It’s such a wonderful, weird, witchy little magical place,” Dakota Johnson says. She’s happily ensconced in the bohemian offices of TeaTime Pictures, the production company she launched with former Netflix exec Ro Donnelly in 2019. Posters for classics like Breathless and Harold and Maude line the walls; a disco ball glitters above the dining room table; a collection of Spice Girl Barbies sits whimsically on a shelf in the kitchen. “I am just so allergic to a corporate office, and I think being in a home environment does something different for creative people.”
Johnson and Donnelly began their collaboration in hopes of making the kinds of movies they wanted to see. Success came swiftly: Their 2022 film Cha Cha Real Smooth won the Sundance audience award and was released by Apple TV. That same year, Am I OK? was acquired by Warner Bros. and HBO Max. Their 2023 drama, Daddio, which starred Johnson and Sean Penn, was released by Sony Pictures Classics. Their most recent release, Splitsville, was another critically acclaimed debut at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. They also launched the TeaTime Book Club in 2024, with Johnson selecting one read each month.
It’s an impressive run, particularly at a time when making independent films has become harder than ever. This coming year, they’ll be gearing up for Elaine May’s Crackpot, a comedy starring Johnson, as well as Johnson’s feature directorial debut: A Tree Is Blue, which stars Jessica Alba and Charli xcx. “I don’t want to talk about directing,” Johnson says. “The pressure is too much. I’ll crumble.”
There are plenty of other topics to discuss—including the uphill battle Johnson and Donnelly have faced to be taken seriously, why they launched a book club, and how they hope to go bigger and braver in the years to come.
For more of the industry’s biggest movers and shakers, read Vanity Fair’s “37 Hours in Hollywood” portfolio.
Vanity Fair: You’re both accomplished in your own work. Was it tough to get the industry to take your production company seriously—to prove this wasn’t just an actor vanity project?
Dakota Johnson: Oh my God, it’s like absolutely bananas. I need to choose my words wisely right now. Even just getting the company started was a struggle, because I think initially people go, Well, what does she know? Oh, she thinks she’s a producer? She doesn’t know anything. That’s just kind of how people view actresses. It’s different with men; it’s different with actors. It’s so easy for them, and it’s so difficult for us. It’s just a fight. It’s a constant fight to keep our company alive, make projects. I don’t even know how to explain it without throwing anybody under the bus.
