David O. Russell’s next movie is coming together fast — thanks to the imminent commitment of Scarlett Johansson to star alongside its producer and leading man, Vince Vaughn. Vulture hears that Vaughn’s Wild West Picture Show production company has landed Johansson to star in Old St. Louis, a Paper Moon–esque road movie about a divorced traveling toy salesman who reconnects with his teen daughter after years on the road. Johansson would play Vaughn’s paramour, a secretary who accompanies them on their cross-country sales jaunt.

Insiders tell Vulture that the project had been around for years — earlier in the decade, it was called Toy Men and set up for Sony’s Columbia Pictures, with a script alternately worked on by Steve Pink (the screenwriter of movies like Gross Pointe Blank and High Fidelity and, more recently, the director of Hot Tub Time Machine) and Allen Loeb (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). But now that it’s been so thoroughly rewritten by Russell, it bears only his name — and a new title.

Creative Artists Agency, which reps both Johansson and Vaughn, is in the midst of raising the financing for the $20 million indie project, but we hear it’s already closing in on a deal with Universal Pictures to distribute the drama, which is expected to start shooting this October.

source: NYmag

Ryan Reynolds has signed on as narrator and exec producer of “The Whale,” a docu about a wild killer whale that causes upheaval in a small town when he tries to befriend human beings.

Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit directed the film, produced by Mountainside Films. Reynolds signed on to the project because he had a personal connection to the film, which was set near his hometown of Vancouver, B.C.

“The Whale” is the true story of a baby killer whale, nicknamed Luna, who gets separated from his family on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island. As rambunctious and surprising as a visitor from another planet, Luna endears himself to humans with his determination to make friends, which leads to laughter, conflict and unexpected consequences.

Scarlett Johansson and Eric Desatnik are also exec producing and Desatnik’s handling U.S. sales of the film. World sales are by PBS Intl.

source: Variety

Some people are just born with Broadway in their blood. Scarlett Johansson is surely such a case, having been born and raised in New York City and having found that her connection to theatre enriches her relationships with contemporaries and collaborators like Hugh Jackman, Jessica Hecht, Liev Schreiber and many more, as well as enriches her experiences as a human being and theatre activist. Besides being in the highest grossing film of the year so far – Iron Man 2 – Scarlett Johansson also managed to win a 2010 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress In A Play, and if those accomplishments just weren’t enough, she was magnanimous and gracious enough to give me forty-five minutes of her highly-prized time. Someone as ravishingly beautiful and quick-witted and eloquent as she is would not be automatically assumed by most to be the best dramatic and comedic actress of her generation – the next Meryl Streep if there ever were any – but, she is. She is. For further proof, see: Lost in Translation, The Prestige, Match Point, Scoop, Vicky Cristina Barcelona & Iron Man 2. Here is a portion of the interview in which we discuss her Broadway baby upbringing and some musical theatre-related anecdotes.

PC: What was it like working with fellow Broadway baby Hugh Jackman in SCOOP & THE PRESTIGE?

SJ: You know, working on SCOOP with Hugh, of course, I was just very fortunate to work with Hugh. He’s just – I mean, we call him the Mayor of Hollywood – he’s just all around amazing. A triple threat: singing, dancing, acting. And unbelievably, ridiculously gorgeous.

PC: Well, you are all of those things, too, so you must be the Mayoress of Hollywood!

SJ. (Laughs.) Thank you. But, he’s just the bee’s knees and I got really lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with him on the set of SCOOP. Of course, we both discovered that we love musicals. I love musicals, I started acting because I wanted to be in a musical. I loved Rodgers & Hammerstein and Cole Porter and Gershwin. We would just spend our whole morning in the hair and make-up trailer singing CAROUSEL and OKLAHOMA! and DAMN YANKEES. Then, you know, we got to work together again on THE PRESTIGE.

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Scarlett’s nomination to the TCA has just been announced. The awards will take place August 9 in LA and you can vote for her here* (once a day).

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi

Scarlett Johansson, “Iron Man 2”
Rachel McAdams, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Iron Man 2”
Amanda Peet, “2012”
Zoë Saldana, “Avatar”

In her first appearance on live television since her split with Jesse James, Sandra Bullock Scarlett Johansson kissed on stage at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday in Universal City, California Sandra Bullock, 45, was honored with the Generation Award.

Ms. Bullock told press, “Ryan is right- Scarlett is a great kisser,” speaking of her “Proposal” costar, and Johansson’s husband Ryan Reynolds.

“Scarlett …. I love you and we all do, but you’re a little uncomfortable … why are you here? “Bullock began.

Johansson said: “Well, since Ryan was working, I wanted to be here in place when you win the Best Kiss.”

“That is so nice,” said Bullock. “But we didn’t win.”

“Well … well … I should have won … it was a big kiss,” said Johansson.

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When most Hollywood stars decide to buy a house in the country, it’s fair to say they opt for a substantial pile complete with all the trimmings of pool and tennis court.
But a small farmhouse with a rusty old barn? In Louisiana?
Well, that’s what Scarlett Johansson and husband Ryan Reynolds have plumped for in their latest real estate acquisition.

Even by U.S. standards, the two-storey building with a separate garage is fairly small. But this seems to be the kind of house the couple, who married in 2008, prefer.

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Scans of the gorgeous V Magazine article have been added to the gallery. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Magazine Scans: Scans of 2010 > V Magazine (US) – Summer ‘10

Scarlett talks about Iron Man 2 and A View From The Bridge.

‘I feel lucky I’ve been able to jump from genre to genre. It would be unsatisfying doing the same thing again and again and I’m lucky to be able to transform myself in different ways. And it’s been unbelievable to be part of this thing. It’s been a huge experience for me,’ Johansson said in an-email interview.

After her recent release ‘Iron Man 2′, the 25-year-old is happy playing Catherine Carbone in ‘A View From The Bridge’.

‘I never thought I’d be following up ‘Iron Man’ with a little Arthur Miller, but I’ve always kind of worked where the spirit has moved me,’ she said.

In director Jon Favreau’s ‘Iron Man 2′, Johansson plays Natalie Rushman, a demure assistant who hides a shocking secret and later reveals herself as The Black Widow.
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“Working with these incredible hair and makeup teams, you go in looking like a schmoe, and you come out like a movie star, you go through the works, and then you’re like this perfectly prepared sausage…no one ever sees what goes in.”

“I’m 25, and for some time I’ve played these characters who are kind of figuring it out, transforming from young girls to young women. I don’t feel like a girl anymore. And I feel like my life and career are on a different path than they had been.”

Scarlett’s on the cover of V Magazine’s summer issue and oh my good what an amazing cover! (click to view it on the gallery). She’s wearing Yves Saint Laurent and it’s photographed by Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin. As usual, if anyone could provide us scans, please leave your email in a comment and I will contact you.