At the press junket to promote their new film Scoop, Johansson was professional, polite, and distant. Her make-up was perfect, her demeanor professional. When asked how she felt about being called Allen's new muse, she brushed away the question: "That's a silly word. We work together."
However, the twenty-one year old actress had such a good time on the set of their first collaboration Match Point that she told Allen that it was a shame they weren't acting together. "I'll think of something," Allen said, and he did. Less than a year later, he gave her the script of Scoop, a screwball murder mystery set in London.
In Scoop, Johansson portrays the character of Sondra Pransky, whom the actress aptly calls "a twit and an idiot, ambitious, obnoxious, and lovable." Polansky wears round glasses, unflattering chinos and sneakers. She's an earnest journalism student with an unexpected predilection for sleeping with her sources. Unlike Mira Sorvino, whose career was jump-started with her Oscar-winning role in Allen's Mighty Aphrodite, Johansson is not required to demonstrate cleavage or play the vapid ditz--the role of Sondra showcases Johansson's natural comedic talent. Citing her lack of improvisational skills, Johansson referred to herself as the straight man to Allen. In fact, she's wrong: Johansson is genuinely funny. As Sondra Pransky, serious, strident and often one hundred percent oblivious, her voice rises and falls in endearing, laugh-provoking bursts of panic. Allen, as aging magician and co-conspirator Sid Splendini, is her sidekick.
Other things to know about Scarlett Johansson: the actress does not collect mementos from the sets of her films. "I do not like things," she says, although she did confess a fondness for cashmere socks in an interview with the New York Times last year. She does not have enough nice things to say about her Scoop on-screen love interest Hugh Jackman. Laura Linney, who she co-stars with in the upcoming The Nanny Diaries is "inspiring." Johansson has an inclination to do horror next, the "scary, psychological kind," but she hasn't not found the right script. Though often in the public eye, the actress does not allow paparazzi to affect her private life, reflecting that stories about her are rarely true. "A load of crap," she added, a mild afterthought.
Johansson, in fact, just finished shooting The Nannie Diaries -- "like, this morning" -- and vacation is the next big thing on her list. She certainly has made plenty of movies lately: Scoop opens on July 28, and two other high profile films are scheduled for release this fall: the James Ellroy adaptation Black Dahlia, directed by Brian DePalma, and Christoper Nolan's sci-fi drama The Prestige.
