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A-List Secrets: How Hard Scarlett Really Works

Thu., Aug. 21, 2008 9:33 AM PDT by Leslie Gornstein

Scarlett Johansson, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Victor Bello/TWC 2008

It drives me nuts when I hear celebs talking about how "I am working so hard, all I do is work, blah blah blah." It's not like they are going into a coal mine for 14 hours a day.
—Kathy, N.J.

Now, now. Not every celebrity is a Katherine Heigl-sized black hole of negativity. Take Scarlett Johansson. Sure, Scarlett has her flaws—see my earlier references vis-à-vis "singing voice" and "manatee"—but she's also a veritable supersquirrel in the hard work department. A chittering, happy little squirrel treated with L'Oréal hair color No. 10SB.

Earlier this month, I asked her about this very topic. She had just starred in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and had two other acting roles in the can. Her short film was in postproduction, and her album of Tom Waits covers was out. I asked if she slept.

Find out what she told me, after the jump.

"It's not like I'm a trauma surgeon," she retorted. "There are more stressful jobs. I'm working on things that I love, and, like any artist, I'm productive...Just as a college professor would be working 10 months out of the year, [I'm] working sporadically for that same period of time."

See? There's one actor with no complaints.

Other film stars do more than just complain when they feel overworked. They quit.

Before Johnasson stepped in to star in her first Woody Allen picture, Match Point, her part had been assigned to Kate Winslet. But according to Allen, Winslet contacted the director before production began to say she felt overextended and wanted to spend more time with her kids. Allen let her bow out, and the casting switch was made.

Finally, let's address one other point. To be fair, actors only have control over their acting. They can't decide when a film gets released. So they may indeed be working all the time, but their studios are delaying release of their movies for Oscar season, or, if the movie is crappy, January.

Speaking of crappy, my inbox is looking a little haggard, kids. Vacations are no excuse to slack off in the rabid-curiosity department. Ask me something!

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