Styles & Scenes

Scarlett's sporty new look

Scarlett Johansson showed off her ability to climb up on a podium at the New York press conference for her collaboration with Reebok on Tuesday.

Her new sportswear line will be called "Scarlett 'hearts' Rbk.' But you probably already knew that.

Wearing a billowy Stella McCartney frock, her hair gelled and braided and sporting pale glossy lips for a tres sportif look, she told reporters that she was really looking forward to designing athletic clothes that she and her friends, who are built like real women,  could wear.

Okay, Scarlett is unquestionably a very talented actress and a sweet, lovely person. But if you believe she’s going to be “designing” or “consulting” or doing anything other than cashing a big fat paycheck for posing for ads and endorsing Reebok’s clothing/shoe line, well, then I have some exclusive naked photos of Baby Suri to sell you.

Anyway, Scarlett’s new movie  “Scoop” -  her second collaboration with dirty old man, er acclaimed director, Woody Allen - also happens to be opening this weekend.

Which is coincidental timing, I assure you. No, really.

I haven’t seen "Scoop" yet. But I heard Scarlett wears a swimsuit in one scene and looks very fit, toned and with an admirably flat stomach.

But then again, she’s also wearing a one-piece suit which – and I think you’ll all agree with me on this - is cheating. Some of those maillots have enough hidden Lycra girdle control to make Queen Elizabeth look like she has a waist.

Photo Credits: Scarlett Johansson sprints for the finish line at the Reebok press conference at XChange in New York.
WireImage/Theo Wargo

Scarlett Johansson fleshes out new Reebok role

What do Scarlett Johansson, Allen Iverson and Donovan McNabb have in common?

Inexplicably, the four-time Golden Globe nominee (“Match Point,” “A Love Song for Bobby Long,” “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” “Lost in Translation”) will join the Philadelphia 76er and the Philly Eagles quarterback in endorsing Reebok.

Okay, guys. Who made this brilliant marketing call? And who was the runner-up, Patricia Arquette?

No question the talented buxom blonde actress oozes sex appeal onscreen. Just ask Scarlett's "Match Point" director Woody Allen. Their second film, “Scoop,” opens July 28 and he told reporters last year that the pillow-lipped starlet is so divinely sexy that she’s been “touched by God.” 

But let’s face it. Johansson's voluptuous image is way more bedroom than weight room. She just doesn’t fly as a fitness role model. Certainly not when compared to buffer babes like "Charlie's Angels" Cameron Diaz, "X-Men"s Famke Janssen, "Fantastic Four" femme fatale Jessica Alba or even Tomb Raider Angelina Jolie. 

Miss Scarlett won’t be appearing in Reebok's "When Did I Know" campaign or in the “I Am What I Am” campaign which has featured the equally uninspiring and unathletic-inclined actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal and Christina Ricci.

Wonder if Reebok knew that a few years ago Ricci's former Hollywood trainer - who shall go unnamed - fired her, making her the only actress client he's ever dumped, because she smoked cigarettes between workouts and missed her morning training sessions due to late night partying.

Come to think about it, the only Reebok poster actress who made sense was Lucy Liu. She'd at least been a believable kick-butt babe in films like “Charlie’s Angels” and “Kill Bill” and looks like she might wear Reebok sneaks and duds somewhere other than a photo shoot.

Anyway, Miss Scarlett's multi-year contract will have her posing for "Scarlett “hearts” Rbk," a "fashion-forward athletic-inspired footwear and apparel collection" aimed at the international sportswear company's young female customers. The line will debut in spring 2007 in high-end department stores and boutiques.

According to new prez/chief executive officer Paul Harrington, Reebok will make marketing changes after being gobbled up by Adidas earlier this year. So expect fewer music figures like Nelly, Jay-Z and 50 Cent and more pretty Hollywood faces like Johansson.

There is one consolation to their latest choice.

At least Reebok chose a healthy-looking actress with a body fat level over 10% and didn't sign up one of Team Anorexia's bony babes Nicole Richie, Kate Bosworth, Mary-Kate Olsen or Keira Knightley.

Photo Credits: Woody Allen admires Scarlett's astonishing athletic achievements at the LA "Match Point" premiere.
WireImage/Eric Charbonneau

Photo Credits: Wonder if Reebok saw Scarlett's graceful sprints on the set of "The Nanny Diaries" before they signed her to a multi-year contract?
WireImage/James Devaney

Emily Mortimer gets all dressaged up

Emily Mortimer, who stars in "Match Point," Woody Allen's Golden Globe-nominated mystery of manners, isn't fond of the awards season's fierce fashion pressure.

"It's such a double-edged sword," revealed the British actress, looking elegant, if slightly cold, in a sexy black strapless Balenciaga frock at the film's recent premiere bash at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "It's a bit like being a horse in dressage. Every step counts and it really takes it out of you. All those cameras on the carpets. I always have to have a big drink and an aspirin afterwards."

The outspoken young British actress, who won an Independent Spirit Award in 2003 for her supporting role in "Lovely and Amazing," also revealed the shocking truth when complimented on her chic new short bob. "I actually had a disastrous haircut recently. My hair looked as if I had a terrible disease and then someone dragged me through a hedge backwards. So I had to just cut to all off and start fresh."

The actress, who has a son, age 2, with husband-actor Alessandro Nivola, also has an unusual favorite 2005 film. "'Grizzly Man' by Werner Herzog is just so amazing. Really genius. And Timothy Treadwell is an incredible performer and a madman. I wish they could give him a posthumous award for that film."

Mortimer, who stars in the upcoming remake of "The Pink Panther" with Steve Martin playing Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, has quite a few films in the works.

She's currently filming "Stray" and will next play a baby sitter in "Snow Angels" (with Sam Rockwell), followed by "Chaos Theory" with Stuart Townsend and, finally, she'll star in "Who Killed Norma Barnes?" a dark tale of sexual obsession based on Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot."

But working with Allen on "Match" remains one of her favorite film experiences. Why? Think location, location, location. "It was the best excuse to go home I've ever had. I love living in Los Angeles but I miss London terribly and I tend to use any excuse — to pick up a postage stamp — to fly back home to visit."

Photo: "Match Point" director Woody Allen, and Emily Mortimer, all dressaged up in a black Chanel halter dress, at a special screening at the Tribeca Grand in New York.
(Dimitrios Kambouris / WireImage)

Allen's "Match" plays anywhere

F. Scott Fitzgerald was right when he wrote, "The rich are different from you and me."

But according to Woody Allen, the rich are not so different. No matter where you go.

Allen's new film, "Match Point," which received four Golden Globe nods, (director, dramatic film, supporting actress in a drama, screenplay) tells the story of a conniving young lower-class man's attempts to climb above his station into the upper echelon of established, old-moneyed British society. And the quintessential New York director says it wasn't hard to make his "Point" in London because rich Brits are just rich New Yorkers with different accents.

"London and New York are very similar cities," Allen explained at the recent "Point" premiere after-party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "There's a very strong class structure in New York as well. In fact, I could have made this film in the Hamptons or in Palm Beach."

But British actress Emily Mortimer, who plays one of the wealthy young women, was impressed with Allen's ability to see the English class system and display it so adeptly. "I think foreign directors have this genius way of observing English mores and manners that is, in some ways, more astute and perceptive than we are about ourselves."

"English society is totally obsessed and neurotic about class," she admitted. "We've lived with it for centuries and we can't really see ourselves really clearly in that arena. Whereas Ang Lee in 'Sense and Sensibility,' Robert Altman in 'Gosford Park,' Shekhar Kapur with 'Elizabeth' and Woody with this film, can look closely and see us much more clearly."

Allen also remained a very non-judgmental observer of the English upper class. "He sees the class system for what it is," says Mortimer. "We assume that if you're a posh person, you're a snob and a baddie. During filming, told me, 'These are not bad people, they're good people, nice people.'"

For that matter, Allen could easily have set the film in L.A. and had some fun with the Hollywood class system. And don't think that there isn't one.

Photo Credit: "Match Point" stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Emily Mortimer could be playing tennis in the Hamptons, Palm Beach, New York or London, says director Woody Allen.
(DreamWorks)

Woody Allen's latest Lady Luck

Woody Allen's new movie "Match Point" is a suspenseful tale of a young working class man who marries into upper-crust British society, then risks everything for an affair with an American actress.

But the film's theme is luck. And Allen, whose past muses include Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow, seems to have found his new Lady Luck — Scarlett Johansson.

There's a good chance audiences will want to see her steamy sex scenes with "Match" costar Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Unlike characters in Allen's past films, these two do way more than just talk about sex. Especially noteworthy: the passionate encounter in the pouring rain between the panting, soaking wet, lush-lipped lovers.

Allen has called Johansson a "dream girl" describing her as "a naturally great actress. She's very sexy, very pretty. She was just touched by God." But apparently, he's not that impressed with her clothes.

Photo Credit: Woody Allen carefully examines Scarlett Johansson's Oscar de la Renta frock at the "Match Point" premiere post-party at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
(Eric Charbonneau / WireImage)