Scarlett Johansson on making directorial debut with June Squibb in "Eleanor the Great"

Our next guests, they are award-winning actors who are pushing boundaries in their new film. It's called Eleanor the Great. Scarlett Johansson steps behind the camera to direct the movie, which stars June Squibb. Now, this is Scarlett's directorial debut in a feature film. How does she do? It follows 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who after the loss of her best friend, moves to New York City to reconnect with family. So she ultimately wanders into a Holocaust survivor support group and finds herself in the middle of a lie that has very, very serious consequences. In this clip we're gonna show you, Eleanor gives advice to a new friend who is also grieving. If there's one thing I've learned, and you can write this down in your notebook, you have to talk about the things that make you sad. Jews fled Poland and never talked about what they went through. They just kept it moving, and there's some good in that. But it can just eat you alive. 80 years later, and you'll still be there. Oh! You got me. We're happy to say that Scarlett Johansson and her leading lady, June Squibb, join us in the studio. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Guys, I love this movie so much. I was saying to both of you that Eleanor the Great, I thought it was gonna be a historical piece. It is not, because sometimes I like to go in with no preconceived notions. This movie is so good, so, so, so good. Thank you. It tugs, got me feeling all the tings, but June, I wanna start with you, since this was this one's first directorial debut on a feature film. How did she do, and were you nervous when you found out that she was gonna be a first-time director? Did you guys know each other? We didn't. You did not. No, okay. And I've worked with other first-time directors, and it doesn't, I mean, I never think much about it, to be honest with you. But- How did she do? She did beautifully. How? Why? Such a leader, and she worked from the standpoint of the knowledge she had as an actor, which was great for me. Uh-huh. And it was just a wonderful experience. It really was very easy. On the set? It really was. Well, the director sets the tone. They do. I like when we were reading the lead-in, Scarlett and I said, you know, the consequences of a lie, and Tony goes, it's not really a lie, it's an emotional truth, which I think Tony's a good way to describe it. And, you know, I hope that at the, the hope is that at the end of the film that the audience has compassion and empathy for Eleanor's, you know, her, what she's going through, and understands why she does what she does. I mean, that's the, if I did my job right, that's the goal, you know? Yeah, well, I think mission accomplished, although you were very mean to your daughter in the beginning of the film. Yeah, you're kind of an impossible- She's a snippy lady. So that's actually what my question is. A snippy lady. I know it's called acting, but your character is so punchy and salty that as a director who has to interrupt and say, okay, we're going to try it again, Scarlett, was that hard? I mean, June is so hilarious also as Eleanor. Like we really had, like the, the crew had to muffle their laughter because Eleanor is impossible. She's so, she's, you know, she's, like you said, very salty. Her timing is so good too with her delivery. I mean, that's Miss June Squibb, but you have, I mean, you know what? June is so different than that woman. I mean, thankfully. And June, speaking of June, this character is very complex, but we understand behind the lies, there is grief. And playing this complicated character, you said when reading the script, by page two, you knew this role was for you. How? It was well-written, which is not always the truth. The case, right. With film scripts. And I just felt this was a woman that I understood and that I thought she was so human. I mean, all these different things about her and you don't get that very much, you know, when you're working the scripts, either stage or film. I'm fascinated, Scarlett, by your journey to be a director because you are a very successful actress, very good at what you do. But I'm told that when you were 12, you started thinking, is directing something I want to do? Working with Robert Redford, is that story true? Yeah, it is true. I mean, I had never worked with a direct, I think part of it was that he was, I was also acting opposite him, and so I got to- What was the movie? It was called The Horse Whisperer, which he directed and starred in with Kristen Scott Thomas and Sam Neill and Chris Cooper and Diane Wiest, had an amazing cast. And I think just watching him so seamlessly move between our very intimate conversations about performance and then seeing him command this huge set with beautiful animals and extraordinary DP, Bob Richardson, and he had such an amazing command of the crew. And I thought that's a really, that job seems pretty interesting. I know, but at 12, you thought that, at 12. I did, I think I thought that I would act until I was an adult and then I would direct. And then I, you know, life had other plans for me. I think I got to be in my early 20s and I was curious about getting better at that job. And so I didn't, and I think it all happened at the right time. I don't think I could have directed this when I was 25, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it all came at the right time. Well, I, you know, we're running out of time here, but I think people should see this movie in the theater because I think it's such a quiet film and the soundscape really is what brings you in. And when you feel the emotion, you feel it really deeply, I think in part because what you're hearing is so powerful. I think also, I appreciate that because we made it for the screen, but I'd also, I think being able to have a really cathartic experience in the theater with the other, with audience members is the reason we make movies. And with real Holocaust survivors in this movie. Yes, that's true. I thought that that was very key. Yes, yes, that also I think deepens the impact of those, of the emotional moments. And again, I think just being able to cry it out with a dark room full of strangers and, you know, is an amazing experience. It's why we go. In this big, big blockbuster driven world, what is it like to receive this type of love for a film that really has captured like the minds and also the hearts of the viewers? And that's original. Yeah, that is original. Oh, I mean, you know, I think when the script came in June, you know, I was so curious to know what is June Squibb, you know, interested to star in at this stage of your career and it was so clear that this was an amazing showcase for June, an original idea. A showcase for you. A showcase for me, certainly an opportunity, I think, to really make something original that felt like a little gem, an homage to those movies I loved from the 90s. It really is a gem, Scarlett. Congratulations in June. You're gonna, a final question for you and then we'll say goodbye. What's it like being a leading lady at 94? I wanna be you when I grow up. Why not? I mean, it just seems like what I should be doing. Life is good, back to Broadway. I am. Me, am I gonna be? No, I mean, there's absolutely no, I was saying to June, I said, I couldn't eat catering for that long. No way. Congrats to you both, congrats to you both. Thank you. Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb, we thank you. Eleanor, The Great opens in theaters this Friday. Tony's right, you gotta see it on the big screen.