'50 Shades Of Grey' Ready To Heat Up Theaters This Weekend
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Movie theaters are about to heat up with the release of "Fifty Shades Of Grey," which is opening just in time for Valentine's Day weekend.
Screaming fans lined the red carpet hoping to catch a glimpse of actors Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, who attended the world premiere of the film Wednesday in Berlin. The highly-anticipated film adaptation of the best-selling book by E L James was screened as part of the Berlin Film Festival.
Johnson portrays innocent college student, Anastasia, who is both dazzled and intimidated after meeting billionaire Christian Grey, played by Dornan. Their attraction comes with strings attached and more.
'50 Shades Of Grey' Ready To Heat Up Theaters
Dornan said the themes of bondage and control are part of the story, but not all.
"At the center of it is sex, and it's a specific type of sex for the most part, but I do think at the very core of it it's a love story," Dornan said.
The characters explore their own limits, "really trying to figure out at what lengths do you go to for a person that you love," Johnson said.
The crew felt enormous pressure to keep the film true to the books, but Johnson said she blocked out the hype and leaned on her famous family, CBS2's Suzanne Marques reported. Her parents are actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith; Hitchcock star Tippi Hedren is her grandmother.
"I'm lucky to have two women who support me and I can go to for advice," Johnson said.
The most intimate scenes were shot last, with Ana exploring Christian's secret world, including the power to decide how far is too far.
"I really wanted it to feel like I had empowered her by the end," director Sam Taylor-Johnson said.
The film is already getting a big thumbs-down from religious and other groups who say it is degrading to women and endorses sexual violence.
One social media campaign is encouraging would-be movie-goers to donate their ticket and popcorn money to women's shelters, while Roman Catholic bishops are using it as what-not-to-do guide to marriage.
Even as screenings sell out in advance, critics, including the American Family Association and National Center on Sexual Exploitation, are pushing for boycotts, saying they were compelled to speak out because of the attention the movie, with its scenes of bondage and sadomasochism, has attracted.
That is unlikely to happen. The ticket-buying site Fandango has said pre-sales have propelled the movie into the company's all-time Top 5 for R-rated selections, and fans of the book are giddily building the big-screen version into Valentine's weekend plans.
1010 WINS' John Montone hit the streets to find out who will be seeing the movie.
"It didn't do it for me," said Dina, who won't be seeing the movie after reading the book.
"I'm going to go see it hoping that we're going to act some of the scenes out ourselves afterwards," said Nico, who plans to take his wife -- who read the book several times -- to see the movie this weekend.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
