Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has revealed she faced significant pressure to strip the Holocaust narrative from her feature film directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.
Backer Threatens to Pull Funding Over Plot
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Johansson disclosed that during pre-production, one of the film's financial backers threatened to withdraw funding unless she removed all plot elements relating to the Holocaust. The film stars June Squibb as a retired Jewish widow who mistakenly joins a Holocaust survivors' group and continues the pretence.
"I mean, if they'd said, 'I'll only back this if you shoot in New Jersey', or 'We need to get this done by the spring', then that would have been one thing," Johansson stated. "But they were objecting to what the film actually was." She argued the core premise was inseparable from its subject matter, asking: "[The film] had to be about what happens when someone gets caught in the worst lie imaginable; if not the Holocaust, then what could it be?"
Standing Firm and a Last-Minute Rescue
Johansson refused to make the demanded changes, leading the backer to drop out and leaving the project's budget uncovered. "It was really shocking, and I was so disappointed," she said. However, the film was saved at the eleventh hour when Sony Pictures Classics stepped in as distributor, allowing filming to proceed.
In the same wide-ranging interview, Johansson also reiterated her support for filmmaker Woody Allen, for whom she starred in three films between 2005 and 2008. "I love Woody. I believe him, and I would work with him any time," she said, echoing comments from 2019. Allen has faced long-standing allegations of sexual assault from his daughter Dylan Farrow, which he denies. He was investigated in the 1990s but never charged, with the New York Department of Social Services stating at the time it found "no credible evidence" to support the allegation.
Reflecting on the Disney Legal Battle
Johansson also reflected on her high-profile breach of contract lawsuit against Disney in 2021. The suit concerned the studio's decision to release Black Widow simultaneously in cinemas and on Disney+, which she argued impacted her potential earnings. The case was settled out of court for a rumoured $40m (£29.7m).
She expressed a wish for more industry support during the dispute, noting the shift in compensation models. "As we moved from the model of theatrical box office bonuses to understanding how that translated to streaming, it had just become this nebulous thing," Johansson explained. "So to be able to impact that moves everything in the right direction. But yes, I would welcome more support."
