A very jet-lagged Scarlett Johansson reunited with co-stars Adam Driver and Miles Teller for the New York Film Festival premiere of “Paper Tiger,” which kicked off the festival’s 64th edition.
“I’m hallucinating,” said Johansson, who just got off a long international flight, where she’s filming another movie. “It’s 5 in the morning — which is a great time to be doing an interview on stage.”
“Paper Tiger” premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival. However, this marked Johansson’s first time watching the movie (at least in a festival setting); she missed the Cannes premiere because she was shooting yet another movie, “The Exorcist: Martyrs.”
“Don’t rub it in!” Johansson joked about her absence on the French Riviera.
Set in 1986, “Paper Tiger” follows two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl, whose get-rich-quick scheme to help clean up the Gowanus Canal lands them in the crosshairs of the Russian mafia. Johansson plays Linda, wife of Teller’s character.
Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller and Adam Driver introduce “Paper Tiger” during the 64th New York Film Festival.
Getty Images for FLC
Before the screening began, Gray took the stage and consciously kept his intro remarks short and sweet.
Gray praised the producers and actors who helped bring the film to life and reflected on his early dreams of being a filmmaker.
“I can’t help but remember my mother and father when I said I wanted to be a movie director. ‘How are you ever going to do that?’ And here I am,” Gray said. “I’m not sure the lesson in that.”
NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim introduced Gray as “one of the great living American filmmakers” and praised the director for championing a “singular” artistic vision.
“It’s not easy to make personal films in the current landscape of American cinema,” Lim said. “The fact that there are 24 executive producers credited on this film, like, who speaks to that.”
“Paper Tiger” filmmaker James Gray (center) with the film’s stars Roman Engel, Miles Teller, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Gavin Goudey.
Getty Images for FLC
