‘It Felt Incredibly Natural’: Dakota Johnson Speaks On Her Directorial Debut Loser Baby; Says She’s ‘Open To Making More’
Dakota Johnson made her directorial debut with Loser Baby which is set to premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. The Madame Web actress spoke to Deadline’s TIFF studio and shared her experience working as a first-time director. “I loved making this so much and I think it felt incredibly natural and intuitive to me,” she said.
Her short film Loser Baby revolves around Talia, a queer woman, who “starts questioning her relationships as her friends’ conceptions about commitment evolve,” as per the official synopsis. Johnson who is known for her roles in Fifty Shades of Grey and Netflix’s Persuasion also revealed her future directorial plans.
“I am open to making more things,” she said. However, she’s unsure whether she is at that stage now. “I feel like I have a lot of growth in that department and a lot to learn, and I by no means think I’m ready to go do that,” she added. But also confessed that she could change her mind anytime so it’s hard to predict.
Led by Thalia Bernstein, the story revolves around Talia who is stressed about her long-term relationship—a situation she expresses to her best friend Lee and that reaches a high point at another friend Ashley Madekwe’s birthday party. “It was definitely pulled from reality,” said Bernstein, who also wrote the script.
As someone who’s been in a long term queer relationship, Bernstein longed to see a story that authentically represented it. “I just wanted to explore that there are so many ways to be in a relationship,” she added. As for Johnson, she created a fun environment while directing the film.
The Persuasion actress revealed that she encouraged her actors to improv on set. Although the structure of the film was created to the T and everything from the script is in the short film, Johnson wanted to push the actors “a little bit further.”
Earlier during an interview with Variety, the actress revealed that she overdosed on caffeine throughout the filming. She recalled feeling creative, active and inspired only to realize later that she increased her caffeine intake. “It was, like, thousands of milligrams of caffeine coursing through our bodies,” Johnson revealed.