Scarlett Johansson has been acting for more than three decades, but when she read the script for Eleanor the Great, she knew it was finally time to take her talents behind the camera. "There were so many things about the story that were both surprising and attractive to me," Johansson, 40, told Us Weekly exclusively at the Cinema Society's special screening of the Sony Pictures Classics film at New York City's Village East Theater on Wednesday, September 24. "I think the intergenerational friendship was very, very moving to me. I was very, very close to my grandmother Dorothy and it's a relationship that you don't see often explored on film." Eleanor the Great follows a 94-year-old Floridian woman (June Squibb) who moves to Manhattan after the loss of her best friend and strikes up an unlikely friendship with Nina (Erin Kellyman), a college student interested in journalism. "I really became so invested in the characters and their success as the script went on," Johansson continued. "It was such a driving narrative, the story, and that also really stuck out to me as well." June Squibb in 'Eleanor the Great' Sony Pictures Classics/Courtesy Everett Collection Squibb, 95, brought over 75 years of showbusiness experience to her hilarious and heartwarming performance as Eleanor. "[June] is so incredible, professional and kind," the Marriage Story star told Us of what she learned from directing Squibb. "She's so lowkey, she's so easy to be around for the entire crew. It was just a reminder, really, of how important it is to show respect to your fellow crew members and just be nice to people. And how that really helps people want to do their best work too. She's a very kind person, and she's the best." Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost Pack on the PDA at Cannes Film Festival For her part, Squibb told Us that Johansson is a "wonderful director" - and she, in turn, learned a lot from working with the younger actress. "There was an ease to the way she worked, and I think she's had so many years in films that even directing the first time was not a hassle for her," Squibb said. "I learned that from her." Scarlett Johansson directing 'Eleanor the Great' Anne Joyce / (C) Sony Pictures Classics / Courtesy Everett Collection Working with someone who holds so many decades of experience under her belt also prompted Johansson to reflect on her own legacy and career goals. "I've been working since I was 8 years old. I mean, June also has been working since she was probably 17, [so] if I work as long as she [has], it [would be] about the same amount of time," the director told Us. "It's hard to envision what that could be. But I've had such amazing creative partnerships. Maybe I would still be working with inspiring creatives at that age. Why not?" Scarlett Johansson Says Robert Redford Inspired Her to Direct 1st Film While she said there's "so many people" she still wants to work with, Johansson comes back to the collaborations she values the most when thinking of future projects. "I'd love to work again with Wes [Anderson], Noah [Baumbach], I mean, they know that. Hopefully the feeling is mutual," she told Us. "I think the idea of continuing creative partnerships is very fulfilling." Eleanor the Great hits theaters Friday, September 26.