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The actress, who attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration, is taking time off to figure out her next move.

We saw a lot of Scarlett Johansson in 2008: She had a critically acclaimed role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the lead in The Other Boleyn Girl and a supporting part in The Spirit. And the actress is already back on the big screen in February’s He’s Just Not That Into You.

She spoke with MTV News about attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration and who she’d like to work with on future projects. Though her visit to Washington, D.C., was unquestionably memorable, Johansson didn’t get the chance to see Obama in person. Still, she was happy just to be a face in the crowd.

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Variety reports Scarlett attended a party in celebration of Penelope Cruz’s Oscar nomination for Vicky Cristina Barcelona on Monday that was hosted by Salma Hayek.

Here is a little blurb:

In Hollywood Harvey Weinstein and Salma Hayek honored their friend, the Oscar-nominated Penelope Cruz (for Vicky Cristina Barcelona) at an all-movie star party in Salma’s white wood, jewel of a little house in Bel Air. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, who she once played in a film where she should have won the Oscar, hang Salma’s walls with paintings. Her windows overlook L.A. The decor is stunning, contemporary and tastefully bright. The hostess received in a black cocktail dress wearing five-inch heels and carrying her baby, Valentina, in her arms. Some guests? Colin Farrell, Brett Ratner, Josh Groban, Prince, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Reynolds, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Quincy Jones, Drew Barrymore, Penny Marshall, Bob Balaban, Adrien Brody, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones who say they’re moving back East.

Furthormore, in the photo to the right you can see Scarlett has newly deeply dyed red hair! One source reports it was for an upcoming role, and another said “She just said she wanted an autumn color.”

GALLERY LINKS:
- Public Events: Salma Hayek Hosted Party for Penelope Cruz

MTV News caught up with Johansson at the junket for He’s Just Not That Into You and asked her about the Astro Boy rumors.

“I had kind of sort of met on it and stuff, but I don’t know where that came from,” Johansson told MTV. “I had never been committed to it. I don’t know what happened to it.”

The film, based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka, tells the story of boy robot built to replace a scientist’s lost son. Even without Johansson, the project continues to boast some impressive voice talent, including Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy, Nicolas Cage as his creator, Dr. Tenma, as well as Nathan Lane, Bill Night, Eugene Levy and Kristen Bell.

With Johansson out and the studio’s financial woes made public, it remains to be seen if anyone will be replacing her in the role, much less someone of her star power, although her role, which was never specifically announced, may already have been filled by Bell (whose role is also, so far, unspecified).

While it’s not at all uncommon for Hollywood deals to fall through, the confirmation of this one does come at a time that leads to some speculation about the films’ future. Here’s hoping that Imagi will have Astro Boy on-track soon or, better yet, that they’ll confirm that it was never off-track in the first place.