Scarlett Johansson Discusses Her ‘Eleanor The Great’ Directorial Debut

“I am taking a little bit of time to have some perspective to understand, not only what is going to be fulfilling for me as an artist, but also what audiences want to see - how audiences want to watch movies.”

That is how today’s top movie star Scarlett Johansson feels about her ever-evolving Hollywood career. Starting out in the business at a rather young age, she has remained a consistent box office draw - from her many years playing Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to recently joining the Jurassic World film franchise. Plus, her acting achievements have been recognized with Oscar nominations - both in 2020 with Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit. Now, Johansson, 40, is expanding upon her creative opportunities with her feature film directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.

Starring June Squibb, the Sony Pictures Classics film (playing only in select theaters starting September 25) tells the story of Eleanor, an elderly woman who strives to find connection and purpose later in life - ultimately finding it in the most unexpected of places. Co-starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Erin Kellyman and Jessica Hecht, Eleanor the Great examines love and loss during our modern times, as Johansson effectively guides this production within her directing role.

I sat down with Johansson to discuss her latest project, her experiences as a first-time director and her current priorities around her ongoing entertainment career.

Jeff Conway: Scarlett, how did this directing opportunity come about for you and what was it about this Eleanor the Great story from Tory Kamen that ultimately made it the ideal project for you?

Scarlett Johansson: Celine Rattray, who is one of the producing partners of me then - Trudie Styler is her partner and they’ve produced a lot of great independent movies, but I had worked with her less than 20 years ago to direct a short for New York, I Love You, which was like a compilation of short films. It was like the sister project of Paris, Je T’Aime. She knew me in that capacity and brought this to me with June attached to it. They had been working on it for, I don’t know, four years or so. I think Tory wrote it with June in mind. I wasn’t necessarily looking for something to direct. I have a production company in New York called These Pictures. Sometimes, things come up for me to direct, but it’s just so rare that an opportunity would come up - material comes up that I feel I have something to contribute to this as a director, and I can do it and I see how to make it. It just doesn’t really happen very often, but I was really interested to know what June Squibb wanted to star in as a 94-year-old actor and what she wanted to contribute all that time to. And so, I didn’t have any expectations when I read the script. Of course, it starts out with this devastating loss and then we follow this woman as she’s sort of finding her way through a city feeling invisible, as a woman in her nineties and just out of her element. The story takes such an unexpected turn. I was so leaned in and it just felt like it would be a really compelling challenge, I think, to put all of these puzzle pieces together.

The result, hopefully, would be that the film could lead with compassion and also resolve there. It sort of feels impossible - what she does, and then the challenge is to have an understanding, empathy and compassion for it. It seemed like the right thing for me, because it had many elements of films that I loved. It felt like it could be an homage to some of the independent films I loved in the mid-to-late 90s that were New York-centric, kind of character-driven stories. It had such an opportunity to showcase June and I don’t think I would have been able to work on something that didn’t have that kind of showcase for an actor.

Conway: I’m curious then, Scarlett - before production even began on Eleanor the Great, were there any types of extra shadowing or research that you did to further your confidence in taking on this feature film directing role?

Johansson: I mean, it was really about bringing together a group of people that I dreamed of working with and really to assemble a crew of people that were as experienced, I think, and as confident on a film set as I am. I don’t mean to say, as a director, of course, this is my first feature, but I’ve worked for such a long time that I knew I had to assemble a team of people that have worked as long, because it’s so hard to make something of this size. It really is in some ways more challenging than making something a hundred times the budget. It’s a particular challenge, of course, working with limited days, limited materials - in New York in the winter with actors that were - a lot of the actors are in their seventies, eighties, nineties. There was a lot that had to go into preparing this film, so that it was as seamless as possible. I knew that meant just having to surround myself with people that were overqualified, you know? That’s the work of our production designer, our first assistant director, our amazing director of photography, our composer, my editor - all of those elements were key in making it work.

Conway: Can you recall a particular day or scene on the film’s production when you remember really feeling like you happily found your footing in effectively guiding this production?

Johansson: You know, I would say the first week was hard in the sense that everything was going fine, but I started to become aware of - it’s like - okay, we’re making our days, the performances were excellent, everybody was working really well together and then I started to think about, like how to piece everything together and just understand the process of how am I going get in and out of it? What are the transitions going to be? How can I see the film in my mind? I’m not just doing scene work. All of this work will piece together and how do I transition in and out of stuff? It felt like I wasn’t getting enough coverage and that really weighed on me. It was like - oh wow, I’m supposed to fix that problem. Once I figured that out, I would say the second week when I could come in and say this is how I envision - we’re coming from this scene and we need this type of movement, or I want it to be this static shot and then this is how we’re going to end it on this wide or whatever - then that will lead into the transition from that side. I had a shot list, but once I started filling it out, I understood everybody’s looking at me for those answers - I felt like I was in a better shape.

Conway: So Scarlett, can you speak to your wonderful cast here? I mean, you have June, whom you spoke of already, but Erin, Jessica, Chiwetel. How did their skills and collaboration with you make for a real difference while filming this together?

Johansson: I mean, each one of those actors works very differently and they need different - they’re looking for different conversation, information from me to help them to make the discoveries as they do in each scene. I will say that, this was really my dream cast. I mean, Jessica Hecht was the first person I thought to play the character of Lisa and the fact that I actually got to work with her in this capacity was so rewarding because we worked together as actors and she is just a powerhouse.

Chiwetel, of course, I was so ecstatic when he agreed to do the film. I’m such a fan of his work and I can’t even imagine any other person doing this part.

Erin was an amazing discovery that was brought to us by Ellen Lewis, our extraordinary and legendary casting director - and of course June, which she is just like a race horse. I was so fortunate to have actors that love to work. They love the process of discovery. They’re excited to do the scene work. They are engaged in figuring it out together - that part of the work was such a pleasure. It reaffirmed my love for acting. It was great. It was really special.

Conway: Being a seasoned actor yourself, Scarlett, did you find hat having your extensive background in front of the camera helped you better guide your actors on the film, knowing how they often think and strive to maneuver best around a set?

Johansson: Yeah, certainly. I mean, I think that is what I have to offer. It’s funny - going into prep, I’ve never had to direct actors before and my producing partner very sweetly gave me a book called Directing Actors. I was like - oh, that’s cute! You forget that a lot of times directors that aren’t actors, I think, spend a lot of time trying to understand how to talk to actors. I realized at the beginning, like I had been talking to actors for 30 years. I didn’t realize that would be an added bonus, but it really is. I’ve loved working as an actor with other directors that are actors. I’ve had only great experiences doing it. I think because you do share the same vocabulary. You’re so used to watching and listening, that it kind of feels that capability is within you. It’s not so much effort.

Conway: Now with Eleanor the Great coming to theaters on the big screen, Scarlett, what are you cherishing most about seeing all of your passion and all of your hard work now here and starting to be shared with moviegoers everywhere? How does that feel to you?

Johansson: It’s exciting! This project has been a labor of love from the very beginning. It’s really hard to get movies like this - small, independent movies based on an original script - lead actor who is in her nineties. All of the elements in this film - they’re not easy to put together. From the very beginning, you face a lot of your problem-solving. And so, to finally be able to share the movie with audiences - it’s a movie that’s really an experience when you see it with other people in a theater, because I find it to be very moving. Being able to move through all of those emotions of grief, loss, friendship, forgiveness - the kind of human connection, the family history that you’ve experienced - all of that you experience with a group of people and being moved with a large group of people is, I think, what going to the movies is all about. I hope that people do get the opportunity to see it in the theater, because it’s an experience. It’s exciting to share it with everybody. I can’t wait to hear it from strangers that they saw it.

Conway: Scarlett, a question I like to ask entertainment creatives that we the public have seen for years now - Who is Scarlett Johansson in 2025? What brings the greatest purpose and passion to your days lately?

Johansson: I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’ve worked a lot this past couple of years and had a very productive couple of years. For the first time now, I have space around what I kind of want to spend my time doing. I have two young children - and so, how I spend my time has different meaning than it did before. I think I am taking a little bit of time to have some perspective to understand, not only what is going to be fulfilling for me as an artist, but also what audiences want to see - how audiences want to watch movies. That’s all important to me - it’s as important to me as doing work that’s artistically fulfilling. I think I’m just kind of taking a moment to step back and just have some perspective on it.

Conway: Lastly then, Scarlett, if you could speak to characters Eleanor, Lisa, Nina and Roger after seeing this Eleanor the Great cinematic world play out on the screen, being the director that you are here, what would you tell these people? Is there something that you feel that they would appreciate or benefit from hearing or knowing from you, the dedicated observer you are, from the outside in?

Johansson: What would I say? I mean, that’s an interesting question! What I hope audiences take away from the movie at the end is that grief looks different for different people. Everybody has their own way of processing it. I think that this film and the characters in it really lead with compassion. I would probably thank the cast of characters for reminding us to have compassion and empathy for one another, and that you don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s living room, you know? Pass judgment and not look deeper because it means that we have to kind of look inside ourselves. I hope that the audience has that experience of greater understanding of humanity and the forgiveness that is so important. Somehow now, it feels like more than ever.