Johansson's Directorial Debut Is Dumped

Scarlett Johansson has suffered a major blow to her dreams of becoming a director -- the film segment she shot for a new movie has been cut from the final version.

The 24-year-old was among a number of stars, including fellow actress Natalie Portman, who took part in making upcoming film New York, I Love You -- which is a series of love stories all shot by different directors.

But Johansson's contribution, her directorial debut, has been edited out, with producer Emmanuel Benbihy insisting the short was too "conceptualized" to fit in with the rest of the picture.

He tells New York Post gossip column PageSix, "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.
"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.

"I was very much moved by her vision (but) 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."