It seems that Scarlett Johansson wasn't the only one in the Big Apple, shooting for the upcoming anthology New York, I Love You, and I kind of like it. I'm sure it wasn't an "On your marks, get set, go!" sort of affair, but it's neat to think of different filmmakers across a city filming bits for the same film at the same time. Actually, I'd love to see a bunch of great filmmakers all run off to different parts of the same city, on the same day, and shoot their versions of it, but I digress.

Just Jared has thrown up pictures of Natalie Portman filming scenes with a Hasidic jew for the film. In the shots, she was on the Brooklyn Bridge. All that's being said about her particular short is that she's playing a Jewish bride -- presumably of the cute fellow at her side.

There is, however, word on some of the other New York players -- aside from Kevin Bacon taking part in ScarJo's short, Elijah Wood and Nick Nolte are also involved. Could this mean that there will be two continuations from Paris, je t'aime? Both Wood and Nolte had bits in the first film, and that would be great, if a few players keep traveling around the world for these city love stories. Here's to hoping that they have the same parts.

After Paris, je t'aime, it was only a matter of time before the cinematic spotlight turned to New York. Last May, word popped up that New York, I Love You was in the works, with a roster including Zach Braff, Mira Nair, Park Chan-Wood, and Fatih Akin. In January, Scarlett Johansson and Woody Allen signed on to the project as well. The big surprise, however, was that Scarlett would be helming her own short, rather than appearing in Woody's.

According to the Daily Mail, she just shot hers the other day in Brooklyn, and they've got a bunch of pictures of her doing her thang. It must've been cold out there, seeing that she looks like a fashionable Eskimo in the one pic. While nothing about the plot was revealed, her short is said to be 5 minutes long, and features the '80s dance master Kevin Bacon. That's not a bad gig, and even more impressive that it's for a feature film, rather than a fashion magazine's short film series (not to knock the shorts that have come from it!).

The piece also talks about her burgeoning singing career, and how David Bowie just about loves her. He's quoted as saying: "Scarlett's performances are mystical and cool. She creates a mood that could have been summoned by someone like the novelists Margery Latimer or Jeanette Winterson." That's some mighty praise. I'm not sure I completely agree with the comparison, but how about you?

Page Six is trumpeting the scoop that Woody Allen and his muse Scarlett Johansson have both jumped aboard New York, I Love You, an anthology film currently in pre-production that will feature short directing efforts from several filmmakers such as Anthony Minghella and Mira Nair. Although you'd think this means that Johansson is appearing in the Woody short, the Post reports that Johansson is actually directing her own piece independent of Woody's. Details on the films in question are still forthcoming -- all that's known so far is that they will all be love stories and will of course be set in Manhattan. Johhansson has a number of acting projects lined up for the near future so this must be enough of a priority for a little re-arranging of her schedule.

The paper also reports another Johansson scoop, although this one is more of a rumor than anything else. Courtney Love is apparently seeking out Johansson to play her in a forthcoming biopic of Kurt Cobain called Heavier than Heaven. Why are outer-rim celebrities like Courtney Love and Jenna Jameson always harassing Scarlett Johansson to play them in the movies? Don't they know that she's very busy doing Woody Allen movies and period pieces? She doesn't have time for anything else. Anyway, Woody Allen is doing a round of press for his latest film, Cassandra's Dream, in the coming week so expect some enterprising reporters to pry some more details out of him about this latest turn of events.

Love is spreading through the cinematic world like wildfire. After Paris, je t'aime brought together the likes of the Coen Brothers, Tom Tykwer, Isabel Coixet, Gurinder Chada and other leading directors to create this varied and sectional account of Paris and love, we're now getting one about New York (with a Chinese version also on the way). Producer Emmanuel Benbihy is currently harnessing a new incarnation of directors to whip up New York, I Love You. This collection includes: Zach Braff, Mira Nair, Park Chan-Wook and Fatih Akin.

I'm kind of surprised Ethan Hawke isn't among them, or maybe Richard Linklater. The former, at the very least, is all about Gotham and the throes of love. Benhiby says: "we really want to surprise audiences with young, hip filmmakers with their own personal style and movie language."

Young and hip is great and all, but to me that sounds like they're just trying to commodify the idea, which gives me scary flashbacks to Reality Bites. Each section will be 5 minutes long to create a 100-minute final cut, and a thirteenth director will also be chosen to create transition sequences to "make the movie much more fluid." Please, please don't let the guy have actors' heads swirling on a big pizza! However, it'll be interesting to see what these directors can do with five minutes. Music video directors have jumped from the short story to the long feature, but I wonder how these guys will fair with such a small bit of time to get their point across. We should know soon enough -- they actually want the film to be out for a first-quarter 2008 release.

So, what are your thoughts? New York love -- yay or nay?