Dakota Johnson and Celine Song on love, dating and 'Materialists'

Before Celine Song was an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, she was a playwright in New York who needed day jobs to pay rent. That's how she found herself as a professional matchmaker.

- 

What may have begun as a purely transactional gig, a way for her to keep making her art in an expensive city, taught her more about people's wants and needs and the true contents of their hearts than she could have ever imagined.

"I always wanted to write something about it because there seemed to be a story in it that is massive and very epic in proportion," Song said. "It affects every human being on Earth."

And while waiting for her breakout film "Past Lives" to debut, she did. That film is "Materialists," a modern-day New York love story starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans that's heading to theaters this weekend. Johnson is the matchmaker presented with two different types of men for herself — one a poor struggling actor and ex-boyfriend, the other a wealthy "unicorn" — and the internet has already been drawing battle lines. But, like "Past Lives" wasn't really about a love triangle, "Materialists" is about something more than the question of which guy is the "correct" choice.

Song and Johnson spoke with The Associated Press about the film, falling in love and the modern marketplace of dating. Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: How did you find each other?