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  • Scarlett Johansson Narrates Children’s Classic Under Direction of Big Sister

    Scarlett Johansson had a new boss recently–one she is related to. The actress serves as narrator in a recent audiobook production of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Big sister Vanessa Johansson was her director.

    Vanessa Johannson is an accomplished voice actress and has lent her vocals to many Audible selections throughout the years. When this project came up, she knew Scarlett Johansson was the person for the job.

    “It was kind of a no-brainer,” Vanessa says during a recent interview with People magazine. “We’re very close and, as you can imagine, have been playing around and doing funny voices since we were little so it was great project for the two of us because we’re so used to inventing together.”

    Both Vanessa and Scarlett Johansson made the most of the studio time they spent together working on this project.

    “There was a lot of laughter, a lot of goofiness happening. The story certainly warrants a lot of that,” Vanessa says. “It’s a total wacky, crazy story–we were like, ‘Oh my god, that was written for children?!’ It’s so out-there, really!”

    Scarlett Johannson fans can check out her work as a narrator when Alice Adventures in Wonderland is released via both Audible and Amazon on February 23.

    How cool is it that Vanessa and Scarlett Johansson got to work on this unusual children’s classic together?

  • Alicia Vikander to Receive Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Rising Star Award

    Alicia Vikander will be honored in January with an award at The Palm Springs International Film Festival. One of the stars of The Danish Girl, Vikander will receive the festival’s Rising Star Award.

    Festival chairman Harold Matzner spoke of Alicia Vikander when making the announcement.

    “In The Danish Girl, Alicia Vikander delivers a superb performance as Gerda Wegener, the wife of transgender pioneer Lili Elbe,” he said. “She projects so much love and pain as she goes on a journey with Lili during an era when there was no precedent for it. Gerda’s own transformation as a character speaks to the story’s themes of courage and self-acceptance.”

    Past recipients of the Rising Star Award include Jessica Biel, Dakota Fanning, Emile Hirsch, Bryce Dallas Howard, Terrence Howard, Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Lawrence and Scarlett Johansson. Howard, Kendrick, and Lawrence went on to receive Academy Award nominations during the same years they received this prestigious award. Might that mean Alicia Vikander is a shoe-in for an Oscar?

    It was just days ago that Alicia Vikander was honored for her role in the film Ex Machina. She won Best Supporting Actress at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Ex Machina took Best British Independent Film at the British Independent Film Awards.

    Alicia Vikander is someone the film world will no doubt see a lot of in the coming years. The Danish Girl will likely be her biggest claim to fame–at least so far.

  • Scarlett Johansson On Black Widow’s State Of Mind In “Civil War”

    Scarlett Johansson has had some pretty difficult and complicated shoes to fill during her stint as Black Widow.

    We first had the pleasure of seeing Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow battling her “ledger” in Avengers. We most recently saw her taking on a more controversy-laden battle with her past and her desire to leave the crime fighting world and settle down with Bruce Banner in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

    However, no one is really clear what Scarlett Johansson and Black Widow will be thinking and dealing with in Captain America: Civil War.

    Scarlett Johansson was asked by EW whether or not Black Widow was ready to be an Avenger for good or if she was still thinking about leaving it all behind.

    Scarlett Johansson responded, “You know, I don’t think she’s ever aspired to become an Avenger. That’s not really a choice that she made. It’s kind of like the events in her life led her to that point and when we see her [in Civil War], she’s finally capable of making a choice for herself.”

    She added, “Which is kind of a milestone in someone’s life when they’ve not really participated in the decisions that were made for them. She’s finally at a place where she’s going, ‘Okay, I actually kind of know what I want. And I think I kind of deserve it.’”

    After the controversy over the supposed sexist storyline in Age of Ultron, some want to know whether or not the storyline with Dr. Banner will continue or not.

    We have some EPIC first look photos from #CaptainAmericaCivilWar over at EW.com! You don't want to miss these.

    A photo posted by Entertainment Weekly (@entertainmentweekly) on

    Scarlett Johansson addressed the issue, but it seems we likely won’t find out much more about where their relationship may or may not go.

    She said, “I don’t know. There is little room for romance in Civil War; I think there is a lot going on that doesn’t really involve big heart-to-hearts. I mean it’s certainly in there and there’s references to it. But this is not the opportunity for us to explore the Widow’s deep, personal backstory.”

    Are you excited to see Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow again? I know I am!

  • Scarlett Shares Biggest Pet Peeve, Greatest Blessing In D&G Ad

    Scarlett Johansson shared a little-known facts about herself in clip for Dolce & Gabbana’s scent, The One, released this week.

    The 31-year-old bombshell, who celebrated her birthday on Monday, has been a face of Dolce & Gabbana beauty since 2009, is seen in a new ad campaign with Matthew McConaughey. The twosome are captured sitting at a table with an Italian family, dressed in classic black, but looking ever-so-sexy.

    According to People magazine, while on set, Johansson answered a series of questions about herself and the life she’s carved out with husband, French art collector Romain Dauriac, and their daughter, Rose Dorothy, 14 months.

    Turns out her family is her greatest blessing (of course), but some other facts about herself that she shares may be more surprising. Watch …

    What is the most surprising tidbit Scarlett Johansson shared about herself in the Dulce & Gabbana ad?

  • Scarlett Johansson To Play Singing Porcupine in New Animated Film

    Scarlett Johansson has joined the cast of an upcoming animated film in which Matthew McConaughey, as a koala, produces “the world’s greatest sining competition”.

    The movie is called Sing, and it’s slated for a December 2016 release.

    Johansson will play a “punk rock porcupine”.

    The movie reportedly features over 85 songs – from the 1940s to the present. It’s already booked John C. Reilly, Seth MacFarlane, Reese Witherspoon, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly.

    From Variety:

    McConaughey will play a koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. He decides to regain the glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition.

    Contestants are a mouse (MacFarlane), a timid teenage elephant (Kelly) with a case of stage fright, an overtaxed mother (Witherspoon) tending a litter of 25 piglets, a young gangster gorilla (Egerton) and a punk-rock porcupine (Johansson) struggling to shed her arrogant boyfriend.

    Apparently, Johansson’s porcupine has to deal with some boyfriend issues.

    From USA Today:

    Ash (Johansson) is a porcupine who heads up an alternative-rock band with her boyfriend, but when she makes it into the competition and he doesn’t, there is some strife. But along the way, she finds enough confidence to be comfortable with herself, Johansson says. “Ash is an artist at heart who discovers her true voice with the support of her friends and fellow artists. In fact, she represents a lot of teenagers going through the same experience of embracing their true selves as they come of age.”

  • Scarlett Johansson Earns Just As Much As “Avengers” Co-Stars Chris Hemsworth And Chris Evans

    Scarlett Johansson is evidently not feeling the pinch of Hollywood’s gender pay gap fiasco as much as other female stars.

    In fact, Variety reports that Scarlett Johansson, while she didn’t earn Robert Downey, Jr. money, has done just as well as Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Chris Evans (Captain America) while filming the Avengers franchise.

    Scarlett Johansson hasn’t been outspoken when it comes to the Hollywood gender pay gap, and apparently for good reason.

    However, Scarlett Johansson clearly wasn’t as shorted as her colleague, Jennifer Lawrence.

    Lawrence learned the hard way that she was being taken for a ride and she wasn’t shy when it came to calling out those responsible.

    A quiet moment in public with #marvel's First Lady … #avengers #ageofultron #presstour

    A photo posted by Robert Downey Jr. (@robertdowneyjr) on

    Lawrence wrote, “When the Sony hack happened and I found out how much less I was being paid than the lucky people with d**ks, I didn’t get mad at Sony. I got mad at myself. I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early. I didn’t want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don’t need.”

    Believe it or not, I'm about to shoot @renner4real with a rubber band … #avengers #ageofultron #presstour #marvel

    A photo posted by Robert Downey Jr. (@robertdowneyjr) on

    She added, “F*** that. I’m over trying to find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable! F*** that.”

    Yikes. Either Scarlett Johansson just isn’t as bothered by the problem or doesn’t see the problem in her world.

    Perhaps it is the latter option since Scarlett Johansson seems to be on equal ground with her fellow Avengers.

    Had a blast regressing to childhood on Kimmel last night… #Avengers #AgeOfUltron

    A photo posted by Robert Downey Jr. (@robertdowneyjr) on

    Alan Horn, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios, said recently, “Audiences have proven that there’s an appetite and a market for dynamic female leads and female-driven stories, and as an industry, we have a responsibility to create those roles for women and compensate them accordingly.”

    What do you think the future holds for women in Hollywood? Do you think leading ladies like Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lawrence are treated differently than their male counterparts?

  • Scarlett Johansson Gets Raise, Still Trumped by Male Lead, Robert Downey, Jr.

    Scarlett Johansson got a significant raise in pay for her role as Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron–and while that’s great–after all, who doesn’t love a raise, she still raked in a lot less than the film’s male lead, Robert Downey, Jr.

    Comic Book Movie reports that Scarlett Johansson received $20 million. Even with a cut in pay, Robert Downey, Jr. still trumped her by a lot.

    Such is the plight of women in Hollywood.

    Jennifer Lawrence recently penned an essay on this very subject. The topic took center stage at Elle magazine’s Women in Hollywood awards last month.

    Just days ago at The Hollywood Reporter’s roundtable, Sony chairman Tom Rothman addressed the issue.

    “I actually think women drive the box office,” he said.

    It’s unfathomable to even consider that men don’t see films like Avengers: Age of Ultron in part to see strong female leads like Scarlett Johansson.

    So why does she make so much less than the film’s male lead?

    Of course many will point out that some of the male Avengers: Age of Ultron stars didn’t do nearly as well as Scarlett Johansson. After all, Chris Evans “only” made $6.9 million, with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner all coming in between $2 and $6 million.

    Sadly, this gender inequality issue spans the gamut from minimum wage earners to Hollywood. It’s increasingly becoming a hot topic among 2016 presidential hopefuls.

    Is Iron Man truly worth more money than the Black Widow?

    Does Scarlett Johansson need some tutoring at the hands of Jennifer Lawrence?

    What’s your take on gender inequality in Hollywood–and beyond?

  • Anna Hathaway Honors Fellow People’s Choice Award Nominees With #TBT Collage of Their High School Pics

    Anna Hathaway Honors Fellow People’s Choice Award Nominees With #TBT Collage of Their High School Pics

    Anne Hathaway honored her friends and fellow People’s Choice Award nominees in her latest Throwback Thursday post by posting their high school pictures in a cute collage for Instagram.

    People magazine reports that the 32-year-old The Intern actress compiled the yearbook photos of Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock for a collage that is ridiculously awesome and adorable.

    “Uh, they were even cute in high school. Very proud to be nominated with these women for this year’s @peopleschoice award for favorite movie actress! #pcas,” Hathaway wrote on Instagram.

    The evening is proving to be slated as a powerful statement to these powerful women.

    Sandra Bullock, 51, and Scarlett Johansson, 30, have other nominations in Favorite Animated Movie Voice and Favorite Action Movie Actress, respectively, while Melissa McCarthy, 45, leads this A-list pack with two other nominations for Favorite Comedic Actress and Favorite Comedic Movie Actress.

    Who wants to see Anne Hathaway’s own high school yearbook photo? We got you!

    Hosted by Jane Lynch, the People’s Choice Awards 2016 will air live from the Microsoft Theater L.A. Live on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on CBS.

    For a full list of nominees, check out the People’s Choice Awards website.

    In the meantime, International Business Times has reported that Anne Hathaway has joined Daniel Radcliffe and Keanu Reeves for the indie adventure-drama The Modern Ocean. The trio will be joined by fellow cast members Chloe Grace Moretz, Tom Holland, Asa Butterfield, Abraham Attah and Jeff Goldblum for the ensemble flick.

  • Scarlett Johansson Records Old Testament as Part of “Sexy Bible”

    Scarlett Johansson lent her sultry voice to a recording of the Old Testament in former SNL writer and performer Mike O’Breien’s new comedy album. The track, dubbed “Sexy Bible,” features Scarlett Johansson reading some of the stranger passages from the Book of Deuteronomy for the fictional WSEX, Sexy Talk Radio.

    O’Brien had long wanted to satirize the Old Testament, but realized he’d need to call in reinforcements. It wasn’t a job he could do alone.

    Enter Scarlett Johansson.

    “I wasn’t sure what the comedic take would be when I first became obsessed with Deuteronomy, but I knew a female should be delivering most of it because a lot of the quotes are very misogynistic and who wants to hear a guy make fun of that,” Mike O’Brien said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I was so thrilled that Scarlett said she’d do it.”

    In addition to Scarlett Johansson, O’Brien enlisted the help of several of his Saturday Night Live alumni to help with the recordings. Cecily Strong, Fred Armisen, Vanessa Bayer, and Seth Meyers will also appear on the album.

    Will you check out Scarlett Johansson in this latest endeavor–or is that a bit too strange for your tastes?

  • Scarlett Johansson Makes the Old Testament Sound Sexy

    Scarlett Johansson sure knows how to bring on the sex appeal, even while reading the Bible.

    Johansson was just one of several stars enlisted by Saturday Night Live writer and performer Mike O’Brian to lend her sexy voice for a reading of the Old Testament for his new comedy album, Tasty Radio, according to Rolling Stone magazine.

    The Avengers: Age of Ultron star, 30, brought her sexy on for a track entitled Sexy Bible, which features Johansson vocalizing some passages from the Book of Deuteronomy for the fictional WSEX, Sexy Talk Radio.

    “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son…his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town,” reads Johansson in a breathy, sexy tone.

    O’Brien said he has been wanting to satirize the Old Testament for quite some time, but knew his vocalization just wouldn’t cut it. Hence, the enlistment of sexy Scarlett Johansson.

    “I wasn’t sure what the comedic take would be when I first became obsessed with Deuteronomy, but I knew a female should be delivering most of it because a lot of the quotes are very misogynistic and who wants to hear a guy make fun of that,” he told the magazine. “I was so thrilled that Scarlett said she’d do it.”

    Joining Scarlett Johansson for the project are Cecily Strong, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, John Mulaney, and Seth Meyers.

    Tasty Radio will be released today, Friday, Oct. 30.

  • Scarlett Johansson: “Ghost In The Shell” Coming To Stage

    Scarlett Johansson has a pretty full plate these days; between her status as new mom and projects like Hail Caesar!, The Jungle Book, and the next Captain America movie, Johansson is one busy lady. But there’s one project on her schedule that has been in the works for six years, and fans are eager to know when they can expect it.

    Scarlett is working with Rupert Sanders (Snow White And The Huntsman) on the film Ghost In The Shell, which is based on a popular anime series from Japan. The actress confirmed her role in the movie last year, saying in an interview that filming would begin in January. However, according to IMDB fans will have to wait until at least 2017 to see it.

    Those who can’t wait that long might be in for a treat, though; according to Anime News Network, the Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijō Playhouse will be putting on a live stage version of the story in November. The production will reportedly feature 3-D videos alongside the actors to enhance the performance; you can see photos of some of the actors in costume here.

    Scarlett Johansson has been in headlines this week after the trailer for Hail Caesar! dropped, giving Coen brothers fans a peek at the star-studded film, which includes Johansson, Dolph Lundgren, Josh Brolin, and George Clooney. According to The Guardian, the movie is “set in Hollywood during the latter days of the golden age. It revolves around a fixer, played by Brolin, who must find the kidnapped star of a big new movie, also called Hail, Caesar!”

    Scarlett recently celebrated her one-year anniversary with husband Romain Dauriac, and while the happy couple have been busy with parenthood, they still have the occasional argument. Johansson says that even though she’s learning French, she sticks with her native tongue when it’s time to make a point.

    “When you’re in a relationship with somebody you want to speak whatever language is easiest to get your ideas out as quickly as possible, so you can argue your point,” Scarlett said.

  • Scarlett Johansson Is Amazing In Trailer For Coen Brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!”

    Scarlett Johansson joins a long list of fellow A-list stars for the latest Coen brothers film, Hail, Caesar!

    In it, Scarlett Johansson lights up the screen in her role as a vixen in the fictional golden age of Hollywood.

    Though Scarlett Johansson is fresh off a long stint as Black Widow on the big screen, she has no trouble capturing hearts as a beautiful but tough Hollywood bombshell.

    Joining Scarlett Johansson for the gorgeous film, which promises hilarity and depth Coen-style, is none other than George Clooney in the title role.

    Clooney plays an actor who plays Caesar in a film, also titled Hail, Caesar, which happens to be in the middle of production when it grinds to a halt after Caesar’s kidnapping.

    Caesar is kidnapped by a group calling themselves The Future. They then torment the man in charge, played by Josh Brolin.

    Scarlett Johansson is on top of the world right now. Beside the honor of acting for two of the world’s best filmmakers, she is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars right now.

    Scarlett Johansson also recently celebrated her first anniversary with her french husband, Romain Dauriac.

    Romain Dauriac and Scarlett Johansson just celebrated the first birthday of their baby girl, Rose Dorothy Dauriac.

    What a life, right?

    What do you think about Scarlett Johansson’s new role in Hail, Caesar!?

  • Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin and George Clooney Shine In Hilarious First Trailer For Coen Brother’s ‘Hail, Caesar!’

    Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin and George Clooney shine in a hilarious, star-studded first trailer for the Coen brothers latest film, Hail, Caesar!

    The trailer, released on Friday, shows the A-list actors in a slew of hilarious moments.

    Brolin portrays a fictionalized version of Eddie Mannix, a real-life film executive and producer who worked as a fixer in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

    Scarlett Johansson portrays an actress a lá Esther Williams, who unexpectedly becomes pregnant.

    The trailer sees Brolin’s character trying to enlist an assortment of personalities to retrieve the kidnapped movie star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney). Channing Tatum stars as a Gene Kelly-type heartthrob, while Ralph Fiennes plays film director Laurence Lorenz. Other stars include Tilda Swinton as gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, Jonah Hill and Frances McDormand.

    Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, who brought the world Oh Brother, Where are Thou? with George Clooney, Hail, Caesar! opens in theaters Feb. 5, 2016.

    The Coen brothers last released Inside Llewyn Davis in 2013. Currently, they serve as executive producers on the FX series Fargo, inspired by their 1996 movie of the same name, which also starred Frances McDormand.

    Who’s pumped to see Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin, George Clooney and Channing Tatum in the Coen Brother’s Hail, Caesar!?

  • Scarlett Johansson Shows Off Voice Skills In New “Jungle Book” Trailer

    Scarlett Johansson is no stranger to voice work; she was, after all, the sexiest OS ever created in Spike Jonze’s Her. Her vocal skills helped Spike win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, so it’s not surprising that more directors would tap her talents. In the new trailer for The Jungle Book–a mix of animation and live-action directed by Jon Favreau, who worked with Johansson in Chef–Scarlett shows off her nasty side with her portrayal of Kaa, the enormous snake who knows the ins and outs of the jungle.

    Kaa assures Mowgli, the little boy raised by the creatures of the jungle, that she’ll be keeping a close eye on him in the trailer, which is filled with visual delights that range from Mowgli’s animal friends to the tall trees he jumps through effortlessly. The movie is star-studded, including appearances by Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong’o, and Christopher Walken.

    Jon Favreau explained at Disney D23 earlier this year that most of the movie was made relying heavily on computer graphics, including the outdoor scenes.

    “All of this was shot in downtown Los Angeles. The only live-action character person is Neel Sethi, playing Mowgli. The humans are the only things that are real. The environments, the animals—all of that is generated by artists,” Favreau said.

    It will definitely be interesting to see the new take on this classic tale, especially with Walken taking the role of King Louie and Murray playing Baloo the bear. One thing that hasn’t changed is Mowgli’s importance to so many of the jungle animals, who are either out for his blood or risking their own lives to keep him safe.

    Scarlett Johansson made headlines last week when she appeared on the new Late Show with Stephen Colbert and pondered life’s big questions with him while laying on a blanket.

    “I get the impression that you’re a deep person. I like to give the impression that I’m a deep person. Can we get real for a minute?” Colbert asked.

    “Let’s go deep,” Scarlett said.

  • Scarlett Johansson, Stephen Colbert Ponder Life’s ‘Big Questions’ on ‘The Late Show’

    Scarlett Johansson and Stephen Colbert pondered some of life’s big questions during the late night host’s first week at the helm of The Late Show.

    Since Scarlett Johansson was Colbert’s first female on his new show, he likely figured he’d save the big questions for her.

    “I get the impression that you’re a deep person,” he told Johansson. “I like to give the impression that I’m a deep person. Can we get real for a minute?”

    “Let’s go deep,” she replied.

    Thus began the introduction to Stephen Colbert’s new segment called “Big Questions with Even Bigger Stars.”

    He and Scarlett Johansson laid on a blanket under fake stars, pondering life itself.

    The two took turns asking each other some of life’s big questions.

    “You think there’s a difference between living and being alive?”, “Would you rather have feet for hands or hands for feet?” and “What do you think Oprah’s doing right now?” were among the questions.

    Scarlett Johansson was thrilled to be on The Late Show–so thrilled, in fact, she flew directly to New York from Paris, where she lives with husband Romain Dauriac and their daughter, one-year-old Rose Dorothy.

    What kinds of “big questions” do you suppose Stephen Colbert might ask the next time he features “Big Questions with Even Bigger Stars” on The Late Show?

    And can he possibly find anyone as enthralled as Scarlett Johansson to lay under fake stars and ponder said questions with him?

  • Scarlett Johansson, As Black Widow, Battles Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye In ‘Captain America’ Sneak Peek

    Scarlett Johansson joined Captain America costars Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans for a surprise event at D23 in California over the weekend.

    During the event, Disney and Marvel announced several new projects and shared clips from next year’s Captain America: Civil War, including a kick-ass sequence of Scarlett Johansson, who portrays Black Widow, battling Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner.

    The clip has yet to be released but the footage shows an apparent fight between Black Widow and Hawkeye. The twosome are generally allies, so who knows why they are suddenly beating the crap out of each other.

    According to Forbes reporter Mark Hughes, the footage shared on Saturday offered fans a first glimpse of new villain Crossbones, as reported by The Inquisitr.

    “The footage begins with the Captain America, Falcon, and Black Widow in position for a battle, surveying a busy city street. Falcon deploys a flying drone that swoops down into traffic and up under a large vehicle. The truck’s occupants are Crossbones and his crew, and a large battle commences between these villains and Cap’s team. While Captain America fights Crossbones, Falcon and Black Widow take down the rest of the criminals.

    “We see lots of damage done to the surrounding street and buildings, and Cap’s shield ends up with a bomb attached to it, so he throws it just before the bomb explodes. Crossbones finally falls, defeated, and removes his mask. He mentions Bucky Barnes — aka the Winter Soldier, whom Cap has been trying to track down — and Captain America seems shocked.”

    Scarlett Johansson, who never really wanted to go the superhero route, has said that she loves playing Black Widow because the character is so complex.

    “I really enjoy playing this character. She was really the first female superhero, a reluctant one. She’s never really been able to forge close relationships with anybody. She’s a lone wolf,” Scarlett Johansson told Parade magazine.

    Captain America: Civil War is due in theaters May 6, 2016.

  • Evangeline Lilly Hopes To Represent Women Well in Ant-Man

    Evangeline Lilly is taking her job seriously. That may sound odd when speaking of a role in a film where a superhero is shrunk to the size of an ant, but she sees gravity in it nonetheless.

    “I have to be very careful and responsible about the character…because she is in the film representing women at large,” Lilly says about her role as Hope van Dyne in Ant-Man.

    After all the talk about how well — or not-so-well — women felt they were represented by Scarlett Johansson’s character Black Widow in the last Avengers flick, Lilly may have a point.

    When original screenwriter Edgar Wright bowed out of the Ant-Man project, Adam McKay and Paul Rudd took on the project, which entailed some rewrites of the script. Some of those changes affected Evangeline Lilly’s character quite a lot.

    “Originally she was a very sort of film noir kind of character. She was almost, like what you would expect out of a legit graphic novel or a comic book – which I loved, by the way,” Lilly said. “I was sold. I was like, ‘Yes, this is going to be so much fun to play a real caricature, almost, of this woman!’”

    Lilly said the Rudd-McKay rewrites kept the soul of the character, but softened her a bit.

    “What really ended up happening with the rewrites is I think she just developed more dimensions and more humanity, became a little bit more relatable, little bit more accessible, a little less of sort of untouchable caricature and more of a human caricature,” Lilly explained.

    How well she handled the task of representing women in a big-budget film with “Marvel” in the credits will be judged soon enough. For now, fans — men and women alike — are just excited to see what she is bringing to the table.

  • Black Widow Inherits Buffy Mantle as Joss Whedon Female Hero

    Black Widow Inherits Buffy Mantle as Joss Whedon Female Hero

    Black Widow has been a fan fave throughout the Avengers and Ironman films. But the character is taking on a greater cultural significance in teh hands of writer/director Joss Whedon.

    Joss Whedon is already known for taking strong female characters and building worlds around them, letting them stand, falter, learn, and fail is amplified versions of how people live in real life. He did it with Buffy Summers as a vampire slayer. He added Eliza Dushku’s character of Faith to show more facets of that. He continued building strong females, even in a male-centered show like Angel. He built another entire show around Dushku with Dollhouse. And he has Black Widow to continue that tradition.

    “I’m always looking for pain, because pain usually contains truth and humor,” Joss Whedon said. As for Black Widow, “Her character is to me the most fascinating, because she’s defined by it in a way that she generally doesn’t show, and when she gets to, it’s very affecting. … I think we went deeper with her than with anybody else.”

    Actress Scarlett Johansson sees her role as Black widow as more than just some fill-in bit in a throwaway action flick.

    “For so long, female superheroes have been mistreated, and I think women’s roles in general are often oversimplified and generic and saccharine,” Johansson said. “I’ve finally been able to be a part of creating this character that is really multifaceted, and it’s fallen into what is generally a kind of male-dominated genre.”

    Not that it hasn’t been a tough road. Even in this day and age, and with Joss Whedon and Johansson batting for her, Black Widow is often omitted from marketing materials about the Avengers team.

    But Scarlett Johansson also believes that the fact that people are noticing the missing Black Widow is a good sign.

    “I see it as a vestigial remnant of this kind of sexist sort of mindset,” Johansson said. “It’s certainly nice that people are noticing and talking about it, whereas before it would just kind of be like, ‘Well, you know, it’s long pajamas and they’re for boys, so of course it’s all the guys on them.’ It’s a conversation that people are having — ‘Where’s all the girls? We want more. We want to see females in this genre who are not the stick in the mud or the damsel in distress or the girlfriend waiting by the window. We want to see characters who reflect the environment that we’re a part of.’”

  • Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in ‘SNL’ Rom-Com Spoof

    Scarlett Johansson hosted SNL on Saturday night, but it was her rom-com spoof in her Avengers: Age of Ultron character Black Widow that likely received the most laughs.

    Us Weekly reports that Scarlett Johansson–in the spoof–works as a Fashion Weekly magazine writer, lives with fellow character Thor (played by Saturday Night Live’s Taran Killam), and ultimately has her heart broken by Ultron,

    “So, who’s the guy?” Thor asks her in the fake trailer for Black Widow: Age of Me.

    “Why do you always think there’s a guy, Thor?” she replies.

    “Honey, you’re putting ketchup on your cereal!” he says.

    If you missed this weekend’s episode of SNL, you have to check out Scarlett Johansson in this rom-com spoof.


    Scarlett Johansson     also announced the winner of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight–causing many to cry ‘spolier!’

    Wiz Khalifa joined Scarlett Johansson on SNL this weekend as the evening’s musical guest.

  • Scarlett Johansson Hates Loudmouth Celeb Parents

    Scarlett Johansson seems to think know-it-all celebrity parents need to shut up and sit down.

    “I’m such a newbie at this. I always really hate it when actors or people in the spotlight make giant grandiose statements about parenthood because it’s so, so personal. And I don’t profess to know anything more about parenting than anybody else.” she says.

    Scarlett Johansson is raising new baby girl Rose Dorothy with her second husband Romain Dauriac. The couple divide their time between Paris and New York City.

    While Scarlett Johansson may not recognize other celebrity authorities on parenting, she does recognize her own personal responsibility for the new life she is raising.

    “I have a greater responsibility now so that will definitely affect my schedule. Before (Rose), I just made the choices that were affecting me but now I’m responsible for somebody else. Eventually I will have to work less and it might even make me more discerning,” she says.

    Even her thoughts about the future with a new baby in it are only expressed as possibilities, not even fully-formed opinions.

    “We’ll see, but I think having any kind of huge life-changing event happen to you, such as having children, and it’s such a different life now in the best possible way, is very, very inspiring,” she says. “I think it will hopefully enrich my work as well as my understanding of myself. That’s the hope anyway, you never know.”

    Scarlett Johansson has a twin brother, Hunter. She credits her mother for raising her in such as way as to be individual.

    “I think my mom, really more than anything, shaped me in many ways. She was very, very encouraging of our separate interests growing up. She just made us feel that you could do whatever you wanted to do, as long as you really wanted to do it, and that’s why I got into acting.”

  • David Letterman: Guests for 28 Final Shows Announced

    David Letterman is nearing the end of his late night talk show reign, and has just announced the guest lineup for his final 28 shows. His final weeks on The Late Show are filled with a wealth of A-listers.

    May 20th will mark the last time David Letterman sits behind his dest at the Ed Sullivan Theater, and leading up to that date he will visit with some very intriguing people.

    George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hanks, and Oprah Winfrey are among the top celebrities who will bid adieux to David Letterman. Other guests include Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jack Hanna, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Keaton, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Don Rickles, Ray Romano, Paul Rudd, Jerry Seinfeld, Martin Short, Howard Stern, John Travolta and Bruce Willis. Musical guests will include The Avett Brothers with Brandi Carlile, Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews Band, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Mumford and Sons, Ralph Stanley, and Amos Lee.

    This week’s guests on The Late Show include Sarah Jessica Parker, 2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth, Billy Crystal, The Talk and Big Brother host Julie Chen, Michael J. Fox, Amy Sedaris, Kevin James, comedian Tom Dreesen and Alec Baldwin. Asleep at the Wheel, Chris Stapleton, Iron & Wine with Ben Bridwell, Tracy Chapman, and John Mayer are set to perform as the week’s musical guests.

    Can you believe David Letterman is preparing to say goodbye to The Late Show? Fans will definitely miss the late night comedian and host. He is certainly going out with a bang, however, and with a very impressive list of guests for his last 28 shows.

    Will you be tuning in to watch at least some of David Letterman’s final shows?