'They’re afraid!': Dakota Johnson exposes why Hollywood won’t back her directorial debut

Speaking to Deadline at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Johnson shared the first details of the film, which is written by actress and writer Vanessa Burghardt.

Burghardt, who starred alongside Johnson in Cha Cha Real Smooth, will also play the lead role in the film.

Praising her collaborator, Johnson said, “She’s a young autistic woman and a remarkable human. She wrote this story about what it’s like to be an autistic girl who just wants connection and independence, and is trying to figure out who she is in relation to other people.”

Johnson, who is producing her directorial debut independently, acknowledged the hesitation among financiers to back such a project.

“I think people are afraid to take risks and make an independent film written by and starring an autistic girl. For me, it’s a no-brainer, but it’s a big risk for a lot of people,” she said.

Commenting on today’s entertainment landscape, the Materialists actress remarked, “People are more inhibited when it comes to what they want to invest in and what they want to put forth in the world in terms of cinema and television. This film is a battle that I’m fighting, and I will fight until we get it out to the world.”

Johnson was last seen on screen in Materialists, co-starring Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal.