Producers back Johansson's directorial debut

Johansson"Summer Crossing," an adaptation of Truman Capote's lost novella, is headed for the bigscreen as the directorial debut of Scarlett Johansson.Project's being produced by Barry Spikings, who won an Oscar for "The Deer Hunter," and executive produced by Peter D. Graves in conjunction with the Truman Capote Literary Trust and its trustee Alan Schwartz.Screenwriter and NY playwright Tristine Skyler is adapting the Capote novella."Summer Crossing" novella is set in NY when Gotham was emerging from the trauma of World War II and centers on an 18-year-old girl breaking free of her rich, smothering, family to discover her own identity and sexuality."Summer Crossing" was written by Capote during the 1940s and then lost for half a century before it was recovered and published.Johannson told Women's Wear Daily in September that she planned to direct the movie. She'll be seen next in "We Bought a Zoo," "Under the Skin" and "The Avengers." Johannson's repped by CAA. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com