n a recent interview, acclaimed actress and now-director Scarlett Johansson disclosed that a key financier withdrew support from her debut film, Eleanor the Great, after she refused to alter its central Holocaust-related storyline.
The revelation comes amid the film's successful rollout, including a world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and its current theatrical release.
Johansson, who is Jewish and has spoken about losing family members in the Holocaust, described the incident as "shocking."
According to the director, the unnamed backer suggested changing the plot so that the protagonist, a 90-year-old widow played by Oscar nominee June Squibb, gets caught in a lie about "something other than the Holocaust," but offered no alternatives.
The story follows Eleanor as she navigates grief by inadvertently joining a Holocaust survivors' support group and adopting her late friend's experiences as her own, leading to themes of identity, deception, and intergenerational connection.
