＂Scarlett's New York＂ with Director Scarlett Johansson ｜ ELEANOR THE GREAT

Hi, I'm Scarlett Johansson, the director of Eleanor the Great, and I'm here to share how New York City played a role in my first feature film. I mean, I love movies that are valentines to New York and all the landmarks there. I wanted to sort of make a new kind of valentine to my New York. I'd always been interested in capturing Yorkville as a neighborhood in New York City. It was predominantly a Jewish neighborhood, always. When I was growing up, we would go to some of the German Jewish delis there and restaurants there that are still actually there. I felt like it's a part of New York that doesn't normally get highlighted, but it's quite cinematic. You know, June and Erin, they were living in the same kind of furnished rental slash hotel type of like long-term stay. They had an open door policy. They were watching 48 hours together every night and, you know, eating pizza and just hanging out. And so they already had the basis of the foundation of their friendship. And I think they have such wonderful chemistry on screen. I mean, they really both like light each other up. I was just fortunate I didn't have to help them get there. You know, June and Erin really, really love each other and care about one another. I think because we shot in winter and because our footprint was so small, we were able to be pretty nimble around the city and had very few issues. I would say the only curveball that we got thrown was that the outside of Tribeca Loft that belonged to Nina and Roger, the building right next to it was owned by a very, very, very, very, very famous pop star, female pop star. There were hordes of paparazzi and fans, which we were initially terrified, like, oh my God, what are all these people doing, waiting for us? But in fact, they were just looking at the apartment building of this very famous pop star. And so I think they thought that we were also documenting this pop star's house. We had a wonderful relationship with the Shoah Foundation, who gave us a lot of helpful insight regarding Bessie's survivor story and some of the other elements of the film that involved Jewish identity. I mean, even Jessica Hecht was such a great resource for us and her relationship with the temple that we shot at, Rodef Shalom. They were wonderful. Rabbi Ben there was awesome. He was so helpful and so warm. And it was a wonderful relationship that we formed. So shout out to Rabbi Ben. My grandfather actually grew up on Coney Island and in Coney Island. And so, yeah, I spent a lot of summers in Coney Island and all of its sort of decaying glory, I think. You know, now that part of the city has a little bit more steam, but I think it's profound. I think that Eleanor visits Coney Island and she's not looking at all the things that are different because it does look so different than when she would have spent her time there. When she looks at the place, she says, it's just like it was, which still moves me, you know, because it's the spirit of the place that she's responding to. Part of it is that, like, despite its impossibility, it's kind of like the only place you want to be because it's so vibrant and diverse and the impossibility of it makes it feel like a real place. You know, there's an amazing senior community in New York. My grandmother was a part of it and she lived independently forever until finally I was like, Grandma, I think it would be great for you to, like, meet some other people, you know, your age. You could, like, the idea of a cafeteria was pretty exciting for her. She was like, yeah, that sounds pretty good. It's like a diner that, you know, is always there. But she lived alone forever. I mean, until she was in her, you know, mid-80s. She was part of the Tenants Association. She, like, ran part of the ballot board. Like, she really was so proactive in the community and that's such a part of the heartbeat of New York.