Eleanor the Great (2025)

[BluBonnet]

Scarlett Johansson’s Directorial Debut ‘Eleanor the Great’ Sets Cast: June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht

Scarlett Johansson is assembling the cast of her directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great.”

June Squibb, the Oscar-nominated actor of “Nebraska” will be joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Broadway veteran Jessica Hecht and Erin Kellyman.

The movie, formerly titled “Eleanor, Invisible,” follows Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb), a 90-year-old woman trying to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades. Tory Kamen wrote the screenplay.

TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics, partnering for the first time, will release “Eleanor the Great” in theaters on a yet-to-be-determined date.

This is Squibb’s second recent starring role following the nonagenarian comedy “Thelma,” which sold to Magnolia following its Sundance premiere. Squibb’s other credits include “Palm Springs,” Pixar’s “Soul” and Amy Schumer’s series “Life & Beth.” She is repped by BRS/Gage Talent Agency.

[BluBonnet]

[Prohibida]

[BluBonnet]

ScarJo’s directorial debut selected for Cannes!!

[BluBonnet]

Why Scarlett Johansson Made Age an Issue With ‘Eleanor the Great’

Scarlett Johansson was behind the camera last year on her feature directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, fixated on the performance of title star June Squibb when she had a vision.

“I said to [one of my producing partners, Jonathan Lia], ‘If I do my job well and do what I’m supposed to do, I can imagine June walking the Croisette at age 95, starring in this incredible dramatic role that she’s so amazing in’ and I thought that would be my dream,” the veteran A-lister, 40, explains of being selected for the Cannes Film Festival. “To have it actually become a reality is amazing. I’m still processing it.”

Johansson has just days to wrap her head around what will be a milestone May with two films in the Cannes lineup. In addition to the Un Certain Regard world premiere of Eleanor the Great, Johansson will walk the Palais steps for Wes Anderson’s competition entry The Phoenician Scheme alongside co-stars Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benicio Del Toro, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Riz Ahmed, Rupert Friend, Hope Davi, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera and others.

But she’ll likely be clutching the arm of Squibb most tightly. Eleanor the Great casts the nonagenarian as Eleanor Morgenstein, a 94-year-old who suffers a devastating loss, leading her to relocate from Florida to New York City to live with her daughter and grandson. She unknowingly wanders into a support group, where she reveals a story that brings her a level of attention she did not intend. A young journalism student, played by Erin Kellyman, pursues her as a friend and mentor but the situation spirals, forcing Eleanor to confront the truth. The cast is rounded out by Johansson’s fellow Marvel alum Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jessica Hecht, with whom she shared the Broadway stage in A View From the Bridge (for which Johansson won a Tony).

Johansson, co-founder of These Pictures, recalls Tory Kamen’s script landing on her desk courtesy of Maven Screen Media veteran producer Celine Rattray with a personal note from Squibb, who was already attached. “Basically never or very, very rarely have I read a script and thought, ‘Oh, I know how I can direct this.’ It doesn’t really happen to me,” says the two-time Oscar nominee, who next stars in Jurassic World Rebirth. “This script was so moving and it had such potential that, weirdly, I felt very certain that it was something I could be capable of doing.”

[BluBonnet]

[BluBonnet]

At the Cannes premiere of her directorial debut

[BluBonnet]

+

[BluBonnet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozsNcDD2bAk

[BluBonnet]

[BluBonnet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ6l2ue--KA

[Samus Aran]

Eleanor the Great is tonight's Screen Unseen at AMC for those of you not on the East Coast (where it's just started).