Dakota Johnson is having a large 12 months. Now not handiest is she a part of one of the crucial season’s large awards contenders in The Misplaced Daughter, however she’s additionally simply debuted her corporate’s first two motion pictures on the Sundance Movie Competition, AM I OK? and Cha Cha Actual Easy, which she produced and stars in, too.
The tasks are fairly other: In AM I OK? she performs a personality in her early 30s in Los Angeles who’s wondering her sexuality and working out who she is and needs to be, and in Cha Cha Actual Easy she’s the younger mom to a teenage daughter who’s autistic, who develops a novel dating with a 22-year-old performed by way of the movie’s writer-director, Cooper Raiff. Each motion pictures are in the hunt for a distributor.
Johnson spoke to The Related Press about this new section in her occupation and the advantages of being a manufacturer. Remarks had been edited for readability and brevity.
How are you feeling that each motion pictures have screened for Sundance audiences?
We have been so excited to visit Sundance. It’s a truly large deal. They’re my corporate’s first two films and we made them each all over the pandemic and we really feel so proud. We truly care about them and the folks concerned. So, it’s unhappy but it surely’s cool to have them be digital as a result of a large number of those that I didn’t know would have the ability to see it are attaining out, in order that feels just right.
Do you’re feeling a way of possession of those tasks otherwise being a manufacturer?
Completely. The article I cherished essentially the most was once the modifying procedure and scoring and colour and issues that I by no means get to be curious about as simply an actress. I to find myself incessantly bumping up towards that just a little in my occupation. I truly care about my task. I really like my task such a lot. And once I really feel like my task as an actor or my participation within the venture ends the day I depart set, it may be truly tricky. It may be truly unhappy whilst you don’t see anything else or pay attention anything else till or perhaps you’re going to do ADR (re-recording audio) otherwise you see it pop out and from time to time it’s no longer what you concept it was once going to be or it’s no longer the film you signed directly to. It may be painful for my creative procedure. So this was once truly satisfying and satisfying in some way that I truly experience.
Had you been in need of to start out your individual corporate, TeaTime Photos co-founded with Ro Donnelly, for some time?
I all the time sought after to do extra. I all the time sought after to make my very own films. We began it nearly 3 years in the past. Ro, my trade spouse, was once an exec at Netflix. We have been buddies first and I used to be identical to, “I wish to do that and do you wanna do that with me?” And that was once a large factor as a result of I used to be mainly like, “You want to depart your very protected, comfy, robust task and take an opportunity on me”… It’s cool as a result of now it’s truly roughly thriving and it has a existence and it has a heartbeat.
What did you hook up with in AM I OK?
I there have been a couple of issues that I cherished, however I believe it was once the theory of a lady in her 30s nonetheless working out who she is. And I truly love the theory of other folks being allowed to do this for his or her entire lives in the event that they wish to. I don’t assume it’s lifelike to have the whole lot discovered by way of a undeniable age. I cherished the theory of anyone being afraid in their sexuality and the reality of it. After which the feminine friendship facet, I appreciated that form of extra intense subject material was once infused in a form of pal comedy.
AM I OK? was once already within the works by the point you got here on however with Cha Cha, you have been truly there from the start, proper?
We evolved it from it simply being the theory of a identify of a film. Cooper and I truly fleshed out the discussion and the characters and we fought so onerous to get that film made. We forfeited our charge. He forfeited his charge in order that shall we find the money for to make the movie. And I simply really feel so extremely proud that it will get to be curious about a competition like Sundance. It’s an actual reward, even though that was once like the top of the road for the film, which like, I truly (expletive) hope it’s no longer.
May just directing even be for your long term?
I do love the theory of constructing my very own film, however I stay discovering myself feeling like I’m nonetheless finding out.