‘Fifty Shades’ Author E.L. James on Her Book to Big Screen Success: ‘You Don’t Expect This’

James has already written another novel, but doesn’t know if it will be published anytime soon

After months of waiting, casting and planning on Universal’s part, the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie is about to finally start shooting — and author E.L. James is scared — really scared.

“I’m terrified. Completely. I’ve been terrified from the moment I published the book,” James said in an Entertainment Weekly interview published Thursday. “You don’t expect this kind of success. Even now it floors me. My only ambition for the books was to see them in bookstores. This is huge. And there is this passionate fandom; we need to get this right for them.”

See photo: ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’s’ Jamie Dornan, Dakota Johnson Cozy Up For Entertainment Weekly

If director Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Nowhere Boy”), stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, as well as the rest of the creative team working for the studio do not nail it, James believes fans will hold her responsible for their mistakes.

“They hold me responsible for everything,” she said.

See video: 5 Jamie Dornan Clips From Before He Became Christian Grey

But she trusts her partners at Universal Pictures. Though James said that one of the reasons she chose the studio over others is because Chairman Donna Langley “knows how to make a brilliant cup of tea,” a must for the British author.

Also read: Cameron Diaz Comedy ‘Sex Tape’ Moves Into ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Slot

James said she has another book written, but not sure when it will publish. It has sex in it, but is “very different from Fifty,” she said.

Speaking of sex (where this conversation was always headed), the writer later revealed her favorite intimate scene from “Fifty Shades of Grey”: the one with the necktie, the blindfold and the white wine. We swear, we have no idea what that’s all about.

See photos: Jamie Dornan Is Christian Grey: Meet the Sexy Star of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

Finally, on the subject of whether or not a woman, in this case Taylor-Johnson, was needed to direct the film properly, James said, “It just so happened that she’s a woman. This is a book for women. I wrote it for me.”

She added, “I think it’s great that a woman did the original [screenplay] adaptation, that we have a female studio head and a woman director. It’s kind of rare in this town, from what I’ve discovered.”

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