Scarlett Johansson goes through every emotion in the new Woody Allen film, Match Point. After she breaks up with her British fianc, she begins an affair with his brother in law played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Rhys-Meyers soon realizes that he doesnt want to end his marriage and realizes this can only end one way
Johansson is the definition of smoky femme fatale at the young age of 21. Her unique looks combined her subtle command of acting has made her a favorite of directors and audiences.
Check out the official website for Match Point
Daniel Robert Epstein: Even though it is an honor to work with Woody Allen, did a twinge ever go off in your head about Match Point not being a comedy?
Scarlett Johansson: No, I didn't think about that actually. I was so thrilled to be saying his dialogue that it never occurred to me. I love his comedies but I love his dramas too. So I was just so excited to be a part of it. I couldn't believe that it happened so suddenly. I've been a huge fan of Woody's before I was even allowed to watch his movies. I always imagined and dreamed that being in a Woody Allen film would happen to me.
DRE: How was your first meeting with Woody?
SJ: I actually didn't have any time to meet him because he was already in London and I was cast a week before shooting. I just went there and my first meeting was at an actual wardrobe test. I harassed him and we've been friends ever since.
DRE: It is common for Woody to fire people, was that a fear?
SJ: I'm always afraid of being fired so that's nothing new. I'm always afraid that they're going to find me out or something. Until you're actually done and its in the can you never know what's going to happen.
DRE: Youre also in his next film, Scoop, have you become his muse?
SJ: Our relationship inspired him to make Scoop but I think the word muse is overused. We have a very similar sense of humor and when we were making Match Point I said, I'd love to act with you in something and he agreed. We'd make fun of each other constantly so I think he felt that it was necessary for our own selfish desire to capture it on film. I would love to work with Woody again but I don't think I've inspired a whole new wave of Woody Allen films.
DRE: The press notes said that Woody allowed the UK actors to change his dialogue to how British people would talk. Did he do that with you as well?
SJ: Yeah but I never really improvise that much because I'm not really that good at it. With Woody's dialogue there wasn't that much to improvise. So if anything I probably took a lot of out. We had all these emotionally elevated scenes where there's a lot of dialogue that will pour out of your mouth but it wont mean anything if there is too much of it.
DRE: One of the themes of the film that is you can't always have lust in a marriage which is why Jonathan's married character is attracted to you. Do you agree with that?
SJ: I think that love is something that is very selfless. You're thinking about the other person and you're trying to understand their emotion. Lust is very selfish. It's something that's very passionate and you're just thinking about what your fiery loins are calling out to you. Love is something that you work on over time and the more you get to know someone you love them more or not. Lust is immediate. It's something that you feel upon first meeting.
DRE: Woody trusts his actors a lot but were you ever afraid of going too far with this character?
SJ: You're always wondering whether you're going too far one way or the other and you trust that the director will say something. It's difficult when you don't have video playback which I never used to watch and then I realized that it can help sometimes especially if you can't really understand what the director is trying to communicate with you. But you know when it feels right so if it feels right then I trust that it's good. It's not always good, but I trust it anyway. Sometimes the director will say, A little bit more seductive or whatever and then you do it more seductively and then they go, Whoa, whoa, that was too much. So you trust that the director is going to direct you.
DRE: Do you think she was too needy?
SJ: Her affair wasn't what ruined her engagement. She's very desperate, she needs to be in some sort of comfortable position and she doesn't want to go back home. That's not an option, so she's looking for the next best thing. I don't think that she's very needy. She's trying to get control of her out of control life and sometimes people adjust to things that are thrown at them better off than others. She's just trying to grab onto what she can so that she doesn't have to admit that her life isn't the way that she wanted it to be.
DRE: What do you look for in a director?
SJ: I don't look for anything in a director. I've worked with directors that I thought we're going to be more compassionate than they were or not as compassionate as they ended up being. I've learned that their reputations are mostly not the case with them particularly concerning Woody. Everyone always said that he's cold and he's very self absorbed. It's not true. He's the most available person. He's always on set. He's very sociable but also shy.
DRE: Congratulations on your Golden Globe nomination.
SJ: It was very surprising. To have Woody Allen at 70 years old pull through to the Best Picture category was thrilling so I'm very excited about that. It's very exciting. The Hollywood Foreign Press has always been very supportive of my career and it's nice to be nominated by a group of people who really watch and analyze the movies. I think it's nice that people who respect film would be so complimentary of my career but now I have to think of what to wear. It's always a fun event to go to. Something always ridiculous seems to happen in the middle of the Golden Globes.
DRE: After films like Ghost World and Lost in Translation youve definitely picked up a certain kind of young fan, have you met any of them?
SJ: Yeah, absolutely. Being a New Yorker I run into a lot of those people. Since I live a sort of an alternative lifestyle and I am into alternative, progressive music and progressive films so I know a lot of those kids. It's always exciting to meet new kids who are sort of different. It's nice to have cool fans.
DRE: What are you working on next?
SJ: I play a magician's assistant in The Prestige which is a Chris Nolan project. Then The Nanny Diaries and a film called Borgia directed by Neil Jordan.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Johansson is the definition of smoky femme fatale at the young age of 21. Her unique looks combined her subtle command of acting has made her a favorite of directors and audiences.
Check out the official website for Match Point
Daniel Robert Epstein: Even though it is an honor to work with Woody Allen, did a twinge ever go off in your head about Match Point not being a comedy?
Scarlett Johansson: No, I didn't think about that actually. I was so thrilled to be saying his dialogue that it never occurred to me. I love his comedies but I love his dramas too. So I was just so excited to be a part of it. I couldn't believe that it happened so suddenly. I've been a huge fan of Woody's before I was even allowed to watch his movies. I always imagined and dreamed that being in a Woody Allen film would happen to me.
DRE: How was your first meeting with Woody?
SJ: I actually didn't have any time to meet him because he was already in London and I was cast a week before shooting. I just went there and my first meeting was at an actual wardrobe test. I harassed him and we've been friends ever since.
DRE: It is common for Woody to fire people, was that a fear?
SJ: I'm always afraid of being fired so that's nothing new. I'm always afraid that they're going to find me out or something. Until you're actually done and its in the can you never know what's going to happen.
DRE: Youre also in his next film, Scoop, have you become his muse?
SJ: Our relationship inspired him to make Scoop but I think the word muse is overused. We have a very similar sense of humor and when we were making Match Point I said, I'd love to act with you in something and he agreed. We'd make fun of each other constantly so I think he felt that it was necessary for our own selfish desire to capture it on film. I would love to work with Woody again but I don't think I've inspired a whole new wave of Woody Allen films.
DRE: The press notes said that Woody allowed the UK actors to change his dialogue to how British people would talk. Did he do that with you as well?
SJ: Yeah but I never really improvise that much because I'm not really that good at it. With Woody's dialogue there wasn't that much to improvise. So if anything I probably took a lot of out. We had all these emotionally elevated scenes where there's a lot of dialogue that will pour out of your mouth but it wont mean anything if there is too much of it.
DRE: One of the themes of the film that is you can't always have lust in a marriage which is why Jonathan's married character is attracted to you. Do you agree with that?
SJ: I think that love is something that is very selfless. You're thinking about the other person and you're trying to understand their emotion. Lust is very selfish. It's something that's very passionate and you're just thinking about what your fiery loins are calling out to you. Love is something that you work on over time and the more you get to know someone you love them more or not. Lust is immediate. It's something that you feel upon first meeting.
DRE: Woody trusts his actors a lot but were you ever afraid of going too far with this character?
SJ: You're always wondering whether you're going too far one way or the other and you trust that the director will say something. It's difficult when you don't have video playback which I never used to watch and then I realized that it can help sometimes especially if you can't really understand what the director is trying to communicate with you. But you know when it feels right so if it feels right then I trust that it's good. It's not always good, but I trust it anyway. Sometimes the director will say, A little bit more seductive or whatever and then you do it more seductively and then they go, Whoa, whoa, that was too much. So you trust that the director is going to direct you.
DRE: Do you think she was too needy?
SJ: Her affair wasn't what ruined her engagement. She's very desperate, she needs to be in some sort of comfortable position and she doesn't want to go back home. That's not an option, so she's looking for the next best thing. I don't think that she's very needy. She's trying to get control of her out of control life and sometimes people adjust to things that are thrown at them better off than others. She's just trying to grab onto what she can so that she doesn't have to admit that her life isn't the way that she wanted it to be.
DRE: What do you look for in a director?
SJ: I don't look for anything in a director. I've worked with directors that I thought we're going to be more compassionate than they were or not as compassionate as they ended up being. I've learned that their reputations are mostly not the case with them particularly concerning Woody. Everyone always said that he's cold and he's very self absorbed. It's not true. He's the most available person. He's always on set. He's very sociable but also shy.
DRE: Congratulations on your Golden Globe nomination.
SJ: It was very surprising. To have Woody Allen at 70 years old pull through to the Best Picture category was thrilling so I'm very excited about that. It's very exciting. The Hollywood Foreign Press has always been very supportive of my career and it's nice to be nominated by a group of people who really watch and analyze the movies. I think it's nice that people who respect film would be so complimentary of my career but now I have to think of what to wear. It's always a fun event to go to. Something always ridiculous seems to happen in the middle of the Golden Globes.
DRE: After films like Ghost World and Lost in Translation youve definitely picked up a certain kind of young fan, have you met any of them?
SJ: Yeah, absolutely. Being a New Yorker I run into a lot of those people. Since I live a sort of an alternative lifestyle and I am into alternative, progressive music and progressive films so I know a lot of those kids. It's always exciting to meet new kids who are sort of different. It's nice to have cool fans.
DRE: What are you working on next?
SJ: I play a magician's assistant in The Prestige which is a Chris Nolan project. Then The Nanny Diaries and a film called Borgia directed by Neil Jordan.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 23 of 23 COMMENTS
smith:
She's great, no doubt, but that was one hell of an uninteresting interview. Snore.
leandra:
I loooooove her.