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Feb.27,2005 -Mar.6,2005 |
A Golden Scarlett Earring
At the tender age of 19 Scarlett Johansson shines in Peter Webber's Pearl masterpiece
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2004-01-18
There's little question that Scarlett Johansson is the "it" girl of the moment. Reeling from the stellar reviews she received for her work as Charlotte in Sofia Coppola's independent feature Lost in Translation, the 19-year-old actress is the talk of Tinsel Town.
After making her theatre debut at the age of eight in an off-Broadway play with Ethan Hawke, she garnered international attention in Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer when she was just 13. Over the past four years the teenager was seen in the Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There with Billy Bob Thornton; starred in the cult classic Ghost World alongside Thora Birch; and recently wrapped The Perfect Score opposite John Travolta.
But this week she is starring in Girl With a Pearl Earring, Peter Webber's directorial debut based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier. The story centres on Griet (Johansson), a 16-year-old girl who appears in Johannes Vermeer's painting which carries the movie's title. Set in 17th century Holland, Griet is employed by Vermeer (Colin Firth) as a housekeeper to care for his six children, his jealous pregnant wife (Essie Davis) and his uncommunicative mother-in-law (Judy Parfitt). Tensions arise when Vermeer's wife suspects intimacy between her husband and the girl, and climax when she discovers that Griet borrowed her inestimable pearl earrings to sit for the now famous portrait.
Johansson made Golden Globe history last week by being nominated as best actress for both Lost in Translation and Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Tandem talked to Scarlett Johansson when she was in Toronto.
This was one of the most coveted roles in Hollywood for young actresses. How did you land it?
"I went in for a reading and didn't have the part yet. The minute I read the script, I wanted the part. Peter [Webber] came to Vancouver where I was filming The Perfect Score and pretty much begged me to do the role. He says that he came crawling across a floor of gravel with weights on his feet and asked me to do the part."
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