PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3

Spanking, sex and submissives sellout story "Fifty Shades of Grey" steps closer to its silver screen incarnation.

It's now got a director.

Sam Taylor-Johnson has been handed the reins of the erotic adaptation of the EL James novel that took the world by storm.

Taylor-Johnson most recently directed "Nowhere Boy" in 2009 about John Lennon's childhood in Liverpool.

The Fifty Shades story centres on the sexual relationship between a mysterious businessman and a college student.

The British media dubbed it "Mummy Porn", but the book broke records.

The Fifty Shades trilogy has sold more than 70 million books and e-books worldwide, according to James' official website.

Ever since its publication two years ago the showbiz world has been consumed with speculation over who would play its main characters in the movie.

Talk of Taylor-Johnson's young husband Aaron playing the main