Word of mouth is good on Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great.” The actress’ directorial debut has been submitted for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. We now have a first look (above).
Starring June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Erin Kellyman and Jessica Hecht, “Eleanor the Great” tells the story of a 90-year-old woman, trying to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend, who decides to move back to New York City.
Squibb, 95, is coming off a buzzy performance in last year’s sleeper indie hit “Thelma.” She’s been acting since the ‘50s, and was Oscar nominated in 2014 for her supporting turn in Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska.”
Based on what I’ve heard about “Eleanor the Great,” the film’s producers decided to skip potentially premiering the film at Berlin, Sundance and SXSW because they believed the film had a good chance at being accepted for this coming May’s Cannes. We’ll see if that occurs, and if not, there’s always TIFF, Telluride or Venice.
