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MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009

COMIC-CON: IRON MAN 2 -- SCARLETT JOHANSSON

SAN DIEGO -- The Continuum kicks off a series of post-panel interviews from Comic-Con International with the cast of Iron Man 2 with Scarlett Johansson, who plays the Black Widow.

Question: How initimidate was it to have to wear that costume?

Johansson: It was a bit of a freak-out moment. The costume took a while to build it, obviously, but I saw some of the sketches and I knew what to expect because I obviously had seen some of the later incarnations of the character and knew it was going to be some kind of catsuit.

So I had a freak-out moment. But that only lasted about half a day and then I was ready to suck it up and just do it. So I never turned back after that, I just went full force and did it.

Question: Can you talk about filming action scenes with that suit with so many millions of people watching?

Johansson: I have to say, that the idea of watching so many millions of people watching what I'm going to do, I'm used to that. As far as the action sequences go, and how the costume relates to that, one thing that is obviously important for my character is that the costume moves. The character is an expert at hand-to-hand combat, she's a mixed martial artist, she has a dance background, there's gymnastics throw in. It's kind of everything thrown into one big fighting machine, so a big part of me was, "Can I move in this? Can I run in it?"

I think the prep, jou just have to put in the hours. That's what I realized. Just putting in the hours and doing the training and the repetition -- basically befriending the stunt team and putting all day, every day over and over until you sell it.

Question: What is your relationship to the other characters in the film?

Johansson: There's sort of two sides to my character. She's a bit of a shape-shifter, I suppose. There's a side of the character that's kind of demure and sort of covert and kind of a part of ... I wouldn't say she's submissive, but she's kind of blending in to Stark Industries. And then the other part of the character is a really aggressive, bad-ass character that's sure of herself and going to kick the shit out of you if you get in her way.

So that's about as much as I can tell you. I don't know how that relates to any of the other characters. I mean, I know...

Question: Have you worn the catsuit...?

Johnasson: Out and about? it's kind of attention-grabbing, and I try to stay under the radar. I have to say after the last time I had to wear the catsuit, I was like, "Begone, catsuit!" Hopefully I'll see that catsuit again and bring the character back. Maybe some slight clause will be worked with some ventilation.

Question: Are there any truth to the rumors between any catfight with you and Gwyneth Paltrow?

Johannson: No, nothing could be further from the truth. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about working with Gwyneth.

Question: Have you talked to her about it?

Johannson: She's very much out of the loop. She's got a wonderful family she spends a lot of time with. So she's like, "What's going on?" And of course, Jon (Favreau, director) is on his Twitter that he's crazy about with any kind of news about anything. And he's like, "You haven't heard? You haven't heard?" And we're both like, "Oh God."

She'd say, "Oh yeah, that was on the 7th." And I say, "You sure, it wasn't on the 6th." And he'd go, "Oh, look the catfight is breaking out."

Question: They were saying that she was in New York, purposely snubbing Comic-Con because you were going to get all the attention.

Johansson: Beliveve me, she's worthy of plenty attention. I know that the fans love her and they're going to love to see her in this movie because her character really comes into her own. I know she would love to be here, she's here with her family.

Question: The Black Widow's history has a lot of older themes like Communism...

Johansson: Like I said, the character remains quite mysterious in this film. This movie is not about revealing the Black Widow identity. Hopefully, if the character continues on, whether that be through Avengers or something like that, we'll be able to explore more of her past. Obviously, the film is present day, so to bring in that whole Communist aspect of the character might be a little bit date ... well, it would be very dated.

There are a lot of ways we can bring in different elements of her history.

Question: how daunting is it for you to sign on with a multi-picture deal when you sign with Marvel?

Johansson: I've learned this from Robert (Downey Jr.), we have a vested interest in our characters as well. I didn't go into this going, "Well, this is the last I want to ever want to see of this character." I would love to see this character come back, and, as I said, reveal more about herself.

I loved making the film. I loved working with Jon. I loved working with Robert. For me, as an actor, often timewe kind of have a beginning, middle and end and it's in a 1-1/2 or 2-hour segment , and that's it and we're done with it. For me, to be able to bring something like this back and being able to develop the character, it's exciting and something we don't normally have the opportunity to do as actors. And of course, everything is collaborative. It's not like, "You better get back into that catsuit." It's not a "Be there of be square" kind of thing. It's all a process of approval and that kind of thing. It's very familial. It doesn't feel daunting.

Question: How does your character balances out Whiplash's character?

Johansson: We don't know, necessarily, if the character is villainous. She does have a dark past and I think she is very seductive and distracting. And we're not sure where she's coming from and what her intentions are necessarily. I'm not saying that that won't be revealed.

There are a lot of characters in this movie, a lot of new characters, and it is a balancing act. But I have to say I think between the huge, sort of explosive action, the romance, the kind of battle of good vs evil, even within one's self, there's a nice balance between all of this. And I think the fans will be really excited to be taken on all these kind of different journeys. They all really play into one and another. And it doesn't feel like a lot of different films coming together. It really feels like an ensemble.



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