Big thumbs up to the producer for taking th ehigh road.SCARLETT Johansson's dream of being a director was dashed on her first try.
Johansson -- who's said in the past she'd prefer to direct rather than act -- helmed a segment for the upcoming movie "New York, I Love You," a series of intertwined love stories shot by several auteurs, including Brett Ratner and Natalie Portman.
But unfortunately for Johansson, her segment, starring Kevin Bacon and shot in black and white, was deemed "unwatchable," sources said.
"It was really bad, so it was cut," one insider told Page Six. Andrei Zvyagintsev's segment starring Carla Gugino and Goran Visnjic was also cut from the final edit.
But the film's producer, Emmanuel Benbihy, told us Johansson's bit ended up in the scrapheap not because it was bad, but because "the 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."
Benbihy 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 . . . However, I was very much moved by her vision and I did not want to pass on the opportunity to help her develop it. All that matters to me is the genuine movie language of the author."
He continued: "Scarlett and I nonetheless agreed that a final determination of its appropriateness in the context of the other contributions and the overall story would be best made in the editorial process. And after months of editing . . . I had to admit that there were editorial decisions to be made in the interest of serving the overall narrative and composition that resulted in previously filmed scenes and footage not getting used."
Johansson and Zvyagintsev's "visions" will be shown on the DVD, however.
Johansson -- who's said in the past she'd prefer to direct rather than act -- helmed a segment for the upcoming movie "New York, I Love You," a series of intertwined love stories shot by several auteurs, including Brett Ratner and Natalie Portman.
But unfortunately for Johansson, her segment, starring Kevin Bacon and shot in black and white, was deemed "unwatchable," sources said.
"It was really bad, so it was cut," one insider told Page Six. Andrei Zvyagintsev's segment starring Carla Gugino and Goran Visnjic was also cut from the final edit.
But the film's producer, Emmanuel Benbihy, told us Johansson's bit ended up in the scrapheap not because it was bad, but because "the 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."
Benbihy 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 . . . However, I was very much moved by her vision and I did not want to pass on the opportunity to help her develop it. All that matters to me is the genuine movie language of the author."
He continued: "Scarlett and I nonetheless agreed that a final determination of its appropriateness in the context of the other contributions and the overall story would be best made in the editorial process. And after months of editing . . . I had to admit that there were editorial decisions to be made in the interest of serving the overall narrative and composition that resulted in previously filmed scenes and footage not getting used."
Johansson and Zvyagintsev's "visions" will be shown on the DVD, however.
