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Jessica Alba and an iconic pop star tapped for Dakota Johnson's directorial debut 'A Tree Is Blue'

Alba, British singer Charli XCX in talks to star in Johnson's new film going on floors in November

'Sin City' star Jessica Alba and British pop singer Charli XCX are in talks to star in Dakota Johnson's 'A Tree is Blue', helmed by Johnson herself. The script is from Vanessa Burghardt, who is also expected to star. At the time of writing, there have been no plot details. The production is set to go on floors in Los Angeles in November. 

Johnson's previous directorial experience includes 'Loser Baby', which premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. She was last seen in Neon's Splitsville, where she served as a producer and in 'The Materialists' alongside Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. As for Burghardt, the actress is a first-time screenwriter known for starring alongside Johnson in 'Cha Cha Real Smooth'. Alba comes off a production stint in Netflix's 'Trigger Warning' and is slated to appear alongside Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, and Andy Garcia in 'Maserati: The Brothers.' XCX has a slew of acting credits and is producing and starring in A24's 'The Moment'.

Earlier, Johnson spoke about dabbling with roles behind the lens."It’s hard to be on jobs where you don’t have creative input… It’s hard when creative decisions are made by committee and by people who don’t even really watch movies, or know anything about them," she said during a recent chat on Hot Ones. "When something does well, studios want to keep that going, so they remake the same things. But humans don’t want that. They want fresh. They want to feel new things."

In related news, Johnson made headlines for her response to her love for naked dresses. In a new cover story for Vogue Germany, the 36-year-old actress was candid about her bold dressing and style choices. "I really don't care," the '50 Shades of Grey' star said. "I've been able to wear some of the most beautiful dresses, and I feel beautiful in them, so I wear them. Sometimes those dresses look good on me. But there are also some we've tried on that didn't look good at all. It depends on the shape, the finish, the color, and everything else. So if I find a beautiful dress that I feel comfortable in, of course, I want to wear it! And it's fun to wear a sexy dress."

For now, there is no pencilled release date for the film. Only time will tell if Johnson's 'A Tree Is Blue' can cement her as one of the more promising actor-turned-directors in Hollywood.