Woody Allen began scouting Barcelona to find spots – among them La Sagrada Familia, a Catholic cathedral that has been under construction here for decades – to film scenes for his next movie.

Sources with the cathedral’s construction board told Efe that the filmmaker visited the structure designed by the late Antoni Gaudi, one of the Barcelona landmarks that will certainly appear in the film.

Although the film has no title as yet, it will tell the story of a U.S. tourist – Scarlett Johansson – on vacation in Barcelona and the relationships she strikes up with some of the local residents, notably one played by Spanish actor Javier Bardem.

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TypicallySpanish.com has published a new article regarding Scarlett’s newest collaboration with Woody Allen. He has arrived in Spain now for pre-production.

Woody Allen has arrived in Barcelona to organise the details of his latest film which is to be filmed over the summer in the city and in Oviedo. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Allen has already met with representatives of Mediapro, the production company which is financing the film, in their offices in the new Agbar tower, and members of his direction team have already spent several weeks in the city finding locations for the film.

On June 14th Allen will also be invested ‘doctor honoris causa’ by the Pompeu Fabra university in Barcelona.

The date comes at the request of Allan who says he will start shooting on the same day.

Variety has confirmed that Scarlett has signed to star in Woody Allen Spanish Project, her third collaboration with Woody Allen. This makes her the actress Allen has used most frequently since his early runs with Mia Farrow and Diane Keaton.

Johansson and Rebecca Hall (The Prestige) join Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz in the film, which will shoot for six weeks in Barcelona and one week in Asturias. Allen will trek to Spain in June for pre-production and then will return to begin production after the July 4 holiday.

Spain-based producer Mediapro is financing half of the film, and Letty Aronson, Steve Tenenbaum and Gareth Wiley are producing. (more…)

Variety has confirmed that Scarlett has signed to star in Midnight In Barcelona, her third collaboration with Woody Allen. This makes her the actress Allen has used most frequently since his early runs with Mia Farrow and Diane Keaton.

Johansson and Rebecca Hall (The Prestige) join Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz in the film, which will shoot for six weeks in Barcelona and one week in Asturias. Allen will trek to Spain in June for pre-production and then will return to begin production after the July 4 holiday.

Spain-based producer Mediapro is financing half of the film, and Letty Aronson, Steve Tenenbaum and Gareth Wiley are producing.

It is the first film that Allen has shot in Spain, but this will be the fourth consecutive production outside the U.S. for a director once identified as the quintessential New York filmmaker. Allen made his previous three films in London, and he began going there partly to preserve the auteur manner in which he has always made his films.

Screen Daily reports that Woody Allen wants to cast Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall (The Prestige co-star) opposite Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem in his new and currently untitled film to be shot in Barcelona, Spain this summer.

Allen described the story as “romantic but serious.” A script has been completed and Allen is currently auditioning English-speaking actors. Prized Spanish cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe has been tapped for the film as part of a reportedly all-Spanish crew. The film will also shoot in Oviedo, a city in Spain’s northern Asturias region.

Scarlett previously starred in Woody Allen’s Scoop and Match Point.