Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Director Sam Taylor-Johnson has been chosen to film `` Fifty Shades of Grey , '' the best-selling erotic novel about a 27-year-old billionaire and a naÃ¯ve college student , Universal Pictures said Wednesday . Taylor-Johnson , a British photographer and visual artist , garnered laurels as a director in 2009 when she made `` Nowhere Boy '' about John Lennon 's young life . The film raised her profile as the movie received four BAFTA nominations , including one for outstanding debut by a British writer , director or producer , and another for outstanding British film . She later married the film 's star , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , who is 23 years her junior . Last year , writer Kelly Marcel was selected to write the screenplay adaption of the book by British author Erika Leonard , who wrote the novel under the pen name E L James . Marcel is also known for her work on the Amblin/FOX-TV series `` Terra Nova . '' `` Fifty Shades of Grey '' relates a young woman 's sexually explicit liaisons with the young billionaire . The story is part of a trilogy . The trilogy has been translated in 45 languages and sold more than 32 million copies in the United States . CNN 's JD Cargill contributed to this report .
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson gained fame in 2009 for 'Nowhere Boy ' about John Lennon . The film was a critical and commercial success but the director has since said he regrets making it because of its'sensationalism'.