Oh no! Serious director Scarlett Johansson has had her first-ever behind-the-camera effort cut from New York, I Love You, the upcoming ensemble movie consisting of eleven ten-minute NYC-centric love stories shot by acclaimed auteurs like Natalie Portman and Brett Ratner. Why was hers left on the editing-room floor? Please allow producer Emmanuel Benbihy to try to explain:
“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 … 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.â€
That is certainly one theory! But let’s see if the Post’s anonymous “insider†can’t explain it better using fewer words:
“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 … 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.â€