"Scoop" Decision
A friend who's seen Woody Allen's Scoop...naaah, let it go. But his comments weren't entirely in synch with those of New York magazine writer Logan Hill, who declares in the new issue that Allen's two films with Scarlett Johansson -- not just Match Point but also his forthcoming Scoop (Focus Features, 7.28) -- "have been his best in years."
Woody Allen, Scarlett Johansson in posed shot for New York magazine.
Hill calls it "an old-school Allen comedy -- a murder mystery solved by an aging magician (guess who) and a naïve young blonde (Johansson) -- peppered with vintage-Woody one-liners. On how he maintains his svelte figure, his character responds, 'I never gain an ounce. My anxiety acts like aerobics.' And then there's his religious biography: 'I was born into the Hebrews, but as I got older, I converted to narcissism.'"
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 26, 2006 at 4:46 PM
comment #1
Fielding says ...
Scoop is indeed a very funny, "old-school" Woody comedy. The man himself is hilarious in it. Believe it.
Posted by Fielding at June 26, 2006 5:16 PM
comment #2
YourBlueRoom says ...
As hot as she is, SJ gets on my frickin nerves, but I will see it, both for the woodman and for Ian fuckin' McShane!
Posted by YourBlueRoom at June 26, 2006 5:24 PM
comment #3
Walter S. says ...
It must be wishful thinking. We want so very much to have directors like Woody and Robert Altman re-capture their glory that we breathlessly proclaim each new film as "their best in years" when really it's not. (I honestly wanted "Prarie Home Companion" to be great...it's not even very good). It's kind of like Rolling Stone magazine trying to convince us that each new (and lackluster) Rolling Stones album is "their best since 'Some Girls'!"
Posted by Walter S. at June 26, 2006 5:54 PM
comment #4
Mike Gebert says ...
Woody Allen now looks like Roger Ebert fell in the chocolate river at Willy Wonka's factory and got stretched in the tube.
Posted by Mike Gebert at June 26, 2006 6:04 PM
comment #5
YourBlueRoom says ...
Walt, take it from a jaded Stones fan, A Bigger Bang is actually the only good record they have done since Some Girls. It isn't a classic but it is so much better then anyhting they have done since SG.
Posted by YourBlueRoom at June 26, 2006 6:54 PM
comment #6
delbomber says ...
I was first attracted to SJ in 'The Man Who Wasn't There'...sick, maybe, but I'm only five years older than she...
..she's getting on my frickin' nerves as well...
...that whimsical gaze of hers is growing tiresome...I first remember it from those perfume commercials, it was worst in the 'The Girl with a Pearl Earring' and almost ruined 'Match Point' for me. I feel like 'Mugatu' in 'Zollander'; it's her 'blue steel', and she needs a new facial expression to get her through the next decade.
Posted by delbomber at June 26, 2006 8:37 PM
comment #7
YourBlueRoom says ...
For me, it is the monotone voice that never changes. She seems to talk like she just smoked a big spliff, with no other possible tone. Add to that her awful, ugly turn in "Match Point" where all she did was be a shrew the whole film. really great acting.
Final judgment: A great piece of ass. A terrible actress.
NEXT!!!
Posted by YourBlueRoom at June 26, 2006 10:17 PM
comment #8
Nick says ...
A) A Bigger Bang does in fact kickass, deal with it, even though the Bush bashing song is too over the top, but thats another blog.
B) Match Point turns into proof that Scarlett can be just a piece of ass, guy dumps her for another woman (which any sane man might question), other guy wants to have a go at her cause all he sees is hips, lips, and amazing tits, guy really regrets it when he figures out why other guy left her in the first place, great movie and I feel she got better as the movie went along (acting wise) and Woody was brilliant to cast her. I agree, he did well.
C) She can be a great actress when she's directed carefully. If she's taking a Keaton roll in Scoop, she'll either be aces or I'll just eat my words.
D) My maleness will not let me post anything about her without reminding everyone just how beautiful the opening shot of Lost In Translation is.
E) Don't rank on Altman, at least he's still intresting, give him that or give him nothing. I like Prarie, didn't love it, but it beat the alternative that weekend and pretty much every weekend since its been out.
Posted by Nick at June 26, 2006 11:26 PM
comment #9
Fielding says ...
Kate Winslet dropping out of Match Point was a huge stroke of luck for Woody because it enabled him to cast Scarlett. Despite all the above bitching and whining, she has a real allure and got a lot of asses on seats. Hope they'll make a lot more movies together.
Posted by Fielding at June 27, 2006 12:30 AM
comment #10
Skip Noonan says ...
Woody Allen uses "anxiety" in a punchline -- brilliant! Never saw it coming! How does he do it?
Posted by Skip Noonan at June 27, 2006 4:41 AM
comment #11
David says ...
Woody Allen using "anxiety" in a punchline is like Eddie Van Halen breaking out into a guitar solo. You've heard it a million times before, but somehow it still works.
Posted by David at June 27, 2006 10:21 AM