Last week, I was bitching to Agent Bedhead about Scarlett Johansson. My complaint was about how boring and full of herself Scarlett has become (or perhaps always was), and how Scarlett’s promotional blitz for We Bought A Zoo is really bringing out a side of Scarlett that I dislike. In previous years, I’ve defended Scarlett – I always thought she was a better actress than people gave her credit for, and I liked the career path that she was carving out. And then something went haywire. Marriage to Ryan Reynolds, a break from film work to do a play, all of the Black Widow crap… and then Sean Penn. Somewhere along the line, Scarlett became kind of insufferable to me. Her latest interview to support We Bought A Zoo adds another level of eye-rolling. First, keep in mind – Scarlett’s role in this film is SUPPORTING. Just like in Iron Man 2. And just like Iron Man 2, Scarlett is doing the publicity tour like she’s the star – she’s overselling it. But perhaps that’s because in Scarlett’s mind, she’s just like Daniel Day-Lewis and Cate Blanchett. Seriously.
ScarJo on the “ScarJo” moniker: “It’s a laziness. People can’t actually say the whole name? It’s just bizarre.” She tries shorthand sobriquets on other stars. How come Daniel Day-Lewis isn’t subjected to “like, ‘DaDay’? So Cate Blanchett is not, like, ‘CaBla’? Why is that? Why do I have to get stuck? If I hear somebody say that, I know I don’t know them at all.”
She’s not the ingénue anymore: “The roles that are really available for young women most of the time are the ingénue, the other woman, the girlfriend of someone, and as I’ve gotten older, it’s nice to be able to move into territory where the characters that I’m playing and looking at are women who are established,” she says, man or no. “It’s nice to be kind of transitioning into that phase of my career.”
Public exposures: “The hardest part is actually going through whatever hardship you’re facing. Going through it in public is the added unfortunate thing. There’s nothing you can do about that.” Except avoid it. “One of the best things I learned this year was to not read any tabloid, gossipy, you know, garbage. It really keeps you on the straight and narrow. And while some of it kind of leaks in occasionally, it’s really nice to not know what crazy stories” are circulating. Mention recent rumored romances —Kieran Culkin, Kate Moss’s ex Jefferson Hack — “and I’m like, ‘What? Really? When did that come out?’ It’s just nice to have kind of a blinder up in that regard. It helps keep you sane. I can’t follow all that stuff. It’s too exhausting.” And she doesn’t waste her time correcting the record. “Unless it’s something that’s violently awful, I think it’s better to just let it go. You just have to kind of let it slide. Otherwise, you’re, like, in the midst of it, like a frenzy.”
Being in NYC: “What do I have to lose? It’s not like I get attacked by hordes of angry fans.”
She doesn‘t take the subway though: “For me, it’s like, I used up all my subway tokens. It’s a privilege to not have to take the subway. I like the subway. It gets you places fast, but I’d rather hail a cab. Or walk.”
Potentially playing Marilyn Monroe: “There’s a lot there to explore, and I like to watch other people do it, but I have no interest” in joining the Monroe biopic brigade. “It’s lovely to be compared to somebody as sort of effervescent and charming and fragile and I think kind of an underrated actor, really,” Johansson says. And “you know, beautiful and everything. But it’s never been one for me.”
[From USA Today]
I know everyone is talking about the whole “Don’t call me ScarJo, you would never do that to Cate Blanchett” part of the interview, but can we just talk about the BITCH PLEASE-ness of the Marilyn section?!? As in BITCH PLEASE if you don’t want to be Marilyn Monroe than why are you always being styled as Marilyn Monroe in photo shoot after photo shoot? It would be one thing if it was just a one-off, but Scarlett is ALWAYS doing the Marilyn thing. Plus, ScarJo (YEAH I SAID IT) makes it sound like the producers of My Week With Marilyn came to her first and she turned them down, thus Michelle Williams was cast. Which didn’t happen.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Ok, I’ll respect her wishes and only refer to her as Jojo from now on. Especially when she’s jogging.
Hee hee hee
Why would anyone call Cate Blanchett, ScarJo? Catchett maybe, but that sounds a bit vulgar.
LOL
Love it! Morning my punny friend!
I do agree about the shortening and combining names. I think Jennifer Lopez started both trends with J.Lo and Bennifer. It’s really stupid. It’s funny how when Scarlet first got attention she was supposed to be a big star but I can’t think of any movies she’s in.
It is kinda stupid, but it’s a fad that unfortunately won’t go away. And she ought to know that (1) quite honestly, it only works with certain names, and (2) “ScarJo” is used only by tabloids and gossip sites; the NY Times won’t use it, so relax. Her attitude on this topic (not to mention her complete disingenuousness about MM) is positively Goopian.
Really, she should view it as an affectionate thing. Tongue in cheek. She’s someone we talk about a lot, so we shorten her name. BFD.
Ugh, just ugh. The Pillsbury Dough Girl is really full of herself. She needs to look in a mirror, she’s not that cute. And those jagged teeth, they seem more pronounced now. Another wannabe taking themselves way to seriously. Black Widow…..is that her idea of moving up in films? I am asking her to stop mentioning Cate Blanchett, because we are talking about a completely different stratosphere of talent.
i agree with her on public exposures and she doesn’t look arrogant on being in NYC (no angry fans)
my trouble with her is that now she’s more famous for her fame than her work(she was so good in LOST IN TRANSLATION,A GIRL WITH PEARLS at her beginning)
She needs to work more as actress and less as model
How come Daniel Day-Lewis isn’t subjected to “like, ‘DaDay’? So Cate Blanchett is not, like, ‘CaBla’? Why is that? Why do I have to get stuck?
I don’t know, Scarjo…maybe because they’re actually good actors — known for their acting ability rather than their appearance? Maybe because of that people feel the need to show them some respect?
Being in the tabloids gets you a dumb nickname, and serially dating actors will keep you in the tabloids.
Being older (and outstanding actors), Day-Lewis and Blanchett lead settled private lives out of the public eye. (Though DDL (ha) did have his actress-dating tabloid drama back in the day.)
She should be grateful the public even knows her name, let alone giving her a nickname! Plenty of other talented actresses would take any notoriety they can get. I must be lazy since I won’t pay to see a pompous actress in some pretty crappy movies.
She is kind of right about the name.
but I actually think she would have made a great Marilyn. I need to see the new movie with Michelle W.
Scarlett would have been good in it I think. But I have to say I don’t like her movie choices. That Zoo movie looks cheesey.
She’s such a snot.
I can’t wait to bump into her in a bathroom and scream: “Omg, Scarjo! How ya doin’?
…
I guess this is the part where you tell me I’m lazy and give me a dirty look right?!”
this is much a do over nothing real stars have been being called shortend versions of their names for decades Katherine Hepburn was kate Barbara Streisand is babs Robert Wagner is RJ [his middle name is Hohn} Francesco Sparanero’s screen name is Franco Nero sir Ian McCallen calls Vanessa Redgrave Nessa granted he’s known her since before she was famous or Joanne Woodward is called Joey in private or Natalie Wood was called Natasha or her real name Natalia in private and none of them complain about it Scarlett needs to shut up and have an ego check she things she’s an icon and so isn’t
courtney… look to the bottom right of your keyboard. Two spaces to the right from the “m” is a little dot. It’s called a period. Use it. It is your friend. Your posts are very difficult to understand without punctuation. Not trying to be a grammar cop, just letting you know how difficult your posts can be to read.
OMG Kaiser please also comment on her self righteousness about not taking the metro!
I know, right? I love the subway. Cabs are too much money to take all the time. I know she has money, but still, the subway is the easiest way to get around the city.
BITCH PLEASE. This girl shouldn’t wax and wane about the injustice of having a moniker… she should worry about the decline of her leading roles in quality movies. Her complaints are a mix of Rooney Mara and Jessica Biel annoyance.
“As in BITCH PLEASE if you don’t want to be Marilyn Monroe than why are you always being styled as Marilyn Monroe in photo shoot after photo shoot?”
Thank you. She rose in popularity with the Marilyn mystique, and Woody became enamored with her because of it. If you don’t want to be Marilyn then die your hair because that’s what you get with the look you have.
This press for We Bought a Zoo has been sloppy – poor outfit choices, yellow teeth, lipstick smears and insufferable dialogue.
She is lucky anyone refers to her at all. I really used to be a fan but then she became so haughty and pretentious. She is not a great actress or singer.Although, she is beautiful. Being humble never hurt anyone and is much more endearing.
I think Sean Penn dumped her because he realised after the sex was over that she was dull, entitled and humourless.
And also Scarlett isn’t charming or fragile. She absolutely does not have a drop of the quality that MM had. Girls aren’t going to be putting up posters of Scarlett and re-watching her films in 50 years time just to see her on the screen. The ONLY reason people compare them is because of the physical similarities, and even then, MM had much more sweetness and sensuality. Ugh. People need to STOP thinking they are the new MM.
I agree. She should stop doing interviews…the more she says, the worse she comes off.
Exactly!
Marilyn was one of a kind. She was much more than just curly blonde hair and a curvy body. Unlike ScarJo, she didn’t come across as snooty. She had the charisma of appearing both sensual and innocent at the same time. That’s hard to fake if it’s not part of your personality. Imitators seem to forget that.
She looks like a cheap, “not so pretty” bleach blond who thinks she can do a MM.
Please.
She calls herself- “effervescent and charming and fragile, underrated actor,and “beautiful”.
Scarjo is not effervescent, def. not fragile, and I never found her beautiful.
If you need to compliment yourself and detail qualities you want others to think you have/ are- then perhaps you are lacking.
Just because you bleach your hair or had plastic surgery, doesn’t mean you are MM or anything like her.
She’s a slow-talking, minimally talented boob girl. She ought to STFU and cash those paychecks while they’re still coming in.
BITCH PLEASE! Your full name is only worth mentioning unless you are actually the shit, not if you think you are the shit. The exception to this was J.Lo who stated this shit and she was completely hot in the movies, music, and stuff when it was happening. Now if you get your name abbreviated you are basically nothing more than a starlet or you’ve let your career die due to scandal, drugs, and stupidity.
Hence, LiLo, Kim K., ScarJo, etc. Deal with the fact that you are an over-rated basic bitch.
Another under talented, over praised insufferable twat taking a play out of Gwynnie’s guide to being an insufferable twat.
I think she is a strange hybrid between Goopie (who at least has won an Oscar) and Jessica Biel.
Goop won an Oscar? I had no idea.
I used to not mind her. Now she’s getting annoying.
i would just like to say that the above photos reveal that she looks way better when she’s been photoshopped within an inch of her existence.
in My oppinion Scarlett needs to shut her trap there’s always been celebs that are called by shortened versions of their names in private or professionally Ian McCallen calls Vanessa Redgrave Nessa and she doesn’t complain about it Natalia Zakarenko’s screen Name was Natalie Wood Robert Redford is called Bob or Bobby in private and never complains about it. Scarlett has an ego problem and has since she first started acting oh boo hoo she hasn’t earned the respect to tell the public what to refer to her as it’s a term of enderment. it’s like being called Ms So and so when your married to somebody as for example Joanne Woodward was often called Mrs Newman in private but she never took Paul’s last name and hated when people called her that by the way Cate Blanchett’s real name is Catherine
We would have to be fair here… Some or many HW stars and singers have changed their original names for more catchy or artistic ones, an dmany have modified or changed them to sound more “American” or more “english”” and therefore, acceptable for the public. N. Wood, Martin Sheen, Freddie Mercury, Anthony Quinn and many Jewish names
These monikers are used differently, like Nicknames, not artistic names. I agree that affectionate nicknames have existed, maybe like Babs or Frankie Boy, but this trend I think should be more blamed on JLo, some rappers and in the combined ones, the original Bennifer.
I agree with her about combining names like ScarJo, Speidi and Bennifer. I hate that trend.
I remember reading an interview with her several years ago in the NYT and being extremely annoyed by how conceited she was. I think the interview was done prior to “Lost in Translation” being released. For someone that had yet to really establish herself her level of conceit and self regard was surprising. She’s a very pretty young woman with a hot body but as an actress-meh. She’s gotten very far on her looks.
I think taking time out to do a play was a good move. She is a competent actress. I used to love her and her film choices even when the film wasn’t too great. She lost me around the Iron Man/Sean Penn/Ryan Reynolds thing. Now she’s the one who seems lazy about her career.
It’s OK to hate a nickname that you are given, but deal with it. People come up with nicknames for celebs all the time. At least it’s not something unflattering. It’s just a shortening of her own name.
ScarJo thinks she’s a lot better than she actually is. It’s embarrassing for her that she believes her own hype. And un-necessarily namechecks actors who are streets ahead in talent and held in such high regard. All who are involved in the Zoo movie obviously did it for the money.
She is very lovely to look at, but yeah…she seems arrogant and conceited. She’s a good actor, in my opinion, despite her insufferable personality. I really liked her in The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Match Point, Lost in Translation, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She was even a brilliant child actor, I thought she was terrific in Manny and Lo. I think she’s being overly sensitive about the tabloid nickname… all the stars have these silly tabloid nicknames these days.
She has the right to complain about the shortening of her name. My name is 3 letters and people try to give me a nickname. Umm…no. So, on that score, I agree with her. The rest is a bit pretentious. She doesn’t bother me as much as she does others because I don’t go any deeper than necessary.
for those old enough to remember, i think FloJo was one of the original short name thingies. Florence Griffith Joyner. the fastest woman of all time. she also had amazing fingernails.
She was also a drug cheat.
it killed her.
I can’t stand her but I agree about it being laziness. In only some cases is it affectinate nickname, like Jennifer Lopez as Jenny Lo. or J.Lo…well that came from her “urban fans” hip hop artists and their mixtapes, etc.
But the rest like “Scar Jo” are to the point of laziness or silliness. Even though I do agree that she is also overly sensitive about it. She could just pretend it doesn’t exsist!
I don’t know how I feel about the pretentiousness that seems to be coming out of Scarlett’s mouth, but I totally agree about the nickname thing. I first really noticed it gaining prevalence around the Bennifer era, with single people and couples both suddenly sprouting nicknames in the tabloids. Why can’t we take the few extra characters and give people their actual names.
She looks so matron and horsey on the last pic, it’s like a glimpse into the future. Her looks are fading really fast.
I’m glad people are realising how much of a bitch she is. I used to be the only one to not like her and I’ve got kinda tired of explaining why.
She should be flattered that she’s relevant enough to have a moniker.
Never liked her. LaineyGossip did a hilarious piece on why she hooked up with Sean Penn (she thought she was in his league, acting-wise). She acts in Batman movies and now this “We Bought A Zoo” nonsense…. she’s not some indie actress though she thinks she is. Her face isn’t great, body lovely, acting talent mediocre, and attitude pure suckitude.
No offense to Sean Penn but I don’t know what she sees in him.
Marilyn Monroe? More like Mae West. And i mean no disrespect to Ms. West, who would have probably said something much more clever in that trademark voice of hers: “they can call me May or they can call me Mayway, don’t matter a thing to me, as long as they call me.” Wink, wink ;-p
LOL! I can easily visualize Mae West doing that. I love her wit. But ScarJo takes herself way too seriously.
I’m team ScarJo, Hope she isn’t reading this but I like her and understand she wants more complex roles. I don’t see anything wrong with that and she looks amazing in those photo’s I would buy her playboy if she was in it!!!
Yeah, the way ScarJo (I SAID IT TOO! lol) is inserting these other actors, these Oscar-nominated, well-respected actors into her league by bringing them up in an interview about her name…it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed for her. Like, just STOP, ScarJo.
I don’t blame her, who wants to be called ScarJo, it’s ugly.
I do hate the nickname thing… I would have hated to be called “BrenGal” back when I was single.
She’s such a dumbass she’s lucky anyone refers to her as anything. All she’s got is a pair of giant, jiggling boobs which have gotten her every part on her resume. Her face is awful. Like she’s wearing a rubber mask with that huge nose and big flapping lips. She ought to close them, shut.
to the person who wrote, “goop won an oscar?”
A: back in the stone age, yeah, for ‘shakespeare in love,” which was an all-around horrible movie.it’s kind of entertaining in retrospect that the world was so taken with her for five hot minutes.
That still makes me fume. She beat out Cate Blanchett’s amazing performance in Elizabeth. I’ve had no respect for the Oscars since that time (of yeah, that and Nicholson beating Robert Duvall in The Apostle.)
It’s not Gwyneth’s fault that her studio campaigned the shi*t out of it but I’ve disliked her ever since.
So overrated because of her chest. Charlize Theron is 10 times more beautiful and works the old hollywood look much better. Same with Amber Heard. Scarlett has always seemed full of herself. After Lost in Translation, she turned into the vain, shallow girl that was being parodied in that film by Anna Faris.
This girl is insufferable. Her arrogant attitude comes through even her characters.
Also, what happened to her body? It’s like she gained weight and her boobs shrunk at the same time. How is that possible?
I love Scarlett & have since she came on the scene. I think she is absolutely beautiful & very talented too boot. I think she got married WAY too young & as for her fling with Sean Penn… thats exactly what it was, a fling. I guarantee that she knew it for what it was going into it. I certainly had my fair share of flings &, honestly, if anyone judged me on them, well f them
She comes off as so pretentious all the time. She’s not that talented of an actress that she should be able to get away with this attitude that she has. She’s basic in looks, at best. You can put eye shadow and frosted lipstick on a piece of bread, but at the end of the day, it’s still bread.
Didn’t Madonna also hate the nickname the British tabloids gave her while she was living in London and married to Guy Ritchie? Madge? And then she came to like it because someone told her it was short for “her majesty.” Someone should make up some BS story about the ScarJo nickname to Scarlett!
Thank you! I was always wtf is this Madge-ness… I didn’t get it at all. Now I do. (bows)
This girl had exactly ONE interesting movie role, and that was in Match Point. That’s it. Other than that, her entire ‘technique’ seems to be in showing off her cleavage or licking her pouty lips.
And, she comes across as a whiny bore. She’s right about one thing: she will NEVER be Marilyn. She had something ScarBlo will never have:
CHARISMA!
The name “Putty Nose” works for me.
I think other journalists/interviewers have commented on her perceived arrogance so I’m not going to disagree on that but the Marilyn and Scarjo kerfuffles are overblown.
She’s not an acclaimed actress like Blanchett but if she doesn’t like her nickname I don’t blame her for griping about it; I don’t think less of any person for that, but it’s not like Johansson is a regular tabloid fixture either. She’s a pretty private celeb, she’s not trying to attract the attention like J.Lo.
Does Scarlett control magazine editors now? If they want to style her as Marilyn Monroe, would it be better for her to throw a fit and demand they do otherwise? She’s a blonde bombshell so un-creative creative directors style her as such. I don’t see anything wrong with her wanting to play against type, i.e. act. She’s praising Monroe and other actresses for attempting it, but the role’s not for her. Not everyone needs to want to play Monroe. It’s also just smart, if she played Marilyn, she’d be typecast for life.
Who cares? This is just the lamest junk, ever. ‘People think my favourite colour is cornflower but it’s actually delft, wah!’ ‘Oh, I see her pain. Can you imagine if your favourite was midnight blue but people kept saying it was navy? It reminds me of my great cobalt fracas of–‘ These aren’t complaints, they aren’t issues, they’re baseless appeals for saintdom amped up to Heigl 9000. People shortening our names is the cause for this faux anguish? We’re this precious about our non-weaponized nicknames? Why? If it’s innocuous, why flip out? If you could hear what they call you when you’ve left the room, Scarpia.
seriously,she should be happy people even talk about her.she has no talent