Scarlett Johansson reveals shock after being asked to drop Holocaust storyline from Eleanor the Great

A financial backer of Scarlett Johansson's feature directorial debut Eleanor the Great asked her to change the film's Holocaust-centered storyline just one month before production was scheduled to begin.

The financier requested that the main character lie about something other than the Holocaust, the Jewish American-Danish actress disclosed in an interview with The Telegraph published on Saturday.

Johansson said she was "really shocked" and disappointed by the request. She maintained the film's focus on Holocaust legacy, with Sony Pictures Classics eventually covering the financing shortfall.

The Hollywood star cast Holocaust survivors for her feature directorial debut, entertainment website People reported in September.