"Every single junket that we've done so far, we always get the muse thing and when always say, 'No, it's not that way, it's not that way,' and I don't think it is that way, I think I'm fortunate enough to fit in to the young girl part of the story, the young woman, you know, just the same as Judy Davis would fit in to a certain part or Dianne Weist would fit into a certain part. I think, you know, Woody as well as I, both of us appreciate how wonderful it is to work with your friends. It's fun and we always have a great time when we do it. We entertain each other and we understand each other. We poke each other," laughed Johansson. "Got to make sure he's still like awake."
"But he writes such fantastic female roles and reading the script, the most exciting part about reading the script is getting to see what are we all, you know, meaning Penelope [Cruz] or I or whatever other women are in the part in the film, what are we going to be doing next. He has such an appreciation and understanding for the intricacies of the female mind, you know? I mean, such an appreciation. I think he would say that we're a superior species or something. He loves women, the way we think, and it's always some inspired character," explained Johansson.
When asked if just being a member of his repertory company is a more appropriate description of their work relationship, Johansson replied, "I think that might be more accurate, yeah. I think that's more accurate. I don't think that Woody sits at home with like a thing of Lo Mein and a typewriter thinking like, 'What is Scarlett doing now and how can her life sort of inspire this tale?' And I know I'm certainly not."
Johansson plays the 'Cristina' of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a free-spirited woman who is up for some wild fun and romance when the opportunity presents itself in the form of a sexy painter (Javier Bardem). Cristina's a character Johansson could identify with, to a certain degree. "I think that I can identify with certain aspects of her philosophy, you know? Her sort of Seize the Day attitude and her willingness to let life kind of happen in front of her and just take a chance and live, live, live - that kind of attitude, I think that's… I can certainly appreciate that part of her philosophy but, you know, we're different. We have our differences as well."
Much has been made of her love scene with Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, her very sexy co-stars in what's considered one of Allen's steamiest films. "You know, it's funny because people are so conservative," said Johansson, commenting on the 'steamy' label. "I mean it's amazing, they really are, and I think that it's such a… When you see the film, I don't know, these characters fall in love and people that fall in love are intimate. And also when you're shooting…there's like 60 grown men eating salami sandwiches kind of waiting for when they can get up and watch the game or whatever. And you just think, 'God are we rolling?,' because there's like trays of food being passed around. 'Oh, we are rolling, okay…' Nobody cares when you're doing it, of course. It's like your day at work and this is part of the story and then of course you know people get wind and they get excited because they associate like two women who wear gowns at an award show and like, 'Gosh, the possibilities,' you know? But it's ridiculous."
