Scarlett Johansson Questions Audience for Studio Projects

Scarlett Johansson says she weighs whether a film has an audience before accepting a role, and sometimes tells studios she questions whether a project should be made. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, she described projects without an identifiable audience as seeming irresponsible to produce.

Johansson said her decisions are not based only on what she personally wants to see. “Am I making something that other people want to see? Is there an audience for this movie? I’m not making a movie just for me,” she said. She added that she sometimes tells studio executives, “I don’t think you should make this. I don’t know who you’re making this for. It seems irresponsible to make this.”

She did not identify the studios, scripts or specific offers behind those remarks. Her comments addressed how she assesses projects and their intended audience; they did not name a filmmaker or an upcoming release as the target of her criticism.

Johansson has continued to work in both studio productions and independent films. She starred in the independent drama Paper Tiger, and has worked on major studio projects including Jurassic World Rebirth. Her remarks about considering an audience...