Eleanor (June Squibb, left) forges a connection with the 19-year-old Nina (Erin Kellyman) in "Eleanor the Great."
"Eleanor the Great" director Scarlett Johansson, left, poses with star June Squibb in New York on Sept. 22.
Scarlett Johansson behind the scenes of "Eleanor the Great."

NEW YORK − With her tender new movie "Eleanor the Great," Scarlett Johansson fulfills a lifelong dream.

The two-time Oscar nominee makes her directorial debut with the dramedy (in theaters Sept. 26) about a feisty Jewish nonagenarian named Eleanor (June Squibb) who moves from Florida to New York after the death of her best friend Bessie (Rita Zohar), a Holocaust survivor. She strikes up a friendship with an aspiring journalist (Erin Kellyman) at a meeting for Holocaust survivors, where Eleanor gets swept up in a well-intentioned lie about her own history.

Johansson, 40, first caught the directing bug at 13 watching Robert Redford work behind the camera on the set of 1998's "The Horse Whisperer." She later directed a short film and a branded music event for American Express but was reluctant to jump into a movie until now.

The only thing "holding me back would just be my own insecurity," Johansson says. "I know a lot of actors that would love to direct and would make fantastic directors. It's having the confidence to commit to your own point of view. As an actor, you're following someone else's vision, so it's not always so comfortable to make the leap to being in the position of making the decision."

With time, "you start to feel more empowered by that confidence. I'm a better communicator now than I was 10 or 15 years ago. It's just part of growing up."

Johansson is waggish and warm on a recent weekday morning, holding hands with Squibb, 95, as they huddle around a conference table. The two open up about friendship, aging and what Squibb has in common with Johansson's husband, "Saturday Night Live" star Colin Jost.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Question: June, what makes Scarlett such a great director?

June Squibb: For me, the best thing was that she was an actress who knew the processes you go through, so it was wonderful. I never felt pushed. She was helping me all the time.

Scarlett, what do you admire most about June as an actor?

Scarlett Johansson: Her curiosity. It's such an easy job to get lazy at in some ways; if you're a working actor, you kind of lean on your shtick. To be so dedicated to still making new discoveries after working for over 70 years is unique and incredibly inspiring. That’s why we work so well together: We’re both curious.

June, you've been trying to get this screenplay made for years. What do you love so much about Eleanor?

Squibb: She takes no guff. She's her own person, and nothing anyone does or says is going to change that.

Johansson: You’re so considerate as a person. June is very polite. It’s so funny to see you on set as Eleanor because it’s just so different.

Squibb: Frankly, it's easier to be nice (laughs). What do I have to be nasty about? But people that really know me very well – and I'm sure you will get to see this – see all of the negatives.

Johansson: Oh, I can’t wait. Nasty June!

Scarlett, you've said that the older you get, the less tolerance you have for unpleasant working experiences. How did that affect your approach to directing?

Johansson: Definitely the most important thing for me now, at this stage of my life and career, is transparency. As an actor, often I find I'm missing information about the day: the delays, what's upcoming, what challenges the set is facing. I like to know all of that stuff so I can prepare myself for what I'm walking into. You can certainly do it without the communication piece, but it's way unpleasant for everybody (laughs). It sucks.

Throughout your career, June, what is the biggest change you've seen in Hollywood?

Squibb: People are just interested in aging, which I don't think they were before, because we have become an aging population. Anything they can see or learn about the process, they want to know. And I guess that has a lot to do with the fact that we have 60-year-old leading ladies. I mean, that never happened before.

In the film, Eleanor says she still feels like she's 16. Do you feel the same?

Squibb: No, mine is 35. That's an age that just seems wonderful to me, and I always used to think of my mother as 35, even when she was much older than that. It’s a good age.

Johansson: You’re not in your 20s, which is a very hard time, but you’re also still young and hot! I think I could stick at 35. We’ll just keep that between us, June.

Squibb: The two of us, forever 35!

What's one lesson you learned from each other?

Johansson: June is just so lovely to everyone. It confirmed my belief that it’s important to be gracious on set. When the whole crew feels appreciated by the actors, it makes everyone happy to be at work and do their best work.

Squibb: We became friends and I didn't know that would happen, but we really did. It’s been a wonderful thing that has happened out of the film. We’re both very honest and say what we think, much to people’s chagrin.

How do you pass the time when you're not working?

Squibb: I’ve been doing a lot of Sudokus and the New York Times crossword puzzle.

Johansson: You and Colin! When I first met Colin, his grandfather's selling point was, “You know, my grandson can do the Sunday crossword in an hour.” He's so good at puzzles. The Times has a numbers one he does every day, but my brain can't process that.

Squibb: I’m really good at Sudoku. I took every math you could: algebra, geometry, trigonometry.

Johansson: But then you decided to become an actor? What the hell, June, you could have been a rocket scientist! It’s never too late.

Squibb: I think it might be for that!

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scarlett Johansson has a 'lovely' new friend in June Squibb: 'The two of us, forever 35!'

Reporting by Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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