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Key Points

Dakota Johnson is stepping behind the camera for her first feature film, collaborating with autistic actress Vanessa Burghardt. She’s prioritizing female-driven stories through her production company, TeaTime Pictures, while vowing to avoid toxic work environments. Johnson acknowledges the changing landscape of film success beyond traditional box office metrics. The actress-turned-filmmaker remains passionate about telling complex, unconventional stories.

Key Points: Dakota Johnson Directing First Feature with Autistic Actress Vanessa Burghardt

  • Dakota Johnson to direct debut feature with autistic actress Vanessa Burghardt
  • Film will be female-centric under her TeaTime Pictures banner
  • Johnson emphasizes avoiding toxic sets in Hollywood
  • Success metrics shifting beyond box office numbers
3 min read

Dakota Johnson talks about directing her first feature, avoiding toxic sets

Dakota Johnson discusses directing her debut feature, collaborating with Vanessa Burghardt, and prioritizing female-centric stories through TeaTime Pictures.

"I can’t waste time on toxic sets anymore. – Dakota Johnson"

Washington DC, July 7

Dakota Johnson, who is known for 'Fifty Shades of Grey', 'Black Mass', 'How to Be Single', and many others, shared her plans for directing her first feature based on a script by an autistic actress she has acted with in a film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"I think I will direct a feature, a very small one, hopefully soon. And it's really close to my heart and very close to TeaTime. We're making it with Vanessa Burghardt, who played my daughter in Cha Cha Real Smooth. She's an incredible autistic actress, " she said in an interview.

The star shared, "I've always felt that I'm not ready to direct a feature. I don't have the confidence. But with her, I feel very protective, and I know her very well, and ... I just won't let anybody else do it," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

As a director, Johnson has already directed the Coldplay music video "Cry Cry Cry" and the short film "Loser Baby."

She wants to continue telling female-centric stories through her TeaTime Pictures and avoid "toxic sets."

When asked what attracted her to do TeaTime projects, she shared, "Usually, it's something that is either visually or emotionally provocative. And I don't mean that in a sexual way. I mean it in the sense that it provokes something that is different from what you see on TV right now or on streaming platforms. A lot of them are also female characters. So it's female-centric films where the woman is different from what you see, and complex and nuanced, and maybe an anti-hero that you love," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"I can't waste time on toxic sets anymore," Johnson said. "With producing, that's one of the perks," she added.

"Now, ... being a producer and developing my own films, I can choose all the people," she said.

She also shared that the parameter to measure the success of projects is changing, "I think that the barometer for that is shifting right now. It's hard to measure success based on box office numbers now, because it's so all over the place," she said, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Johnson added, "It's really hard to make movies right now and to get people to believe in what you want to say. I don't think movies will save the world, by no means, but I do think it's nice to have them around."

Johnson made her film debut at the age of 10 in Antonio Banderas' 1999 movie, Crazy in Alabama. In 2010, she appeared in David Fincher's The Social Network. Her recent credits have included the likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter (2021) and Carrie Cracknell's Persuasion (2022). She next stars in Amazon's Michael Showalter-directed romance thriller Verity, opposite Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Interesting how she talks about avoiding toxic sets. Bollywood should take notes - our industry needs more professional work environments, especially for women technicians and actors.
A
Ananya R
While I appreciate her intentions, I wonder if she has enough experience to direct a feature film? Directing shorts/music videos is very different. Hope she collaborates with seasoned technicians.
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Vikram M
The part about measuring success beyond box office numbers resonates. Our OTT platforms have shown that content can be successful without big openings. Quality over masala!
K
Kavya N
More power to women telling women's stories! ♀️ We need this energy in Indian cinema too - tired of seeing the same stereotypical female characters in every movie.
S
Sarah B
As an autism mom in Mumbai, this makes me emotional. When will we see mainstream Indian films with authentic autistic characters instead of caricatures? Representation matters everywhere.

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