New Career Path? ScarJo, Oh Helm No

Scarlett Johansson is a direct-to-DVD diva in her film directing debut

By Jefferson Reid May 02, 2009 4:10 PMTags
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In Hollywood, everybody and their pool boy wants to direct. So it's no surprise that Scarlett Johansson has the itch to get behind the lens. Especially since she's been hanging around with Woody Allen.

But apparently talent doesn't transfer by osmosis, because Johansson has been bounced from her directorial debut, a segment of the multidirector movie New York, I Love You (which does include sections by Natalie Portman and Bret Ratner). But Johansson's segment starring Kevin Bacon reportedly "was really bad, so it was cut."

At least that's what one insider told the New York Post's Page Six, who also deemed it "unwatchable."

But the film's producer, Emmanuel Benbihy, told the gossip column that gonging Johanson's segment was something more like creative differences. He said that in a group project conceived as a series of intertwined love stories, Johansson's story "did not specifically involve an interpersonal relationship, and it was conceptualized to be filmed in black and white—both of which were extreme departures from the other films."

OK, so she's not a wiz at following directions. But on the positive tip, he added, "Scarlett presented me with an extremely compelling, albeit unconventional, narrative that appeared as though it would not necessarily conform to the overall approach of the entire collective."

ScarJo's segment will be available on the DVD. But maybe going direct to DVD wasn't what Johansson imagined for her directorial debut. Ah well, there's always blowing your nose for worthy causes if this directing thing doesn't work out.