Brad Renfro, Scarlett’s co-star in Ghost World, was found dead Tuesday in his home. He was 25. I just wanted to take a moment to express my sincere condolences.

Rest in peace, Brad.

PageSix.com reports that Scarlett is set to make her directorial debut with a short film set in New York! Knowing that directing has always been a dream of Scarlett’s, I personally could not be more excited for her. :heart:

Woody Allen muse Scarlett Johansson will soon make her directorial debut this year in New York, I Love You, PageSix.com has learned exclusively.

The project, in which Allen will also participate, taps 12 directors to create five-minute films, all love stories set in NYC.

Johansson and Allen will join confirmed directors Anthony Minghella and Mira Nair on the project, from the producers of Paris, J’Taime, a similar flick from 2006.

ScarJo, a New York native and granddaughter of Danish filmmaker Ejner Johansson, is taking the leap with a series of acting projects on the burner.

Reports surfaced yesterday that Johansson was approached by Courtney Love to play her in Heavier Than Heaven, a forthcoming Kurt Cobain biopic.

Macleans.ca has published an interesting new interview with Woody Allen, where he talks about Scarlett, among other things. Here’s a few related snippets:

Q: I think that [beautiful women] have to be one of the most consistent things in all your films.

A: It’s a treat when I pay my $10 to see a movie if I can feast my eyes on Scarlett Johansson, or in my new movie I have Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz. And it is wonderful, you know, your heart beats in a way that no other phenomenon can make it beat when you see them. When you see Mia Farrow over the years, or Diane Keaton over the years, it’s just a great thing.

Q: You said Scarlett Johansson will have a limitless career if she keeps her poise. What did you mean?

A: Well, you know, she’s 23. She was only 19 when she did Match Point, and everybody is throwing things at her, and she’s so beautiful and so sexy and so gifted, she’s funny, she can sing, she can act dramatically, she can do anything, but she’s gotta make the right choices of films and she’s got to not go the Page Six party route. I don’t want to read about her in the paper with this boyfriend or that boyfriend, or in rehab or taking pills. Now, I haven’t–which is great–but she’s got to keep her poise and select good pictures. I don’t think she’s always made great choices. She’s gotta take her acting seriously, not the acting as an entree into a world of being the toast of the town but the way someone like Meryl Streep did it.

We have put up a new layout for Scarlett-Fan.com. It was designed by Jess (using Scarlett’s most recent Vogue photoshoot), and coded by Mycah. Thanks so much to both ladies for their great help!

With this design I wanted to go for an Old Hollywood inspired look. Both Scarlett and myself are big fans of the era and these pictures are certainly reminiscent of the days gone by. I also used this cool quote from Woody Allen on Miss Johansson and her extraordinary abilities. The navigation is powered by flash so if you’re experiencing problems seeing it, you will need to install Java or simply navigate through the links on the bottom of the page.

Feel free to leave any comments regarding the new look. All feedback is much appreciated, as per usual. 

Dolly Parton, Jeanne Carmen and Jenna Jameson are not the only celebrities who wish Scarlett would play them in a biopic… Apparently Courtney Love has also handpicked Scarlett to play her in an upcoming film! Here’s a reportage from The Mirror:

When Courtney Love wanted an actress to play her in a film about her rock’n'roll life, the chosen one had to be young, beautiful and fabulous – obviously.

So she’s asked gorgeous Scarlett Johansson to portray her in the new £30million movie about life with tragic rocker husband Kurt Cobain.

And Courtney, who is executive producer on the film, has been raving about Lost In Translation star Scarlett, who she knows from the LA party scene.

(more…)

Scarlett Johansson will release an album on May 6 called “Anywhere I Lay My Head,” andPOP has learned.

The actress-turned-singer revealed in 2006 that she would be recording a Tom Waits cover album. Her album’s title, “Anywhere I Lay My Head,” is the title of a Waits track from his classic 1985 album “Rain Dogs.”

Source: andPOP

It looks like John Curran is no longer directoring Mary Queen of Scots. Instead, Phillip Noyce will take on the directing duties and the film is currently on course to start production in April in London and Scotland (yay!). Hopefully there will be no more delays. Here’s a reportage from Variety:

Phillip Noyce is set to direct and Scarlett Johansson to star in Mary Queen of Scots, putting the costumer on course to start production in April.

Drama is a biography of the woman who became Scotland’s queen at 9 months in 1542 and, later, a rival to the English throne. Mary, a Roman Catholic, was imprisoned for many years on charges of plotting to murder Elizabeth I, a Protestant. Elizabeth eventually had her beheaded in 1587.

James McGovern (Crackers) wrote the script, and Melanie Johansson and Alexandra Milchan will produce. The film will be financed by Capitol Films and Relativity.

It will shoot in London and Scotland.

I am back from my break and ready to get back in the action. You can expect new scans within a few days and some big changes later on this week so be sure to stay tuned.

I’ve added six lovely pictures of Scarlett taken by Hanna, a fan who met Scarlett in Iowa last week. Here’s what she had to say about the experience:

I got a chance to meet and talk with Scarlett yesterday at a Coffee house in Ames, Iowa as she was raising support for Barack Obama. I took some photos of her with my phone and I thought I’d share them.

If any other fans had a chance to meet Scarlett in Iowa (or anywhere else, really), please do send in your photos and stories. I’m sure that I am speaking for all the fans when I say that we’d love to see – and hear – them!

GALLERY LINKS:
- Fan Snaps by Megan

We now know of two The Other Boleyn Girl premieres: a Royal Premiere in London, England on the evening of February 19, 2008 and another one in Vancouver, Canada on February 25, 2008 at 7 pm. For some information about the Royal Premiere, check out CTBF.co.uk. For Vancouver premiere, you can win passes at 95crave.com. Good luck! No word whether or not Scarlett will be in attendance.

Thanks to Roberto for the scoop.