Scarlett Johansson’s burgeoning directorial career has suffered a major blow after her debut project, a segment in the upcoming anthology “New York, I Love You,” was reportedly cut from the film’s final edit, according to the NY Post.
The film’s producer, Emmanuel Benbihy, explained the decision to cut the segment, which starred Kevin Bacon; “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 further noted: “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.” Would producers actually spend valuable time and money on Johansson’s piece knowing full well that it was likely to be cut? Wouldn’t it be easier to ask her to bring another idea to the table or rejig her vision?
“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,” Benbihy added. “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.”
Sources from NY Post who had seen the footage were less complementary than Benbihy describing Johansson’s vision as “really bad” and “unwatchable.” Benbihy’s statement certainly smells like a PR-spin so we are slightly inclined to believe the latter (also because her film has been wiped off her IMDB page which seems rather fast for that slow-moving beast that generally can have incorrect info up there for months). Johansson also has a history of over-zealousness and over-ambition in her side-projects (see her cover of Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye). Along with Johansson, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s segment starring Carla Gugino and Goran Visnjic was also reportedly cut. Both will, however, feature in the film’s eventual DVD release. Either way, thank god Bret Ratner’s segment didn’t get cut.
“New York, I Love You” premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and is due out sometime in 2009, but there’s still no official release date yet. Here’s the original trailer that’s been completed for months, but since this one has footage of Bacon from Johansson’s vignette, expect some tweaks and a new version at some point.