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that would help her nab the gig. Recruited to pitch jokes and punch up the Seth Rogen comedy, she impressed the star and his partners at the production company Point Grey. They thought: This woman is a director. She needs a project ASAP. So when Jim and Brian Kehoe's script about a trio of concerned adults intercepting text messages about their kids' senior-year sex pact, it made its way to Cannon's doorstep. "It was a straight offer to direct, which I was pretty shocked to get," she says. "I mean, I'd been a showrunner, and it had come up in conversation before, but it was not part of my plan at all. Then I read the script and thought, 'It's super funny, it feels like this was written by men – and I know " a whole realm of possibilities opened up. Something, however, was missing – until Barinholtz suggested that, because the dads have to remain silent among these naked bodies, what if they mouthed their dialogue? And then you add subtitles to the exchange? Bingo. "That came from us rehearsing the scene and all of us going, 'This is good. What can make this better?'" she says. "With me, the funniest idea wins. That's as close to a directing philosophy as I have." "Today we've got leaders from the Baltic states, we've got Estonia, Lithuania and I want to say Stankonia," the president said. "Let's make this quick because I have a lot of trade wars to escalate, okay? That's why I just announced tariffs on Chinese products including fireworks and finger traps. We've also expelled the infamous Chinese billionaire P.F. Chang." Rolling Stone Country was announced, some of his co-stars weren't too happy. "It's so silly," Johnson says. "At the end of the day, it's smart business to expand on the franchise and build it out. It's the Marvel model. The analogy that was given to me, which was very funny, was that it's like if Robert Downey. Jr., was pissed about and these other movies. Let it all happen! Let it all grow. It helps out everybody. Regardless of a few who don't want it to happen, for whatever reasons, I know that big picture, long-term, a buildout is the best thing for everybody. So you can bitch, you can moan, you can complain. But the train is leaving the station, and it's not going to stop. So be smart, get on the train, think about the big picture – and let's create multiple trains." "What's the alternative?" Johnson says. "To be an asshole? Life's too good. If back when I was 13 and didn't have shit, and you showed up like, 'Hey man, we're gonna do an interview years from now, you're gonna be an actor in Hollywood and be famous,' I would have fucking cried and just had the biggest smile on my face. And then if you'd said, 'But the caveat is, when you get there, you have to be one thing.' I'd be like, 'Oh my God, dude, I gotta sell my soul, right? Tell me, what do I gotta be?' And you'd said, 'You just gotta be happy'?" Johnson laughs. "Shit – where do I sign up?" From a solo Black Panther to a young Han Solo, Spielberg going retro to Barry Jenkins doing James Baldwin – the films we can't wait to see this year We want to hear from you! Here's how to get in touch with the Rolling Stone staff: Rolling Stone To submit a letter to the editor regarding something you read in Rolling Stone magazine, contact