“Paper Tiger” opens the New York Film Festival: Scarlett Johansson reunites with Adam Driver and Miles Teller

“Paper Tiger”, the new film by director James Gray, opened the 64th edition of the New York Film Festival on Friday (September 25, 2026) as the Opening Night title. On the red carpet of Alice Tully Hall, in the heart of Lincoln Center, paraded director Gray and the cast stars — Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson.

For Johansson, the evening also had a personal flavor: it was the first time she was seeing the film at a festival, having missed the world premiere in Cannes in May, when she was abroad shooting her next film, “The Exorcist: Martyrs”. The actress arrived in New York straight from the international shoots and did not hide her fatigue — joking on stage: “I’m hallucinating. It’s 5 in the morning, which is a great time to be doing an interview on stage.”

NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim introduced Gray to the audience as “one of the great living American filmmakers”. Adam Driver spoke warmly about the atmosphere on set: “There is a mutual admiration between the four of us… everyone feels free”; Gray added with humor that the crew was a “nauseatingly lovely” set.

The film is set in 1986 and follows two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl, whose plan to get rich quickly — cleaning the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn — puts them in dangerous conflict with the Russian mafia. Johansson plays Linda, the wife of Teller’s character. “Paper Tiger” opens in US cinemas on November 13, 2026, holds 85% on Rotten Tomatoes (over 60 reviews) and is already considered one of the early candidates of the awards season, including the Oscars, as Parade reports.