Eleanor the Great with Scarlett Johansson and Frank Oz (Ep. 572)

The Director’s Cut - A DGA Podcast

Directors Guild of America

Tv & Film

4.6 • 806 Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Director Scarlett Johansson discusses her new film, Eleanor the Great, with fellow Director Frank Oz in a Q&A at the DGA theater in New York. In the conversation, she discusses how she sees table reads as essential to getting her Actors on the same wavelength, characteristics she looks for in a Directorial Team, and some of the lessons she learned from Directors when working with them as an Actor. The film tells the story of 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who moves from her Florida retirement community to Manhattan after losing her best friend of seventy years. Soon after, she meets a group of Holocaust survivors and feels compelled to tell a story about her past that takes on a dangerous life of its own. See photos and a summary of this event below: https://www.dga.org/events/2025/november2025/eleanorthegreat_qna_0925

Transcript

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0:00.0	I think for me personally, when I watch a film, I find deeper connection to the flaws in the characters than they do in their, you know, what's kind of resolved.
0:11.1	I mean, they're uglier parts or the parts that I want to see.
0:15.8	You know, it just felt real to me.
0:17.9	It reveals a part of Eleanor that's not the most attractive part of her.
0:22.6	And that's important to maintain, I think.
0:48.1	Yeah. Hello and welcome back to the director's cut, brought to you by the Directors Guild of America.
0:55.0	In this episode, a woman moves to New York City for a fresh start after a devastating loss, in director Scarlett Johansson's drama, Eleanor the Great.
0:59.0	The film tells the story of 94-year-old Eleanor,
1:03.0	who moves from her Florida retirement community to Manhattan after losing her best friend of 70 years.
1:09.0	Soon after, she meets a group of Holocaust survivors and feels compelled to tell a story
1:14.6	about her past that takes on a dangerous life of its own.
1:19.6	Eleanor the Great is Johansson's feature directorial debut.
1:24.6	Following a screening of the film at the DGA Theater in New York,
1:28.7	Johansen spoke with director Frank Oz about filming Eleanor the Great.
1:33.4	Listen on for their spoiler-filled conversation.
1:48.0	So I saw the film last night in a full house,
1:51.6	and same applause, and it was a beautiful piece of work.
1:52.7	Thanks, Frank.
1:53.4	Really was.
1:54.1	Thank you.
1:54.7	Really was.
1:57.9	Okay, I have actual questions here.
	...

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