Dakota Johnson is having a giant 12 months. Not solely is she a part of one of many season’s huge awards contenders in The Lost Daughter, however she’s additionally simply debuted her firm’s first two movies on the Sundance Film Festival, AM I OK? and Cha Cha Real Smooth, which she produced and stars in, too.
The initiatives are fairly completely different: In AM I OK? she performs a personality in her early 30s in Los Angeles who’s questioning her sexuality and determining who she is and needs to be, and in Cha Cha Real Smooth she’s the younger mom to a teenage daughter who’s autistic, who develops a novel relationship with a 22-year-old performed by the movie’s writer-director, Cooper Raiff. Both movies are looking for a distributor.
Johnson spoke to The Associated Press about this new part in her profession and the advantages of being a producer. Remarks have been edited for readability and brevity.
How are you feeling that each movies have screened for Sundance audiences?
We have been so excited to go to Sundance. It’s a very huge deal. They’re my firm’s first two motion pictures and we made them each through the pandemic and we really feel so proud. We actually care about them and the individuals concerned. So, it is unhappy however it’s cool to have them be digital as a result of lots of people that I did not know would be capable of see it are reaching out, in order that feels good.
Do you are feeling a way of possession of those initiatives differently being a producer?
Absolutely. The factor I beloved essentially the most was the modifying course of and scoring and colour and issues that I by no means get to be concerned in as simply an actress. I discover myself typically bumping up towards {that a} bit in my profession. I actually care about my job. I really like my job a lot. And after I really feel like my job as an actor or my participation within the undertaking ends the day I depart set, it may be actually tough. It may be actually unhappy when you do not see something or hear something till or possibly you are going to do ADR (re-recording audio) otherwise you see it come out and typically it is not what you thought it was going to be or it is not the film you signed on to. It may be painful for my creative course of. So this was actually gratifying and fulfilling in a means that I actually get pleasure from.
Had you been wanting to begin your personal firm, TeaTime Pictures co-founded with Ro Donnelly, for some time?
I at all times wished to do extra. I at all times wished to make my very own motion pictures. We began it nearly three years in the past. Ro, my enterprise companion, was an exec at Netflix. We have been mates first and I used to be identical to, “I want to do this and do you wanna do this with me?” And that was a giant factor as a result of I used to be principally like, “You need to leave your very secure, comfortable, powerful job and take a chance on me”… It’s cool as a result of now it is actually sort of thriving and it has a life and it has a heartbeat.
What did you join with in AM I OK?
I there have been a couple of issues that I beloved, however I feel it was the thought of a girl in her 30s nonetheless determining who she is. And I actually love the thought of individuals being allowed to do this for his or her complete lives if they should. I do not suppose it’s lifelike to have all the things discovered by a sure age. I beloved the thought of anyone being afraid of their sexuality and the reality of it. And then the feminine friendship side, I appreciated that type of extra intense material was infused in a type of buddy comedy.
AM I OK? was already within the works by the point you got here on however with Cha Cha, you have been actually there from the start, proper?
We developed it from it simply being the thought of a title of a film. Cooper and I actually fleshed out the dialogue and the characters and we fought so laborious to get that film made. We forfeited our payment. He forfeited his payment in order that we may manage to pay for to make the movie. And I simply really feel so extremely proud that it will get to be concerned in a pageant like Sundance. It’s an actual present, even when that was like the top of the road for the film, which like, I actually (expletive) hope it is not.
Could directing even be in your future?
I do love the thought of making my very own film, however I maintain discovering myself feeling like I’m nonetheless studying.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
