Samuel Bayer Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Just to make sure we don't pigeon-hole her in any sort of role, Scarlett Johansson is mixing things up yet again. The girl already did some Nanny time, plus she has The Other Boleyn Girl, Woody Allen's Barcelona flick, possibly Pompeii, He's Just Not That Into You, The Spirit and Mary Queen of Scots on the way. MTV talked with Samuel Bayer, the music video director behind Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around... Comes Around (that she was in), and he says Scarlett got him a directorial gig for another film she's been cast in.

He didn't say too much about the film. It is called Brilliance, it will start shooting this winter, and it's about diamond thieves. What is interesting is his praise for the Jo: "Scarlett is one of the sexiest actresses around. And she can just become her characters... It's stuff like that which makes you know someone's a star." In there, he mentions a scene where she was laughing, but when the camera rolled, she was crying. Now, props should be given to someone who can cry on-cue, but I'm not sure that's becoming the character. I am not as anti-Scarlett as some, but I wouldn't say she's amazing at becoming other people. Ellen Burstyn, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, and those types, sure. Each of them has made me forget who they are and be enveloped in their role. Johansson, on the other hand, has never made me forget who she is. We've already hashed out her talents, or lack thereof, before -- but who would you consider to be great actors who become their characters?

Maybe I don't see the appeal (because I'm just a jealous man), but what in the world does everyone love about Vin Diesel? In the past few months, the guy has attached himself to at least five (wait a few minutes -- I'm sure another one will pop up) different films, though one of them (Babylon A.D.) is still a rumor. Now, word is out that Vin has signed on to star in Black Water Transit, making him the world's most unofficial expert on multi-tasking.

Pic, which already sports a pretty decent cast, looks to be a gritty crime drama that centers around a shipment of illegal firearms and a double homicide. Though he's not mentioned in the Hollywood Reporter article, Bruce Willis is supposedly attached to the film, as well as Kevin Bacon, James Franco and Sophie Okonedo. Pic will also mark the debut feature for music video directer Samuel Bayer who, in the past, has worked with groups like Green Day, The Offspring, Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage. Shooting begins this summer.