Scarlett Johansson & June Squibb On 'Eleanor The Great'

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Fresh Air spotlights Eleanor the Great, a humorous, emotionally complex film about grief, loneliness, Holocaust memory, and the ethics of storytelling. Scarlett Johansson explains why she directed it, cast real survivors, and moved behind the camera after years of acting, while June Squibb reflects on aging, comedy, and her long career. The conversation becomes a meditation on intergenerational connection and reclaiming voice.

Main Topics: The premise and moral tension of Eleanor the Great: The film centers on a 94-year-old widow who, in grief and isolation, tells her deceased friend’s Holocaust story as her own—creating a lie that is both deceptive and a bid for connection. The hosts and guests discuss how the film balances humor with ethical seriousness. Casting June Squibb and portraying older women with agency: June Squibb discusses being drawn to Eleanor because she was vivid, funny, and revealing. The film positions a 94-year-old woman as a lead character with wit, anger, tenderness, and emotional complexity rather than backgrounding aging. Scarlett Johansson’s move from acting to directing: Johansson explains how watching Robert Redford direct The Horse Whisperer and later gaining confidence through acting, motherhood, and years of experience helped her feel ready to direct her first feature. Holocaust memory, testimony, and the use of real survivors: Johansson chose to cast actual Holocaust survivors in support-group scenes to avoid falseness and to honor the dwindling survivor population. Both guests stress the importance of preserving testimony and confronting historical loss. Intergenerational friendship and emotional healing: The relationship between Eleanor and Nina becomes a bridge across age and grief. Johansson links the script to her own bond with her grandmother, and Squibb notes that young and old friendships can be natural and meaningful. Career longevity, typecasting, and artistic reinvention: Both women reflect on being boxed into narrow roles earlier in their careers—Johansson as an object of desire, Squibb as a stage comedian—and describe how they pushed into more substantial work through persistence and selective choices.

Key Arguments: The film’s central lie is morally complicated, but it grows out of loneliness and a desire for human connection rather than simple malice. Humor is not used to minimize the Holocaust story; instead, it emerges from the script’s Jewish family rhythms and Squibb’s comedic timing. Casting real Holocaust survivors was essential to avoid inauthenticity and to honor a generation whose population is rapidly diminishing. Johansson argues a director must avoid judging characters too quickly; the audience should ultimately be led toward empathy and compassion. The film treats older women as emotionally layered protagonists, challenging Hollywood’s tendency to render them invisible. Johansson believes confidence as a director came from accumulated life experience, including motherhood and years of observing directors at work. Squibb says careers in film and theater require self-advocacy; no one else will rescue an actor from being typecast. Intergenerational relationships enrich both creative work and personal life, as seen in Johansson’s bond with her grandmother and Squibb’s friendships with younger people.

Data Points: Age of Eleanor / June Squibb in the film: 94 - The lead character is a 94-year-old woman navigating grief and invisibility; Squibb is also 94 in real life. Years away from Manhattan: 40 - Johansson describes Eleanor as moving back to Manhattan after 40 years away. Career span: Over 60 years - June Squibb has worked for more than six decades, gaining wider recognition after Nebraska in 2013. Oscar nominations: 2 - Scarlett Johansson is described as a two-time Oscar nominee. Directorial debut: 1st feature film - Eleanor the Great is Johansson’s first time directing a feature. Broadway debut year: 1959 - June Squibb says her Broadway debut was in Gypsy in 1959. Film production length mentioned: About 6 months - Johansson recalls The Horse Whisperer shooting for probably six months. Age when Johansson starred in The Horse Whisperer: 13 - She mentions being 13 when she worked with Robert Redford on the film. Years since conversion to Judaism: In the 1950s - Squibb says she converted to Judaism in the 1950s after marrying a Jewish man.

Pivotal Quotes: "We are homeless now. Nowhere to stay. Nowhere to sleep." — Narration/intro: Opening framing of the broader theme of displacement tied to development in Lagos, before the Fresh Air interview begins. "I think it was pretty obvious. Obvious that was necessary because when you start to talk about casting people for it, it just felt kind of like a phony." — Scarlett Johansson: On why she cast real Holocaust survivors in the support-group scenes. "You have to talk about the things that make you sad." — June Squibb: Advice Eleanor gives Nina in the diner scene, reflecting the film’s theme of confronting grief and silence.

Implications: The interview frames Eleanor the Great as a rare mainstream film that centers older women, historical memory, and moral complexity. It suggests audiences are hungry for stories that value lived experience, while also underscoring the urgency of preserving Holocaust testimony.