Synopsis

The late U.K. journalist Joe Strombel is being mourned by his colleagues, even as, stuck in limbo, Joe remains committed to pursuing a hot tip on the identity of the 'Tarot Card Killer', at large in London. But he's travelling on a boat with Death, to where who knows. Strombel decides to abandon ship. He jumps overboard and ends up in the netherland. He finds the perfect vehicle for his plan in the very much alive Sondra Pransky. Sondra is an American journalism student visiting friends in London. During a stage performance by the American magician Splendini, Sondra is picked to participate in the act. She is shocked to find herself able to see and hear Joe. From the beyond, he gives her the scoop of a lifetime and urges her to pursue it. Sondra immediately starts chasing the big story, enlisting the aid of a reluctant Sid Waterman (a.k.a. Splendini). That chase leads right to handsome British aristocrat Peter Lyman. Soon, Sondra finds that the romance of her life may well be the dangerous scoop she’s looking for.

What The Critics Say

"The kind of movie you just don't see these days; an intelligently crafted entertainment that pretends to be nothing more." Ken Hanke MOUNTAIN XPRESS "Jackman slips easily into the ambiguous menace of his Cary Grant role." Jeffrey Westhoff NORTHWEST HERALD "Add in a couple of classic Allen-esque self-deprecating zingers and you've got yet another good one from Woody and his latest lady." Paul Semel E! ONLINE "Scoop is funny, charming and keeps you guessing." Jeanne Kaplan KAPLAN vs KAPLAN "It's full of funny lines and clever inventions." Joe Morgenstern WALL STREET JOURNAL "Scoop, an amiable romp of lighthearted fun." Bruce Westbrook HOUSTON CHRONICLE "Scoop is a witty, admittedly silly comedy which shows that Allen still has what it takes to make effortlessly likable films. Let's hope he has a few more in him yet." Georgia Sholl YOURMOVIES AUST

" It's spry, whimsical and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. The film is a crafty, quick-witted confection that goes down with the ease of ice water on a balmy summer day." Dustin Putman THEMOVIEBOY "Scoop is light as a feather and playful in that classic early-Allen style -- witty banter interwoven with magical elements and pure slapstick." Mary F Pols CONTRA COSTA TIMES "Scoop has something "Match Point" didn't, something that none of Allen's films have had to quite this degree in 10 years. It's really, really funny." Mick LaSalle SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE "Scoop, a self-consciously wacky crime comedy that retains from "Match Point" both the English backdrop and star Scarlett Johansson." Phoebe FlowersSOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL "A romp of a thing, "Scoop" won't be mistaken for splendid. Yet for diminutive pleasure, the murder- mystery comedy can rightly be called splendini." Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST "Suspenseful and seductive; like a mysteriously delicious ice cream cone that melts in your mind rather than in your mouth." Susan Granger MODAMAG

The Inside Story For many Woody Allen fans the past few years have been a little disappointing. Thankfully all that is about to change with the release of his latest film "Scoop", and as was the case with "Match Point", the film is set in the UK. "Match Point" reunites Scarlett Johansson and Allen again, except that this time round Allen is in the picture. The two work well together and its easy to pick up that there is a professional chemistry between the two. How did Allen's latest gem make it to the bigscreen? "Well, I had done "Match Point" with Scarlett Johansson, and we had talked about doing another film together. "Scoop" was an idea that I had which accommodated both of us, so I thought we would do it," the three time Academy Award winner revealed. And was the part of written for Scarlett Johansson? "When I had the idea, I thought it would be a reporter, because I had the idea prior to knowing Scarlett. But when I was formulating the script, and I knew Scarlett was playing the character, it seemed like it was a natural that she was a college journalist on vacation for the summer." Once again the film is set in London. Allen has always been known for shooting in New York. So what was the attraction that would draw him back again? "It’s a very nice place to film in. I mean, I like filming in New York a lot myself, but London is accommodating to me; the weather’s very good there and the conditions for shooting, the financial conditions, the artistic conditions," notes Allen, "are good, so it’s a pleasant place to shoot." Australian actor and star of the "X-Men" trilogy Hugh Jackman admits he was surprised Allen was shooting in England. "I got a phone call from my agent saying that the casting director for Woody Allen wanted to see me," Jackman recalls, "for a movie shooting in England, which seemed odd to me; a Woody Allen movie shooting in London sounded like a contradiction. I was also told not to be offended if my meeting with Woody only took two minutes." Allen says he's not too familiar with London but it's obvious that has it's advantages. "I don’t know the town that well, so I still enjoy going around to all the places in town. I like going around the streets of London, which is a particularly pretty city. So it’s very easy to get locations when you combine the beauty of the city and the beauty of the weather that you get every day; these wonderful, moody, gray, soft-lit skies. It comes out very seductive on film." The credit for the look of both "Match Point" and "Scoop" must go to cinematographer Remi Adefarasin. "I didn’t know Remi at all before I met him on "Match Point", but his reputation preceded him; people said I’d love to work with him, and he’s terrific. I met with him and he’s a very affable guy, and I did love working with him, so I invited him back for the next one," Allen says. "I was thrilled that he was available for my second picture in London. He’s a very gifted cameraman." But he won't be available for your next film which also is being shot in London, will he? "For my third one in London, that I’m doing this summer, he’s not available; he’s on another film that he’s been committed to for a long time (the Elizabeth sequel "The Golden Age"). So I’ll be working with Vilmos Zsigmond," Allen said. And you've worked with him before, of course. "I’ve filmed with before, on Melinda and Melinda." Allen's character in the film, Sid Waterman a.k.a. Splendini is so much fun to watch. Is it true he has had an interest in magic since childhood? "Yeah. It’s just something that always was a little junk-tooth interest of mine. I liked it when I was a kid, and I’ve grown up as a sucker for it. It always strikes me as amusing and interesting, and I’m always taken with the kind of cheesy-looking Japanese red lacquered boxes and silk handkerchiefs and swords and cards and silver rings and all the apparatus that give it an exotic look." In the film Sid isn't keen to get involved initially, is he? "There’s a standard suspense picture gimmick; in this case, in a comic suspense movie; where an innocent character is, for one reason or another, sucked into a story that he has no real interest in and that he doesn’t want to waste his time in. But there’s always a reason why they are; in "Scoop", Sid is talked into it by Sondra, because she’s an amiable, energetic, likable student. He starts to get involved with the story, and gets carried away with it a little bit in helping her out." And he does become quite committed, especially after he too receives a visit form the spirit figure of Joe Strombel. He genuinely wants to help when she seems to be swaying a little. "His common sense tells him not to get involved," says Allen. "If anything, this is going to lead to trouble, but she’s clearly someone who comes from his neighborhood, his country, who he can identify with and empathize with. So he gets more and more drawn in, and her enthusiasm is boundless because she’s relentless and because she starts to fall in love with the subject of her investigation." The subject of her investigation, at the urging insistance of Strombel, is the very handsome Peter Lyman (played by Jackman). Prior to his death Strombel received a hot tip that Lyman is in fact the infamous serial killer, known as the 'Tarot Card Killer'. His thoughts on the comparisons being made between Jackman and Cary Grant? "He’s such a dapper, sweet, likable, guy who can dance and move gracefully and is so handsome and can sing that comparisons are inevitable. You could always, just as there was a time Hugh Grant would be compared with Cary Grant, because he also is very debonair and charming, well, so is Hugh Jackman, and it is an inevitable comparison." And is it true he hadn't met Jackman or seen him perform before casting him in the role? "I had never seen Hugh Jackman or his movies or even knew what he looked like before I met him. He was just one of those people who I’d never come in contact with for one reason or another. I only heard wonderful stories about him, and how great he was as an actor." So how did it all happen? "We called him and asked him if he’d be interested in doing something, and he said 'sure'. He came by to say hello, and he walked in and not only is he fun to look at, great-looking , he’s also lovely and suave. I offered him the role right away. I was very lucky that he was free to take it, and wanted to take it," says Allen. Jackman revealed there was one major drawback to working with the great Woody Allen. What was it? "The big problem for me was that Woody likes to ad-lib occasionally, particularly on his lines. He’s fine if you want to ad-lib something. Of course, every time he ad-libbed, it was funny and it was different," Jackman recalls, "and I found myself laughing, and he’d occasionally get a little upset with me. He’d be like, 'No, no, no, please, my character is boorish; he’s not funny.' I said, 'But if you keep ad-libbing like that and I’m in the shot, I’m going to laugh. You’ve got to be a little more boring'." And how did Hugh find working with leading lady Scarlett Johansson? "She’s kind of extraordinary, really, because the girl can do anything. On film, she just lights up. On the set, we’d sing together; she can sing like an angel. She can dance, too. Pretty much everyone on the crew had a crush on her. She’s unbelievably down-to-earth, incredibly talented, very poised. There was not a hard day’s work on the entire movie, working with her. I’ve just worked with her again, on a Chris Nolan movie ("The Prestige"). So how did he handle the kiss scene? "It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it,"he says, "and Woody didn’t do a lot of takes (of those scenes). However, it was good for when I came home to my wife; 'Darling, one take, that’s all it was'." The Verdict "Looking at the cast one would expect Hugh Jackman to be the star in this wicked little comedy from Academy Award winner Woody Allen. Wrong! The real star is Woody Allen. He's the glue that binds all three lead actors together (the other is the stunning Scarlett Johansson), and he manages to provide nearly all the laughs. This is a far better Woody Allen than we have grown used to of late. A Woody Allen who will redeem himself to many of his fans. Johansson shows yet again that she's more than just a good looker, unlike Jackman who kinda looks lost. It's a sweet, fun-filled treat that will please many cinemagoers. 3 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "SCOOP" stars .......
Tony and MO Award winner and the 1999 Australian Star of the Year Hugh Jackman ["Kate & Leopold", "The Prestige", "Flushed Away" and "Happy Feet"]; BAFTA and Boston Society of Film Critics Best Actress Awards winner Scarlett Johansson ["Lost In Translation", "The Island", "The Black Dahlia", "The Prestige" and "Match Point"]; BAFTA, César, Goya and DGA Awards winner Woody Allen ["Annie Hall", "Manhattan", "Everyone Says I Love You" and "Small Time Crooks"]; Golden Globe and aTelevision Critics Association Award winner Ian McShane ["Sexy Beast", "Bollywood Queen" and "Nine Lives"], Fenella Woolgar ["Bright Young Things", "Stage Beauty", "Vera Drake" and "Wah-Wah"] and Charles Dance ["Last Action Hero", "Michael Collins", "Gosford Park", "Black And White" and "Swimming Pool"] as Mr Malcolm.
"SCOOP" was .......
directed by Woody Allen ["Hannah and Her Sisters", "Crimes and Misdemeanors", "Manhattan Murder Mystery" and "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion"]; screenplay by Writers Guild of America winner Woody Allen ["Bullets Over Broadway", "Mighty Aphrodite", "Melinda and Melinda" and "Match Point"]; production design by Evening Standard Best Technical Achievement and 2002 Women in Film and Television Technical Achievement Awards winner Maria Djurkovic ["Sliding Doors", "Billy Elliot", "The Hours" and "Vanity Fair"]; cinematography by BAFTA Best Cinematography Award winner Remi Adefarasin B.S.C ["Sliding Doors", "The House of Mirth", "About a Boy", "The Haunted Mansion" and "Match Point"]; edited by Alisa Lepselter ["Small Time Crooks", "Melinda and Melinda" and "Match Point"]; art direction by Nick Palmer ["Lost in Space", "The Hours", "Vanity Fair" and "Man to Man"]; set decoration by Philippa Hart ["Pandaemonium", "The Hours", "Sylvia" and "Nanny McPhee"], 2005 Costume Designers Guild Award winner Jill Taylor ["The Full Monty", "Sliding Doors", "Last Orders", "Purely Belter" and "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"]. Who's Who?

Hugh Jackman Scarlett Johansson Woody Allen Ian McShane Fenella Woolgar Charles Dance Romola Garai Suzy Kewer Julian Glover Alexander Armstrong Anthony Head Caroline Blakiston Richard Johnson

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Peter Lyman Sondra Pransky Sid Waterman Joe Strombel Jane Cook Mr Malcolm Vivian Splendini’s Assistant Lord Lyman Cop Detective Mrs Quincy Mr Quincy

Run Time 95 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Icon Film Distribution - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2007 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved