--- description: The last word was a matter of debate between the book's author and the director title: E.L. James Had Final Say on the "Fifty Shades" Movie Ending image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf89b5a5821971a5a/69877d5fcd1bba591d6f5066/50-shades-of-grey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # E.L. James Had Final Say on the _Fifty Shades_ Movie Ending by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 6, 2015 12:55 PM CUT  Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan star in Fifty Shades of Grey Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan star in Fifty Shades of GreyChuck Zlotnick—Universal Pictures by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 6, 2015 12:55 PM CUT When _Fifty Shades of Grey_ opens in theaters next week, E.L. James will have the last word — and [as it turns out](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fifty-shades-grey-author-overruled-770424 "undefined"), that word was quite a matter of debate between the author of the books and the movie’s director, Sam Taylor-Johnson. James was given an unusual level of control over the movie adaptation when she sold her book rights to Universal, according to _The Hollywood Reporter_. So when she was unhappy with the movie’s ending as imagined by Taylor-Johnson, she demanded that one single word — albeit an important one — be changed. **Spoiler alert:** the debate came down to whether the protagonist, Anastasia Steele, would ask her lover, Christian Grey, to cease a consensual beating by saying “stop,” or using their safe word, “red.” James favored the former, Taylor-Johnson the latter. While Universal did not comment to _The Hollywood Reporter_, fans can see for themselves whether the true-to-the-novel ending works on Feb. 14. \[[_The Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fifty-shades-grey-author-overruled-770424 "undefined")\] ### Fifty Shades of Grey: TIME's Exclusive Portraits of the Cast and Director  Dakota Johnson (Anastasia “Ana” Steele) and Jamie Dornan (Christian Grey) photographed at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. Malerie Marder for TIME  Dakota Johnson (Anastasia “Ana” Steele) photographed at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. Malerie Marder for TIME  Sam Taylor-Johnson (director) photographed at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. Malerie Marder for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3698606/fifty-shades-last-word/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3698606/fifty-shades-last-word/"},"headline":"E.L. 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