CHRISTIAN: I have rules.
If you follow them, I'll reward you.
If you don't, I'll punish you.
Like, you'd use this stuff on me?
Yes.
LIAM HELMER: With this movie, I am going to be helping out the lead, Jamie Dornan,
and to some small degree Dakota Johnson and the director,
in bringing a real-world understanding of BDSM
into this film, Fifty Shades of Grey.
(GASPS)
SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON: You know,
there's a lot of misconceptions about that world.
And I think that having somebody
who comes from the world of BDSM
who explains very clearly to everybody
what it means, what the rules are,
and why there are rules.
Because when it's laid out in that way,
it becomes very different.
ANASTASIA: You're a sadist?
CHRISTIAN: I'm a dominant.
What does that mean?
CHRISTIAN: it means I want you to willingly surrender yourself to me.
Why would I do that?
To please me.
Try to keep an open mind.
If you agree to be my submissive,
I will be devoted to you.
BDSM. (SIGHS)
Um, most people will say it's bondage. Bondage, like tying people up.
Domination, as in one person is master
and the other person is submissive or subservient to them.
Sadism, where one person hurting another person.
And masochism for receiving that.
There's a literary tradition talking about BDSM
that really does stem back to the Marquis de Sade.
And that's stemmed through French literature, English literature
up until now.
So, it's not unusual for literature
to be pushing some boundaries this way.
Oh!
(SIGHS) Do you know why I'm doing this?
Because I rolled my eyes.
And is that polite?
(CHUCKLES) No.
I'm really, really happy that S&M is still alive.
(LAUGHS)
Honestly, I think it's an incredible thing.
Everybody has sex differently.
But for some reason
everybody wants to know about S&M.
MARCIA GAY HARDEN: I'm fascinated with the anthropological selection
for the erotica of domination.
That idea of submissiveness is erotic.
And Leakey, the great anthropologist,
who's done a lot of study about it,
saying that the more we enjoy sex, the more orgasmy...
The more we enjoy it, the better chance we'll have of keeping our mate
for longer to feather the nest.
(GASPS)
I just wonder if genetically, we didn't select for an attraction to that,
so that we wouldn't be brutalized by acts of great dominance.
Is this what you want?
TAYLOR-JOHNSON: This is a world of play and fantasy,
but it's very strictly boundaried.
And within that world, it's not dangerous.
There are safe words. "Red" and "Yellow."
There are limits, and there are contracts, which are signed.
When you said "negotiate,"
what did you mean?
CHRISTIAN: I already have a contract prepared. It's fairly detailed.
You would review it,
and we would negotiate what you are and are not willing to try.
HELMER: Pretty much everything in BDSM is pre-negotiated.
And there are certain boundaries to that.
So, pretty much everybody who's playing in the scene
has their own soft and hard limits.
So, a soft limit being something that is difficult for them,
but they can take occasionally if they have some pre-warning maybe.
And hard limit is something that they will never do. Period.
(CRYING) You'll never do that to me again.
HELMER: Crossing somebody's hard limits is very much a no-no.
And it's not something that anybody should be trying to do.
Pushing somebody's soft limits is something that people oommonly do.
And commonly, as part of a relationship,
the submissive wants their soft limits pushed.
CHRISTIAN: My tastes are very
singular.
You wouldn't understand.
Enlighten me, then.
MARCUS VISCIDI: When we met Liam, he gave us a very detailed plan
of this is what we have to do, this is where you have to go.
And I would say his agenda was a lot more extensive
than perhaps our agenda was,
but it was valuable information.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
So I'm pressing like this...
TAYLOR-JOHNSON: Especially for Jamie, it was incredibly helpful
to have somebody who he could say,
"Am I doing this right? Is this the correct way I should stand?"
"Is this the correct way I should speak?"
And then you're gonna lead her around by this. Mmm-hmm.
You don't wanna pull too tightly
or you could mark... Mark her wrist if you pull it too hard.
DORNAN: I felt the need to do some research.
We have, like, an adviser. A dominant, Liam,
who's been helping me with that kind of stuff.
You know I took from that what I felt was necessary for Christian Grey.
It's just beyond this door.
What is?
My play room.
I don't want to have that much knowledge
of the real fundamentals of a BDSM relationship,
because I really want the enlightenment
and the shock that Ana goes through.
I want it to be very real.
So, a lot of my research will probably come after this first one,
between this one and the second one.
I'm not exactlyjumping at the opportunity
to get whipped and tortured in your red room of pain.
That room is much more about pleasure.
Promise you.
DORNAN: The red room is basically a collection of
props and beds and cabinets and things
and then tools to allow him to get off on what he's into.
Harder.
That's great.
That doesn't hurt at all. It makes a great noise.
DAN SBSONS: You know, I was very interested in doing the red room of pain.
Not so much what they're doing in that room,
but creating a realistic, and very, very thoughtful way
of the objects and pieces and the actions that go on with them.
And I talked to a couple of people about this, Liam was one of them,
but there were some other people too,
is that if you're in that sort of scene,
if that's something that you're interested in doing,
and you had an unlimited budget,
what would you do? What would you have in that room?
TAYLOR-JOHNSON: What would a man of Christian's stature be using?
He would have something handcrafted from Japan flown in.
He would have things which were expensive.
He wouldn't be going to a low-end cheap sex shop.
SISSONS: Sam was very specific.
She wanted the leather to have the feel of like a very high-end...
Almost like a Hermes sort of feel to it.
She was very specific about color.
If you walk into a store that sells this sort of thing,
those colors don't exist really.
So, ultimately we ended up making pretty much everything.
We're being faithful to the Clayton hardware store red rope
that is like the right diameter for bondage.
Again, Liam has his input on that.
And we talked to him a lot about ropes
and about the colors, and the color was very carefully chosen.
And we made cuffs that are custom-built for Dakota's size,
that are a very specific color with all brass hardware.
And all the handles of the implements are walnut and hand turned
and we oil them and we make them look beautiful.
And so every piece is actually handmade
and that's how we're doing that.
HARDEN: This is a movie. This is a fantasy movie
that maybe will let each of us embrace the kinkier eroticism in ourselves
with greater ease and greater knowledge.
Christian is an expert at what he does.
And that's good.
So, I hope, "Don't try this at home, children,"
or at least read the labels first for people who are trying it.
This is what I want.
And I want it with you.
HELMER: Yes, I think it's absolutely possible to have
long-term stable relationships in this lifestyle.
Whatever lifestyle you choose,
having stable relationships is really more about
how you're able to communicate,
how you're able to express your own needs.
lcanleave. Do you want me to go?
No.
No, that's the last thing I want.
HELMER: Just like any kind of relationship,
if you can communicate, express your needs and get them met,
then that's really the key to happiness.
And it doesn't matter if this is BDSM or Leave It to Beaver, right?
I want you to be in the play room in 15 minutes.
(MOANING)