Scarlett Johansson is sitting on the director’s chair, and she’s not shy about admitting her first day wasn’t easy.
The Oscar-nominated actress made her directorial debut recently for the film Eleanor the Great, which follows Eleanor Morgenstein (June Squibb), a 94-year-old Floridian woman who recently moved to New York City after her best friend died. The plot is actually based on the true story of screenwriter Tory Kamen’s late grandmother, who moved to Manhattan at age 95 after the death of her best friend. While inspired by a real person, the script is a fictional work.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Johansson and the cast of Eleanor the Great sat down with the Los Angeles Timeson Sunday to talk about the movie. The 40-year-old actress and director admitted how stressful and “challenging” the first day on set for Eleanor the Great actually was.
“We were outside in Coney Island. It was cold. The crew hadn’t had the time to bond or anything like that. We certainly didn’t have enough time to figure out what we were doing. It’s hard to do that when you’re outside and there’s the general public,” Johansson explained. “It was a little bit hectic. Technically, a challenging day.”
After explaining the story, the Black Widow star turned to the cast to apologize and explained that she “didn’t mean for it to end up like that,” while the cast laughed it off. “It bonded us. We were trauma bonding,” Johansson said with a smile.
Squibb, the star of the film, admitted that it was fun filming in Coney Island and Johansson added they got candy apples afterwards.
Meanwhile, Erin Kellyman, who plays Nina in the film, said that “this is what makes Scarlett a brilliant director, because I had a great time. I had no idea it was stress. I was just having fun.”
Is the first day on any set easy? Scarlett Johansson shares what it was like to start shooting #EleanortheGreat at the Los Angeles Times Studio presented by @RBC
Watch the full video at https://t.co/Yzo9u6Gdj4 #RBCXTIFF #TIFF50 #IdeasHappenHere pic.twitter.com/12MHpeSJHV
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 7, 2025
“Everything was great. Never mind what I just said,” Johansson joked and laughed with the cast and crew. “I take my apology back.”
Eleanor the Great will be out in limited theaters around the United States and Canada on September 26.
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