Shades Darker which reunites our favourite bachelor Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and young, innocent Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) in yet another rollercoaster ride of passion, lust and even love. Now, you can relive their steamy romance. But before that, let’s take a look at some facts of the movie you might not know.
1. Being intimate doesn’t come easy
Unless they are a real-life couple, shooting an intimate scene can get uncomfortable between actors. Both Johnson (Anastasia Steele) and Dornan (Christian Grey) have different “pre-game” ritual before any sex scenes. Johnson would down a glass of Whiskey while Dornan would do push-ups to get ready. Additionally, they would have a private conversation with each other to work out the scene.
2. Sorry guys, it’s a closed set
All the steamy, sex scenes were actually shot in a closed set with just Dornan, Johnson and two directors. The camera was propped on a crane and remotely controlled, to give the actors more space to perform at ease.
3. Work that body
When Dornan was cast for Fifty Shades of Grey, he only had five weeks to prepare before shooting begins. He was not satisfied with his physique back then. For the sequel, he has almost two years to get ready, and he worked out hard. If you compare his body between the first and second film, you can see a difference.
4. Just a little bit sexier
There was backlash following Fifty Shades of Grey that Dornan’s Grey was not as hot as described in the book. There was even a petition pleading for Dornan to sport some stubble. It worked. In Fifty Shades Darker, he wears a light stubble on his face, and got tanner to project a manlier look. Dornan was all for it. When he was shooting the first movie, he shared, "Shaving every day sucks," he said. "It's also a weird psychological thing, but . . . I feel very exposed and naked with a shaved face."
5. The Spy who almost got away
The immense success of the book has led to a massive amount of fans. Some are pretty fanatic, one super-fan in particular, actually engaged a spy to infiltrate the set, pretending to be a personal assistant. She began to rouse suspicion until director James Foley couldn’t take it any longer, “Somebody started a conversation with her, and something seemed weird, and we discovered that she was a spy for a fan on Twitter.”
6. Mother and daughter
There’s a scene in the movie where Ana said, “I don't expect you to fetch me coffee unless you're getting some for yourself, and um, the rest we'll just make up as we go along." This was the exact same line that Dakota Johnson’s mother, Melanie Griffith said in the 1988 movie The Working Girl.
