Scoop (2006)

An American journalism student in London scoops a big story, and begins an affair with an aristocrat as the incident unfurls.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Jim Dunk

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Dunk	...	Funeral Speaker
Robert Bathurst	...	Strombel's Co-Workers
Geoff Bell	...	Strombel's Co-Workers
Christopher Fulford	...	Strombel's Co-Workers
Nigel Lindsay	...	Strombel's Co-Workers
Ian McShane	...	Joe Strombel
Fenella Woolgar	...	Jane Cook
Pete Mastin	...	Death (as Peter Mastin)
Doreen Mantle	...	Joe's Co-Passengers
David Schneider	...	Joe's Co-Passengers
Meera Syal	...	Joe's Co-Passengers
Kevin McNally	...	Mike Tinsley (as Kevin R. McNally)
Robyn Kerr	...	Tinsley's Fans
Richard Stirling	...	Tinsley's Fans
Scarlett Johansson	...	Sondra Pransky

Storyline

In the funeral of the famous British journalist Joe Strombel (Ian McShane), his colleagues and friends recall how obstinate he was while seeking a scoop. Meanwhile, the deceased Joe discloses the identity of the tarot card serial killer of London. He cheats Death (Pete Mastin) and appears to the American student of journalism Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), who is on the stage in the middle of a magic show of the magician Sidney Waterman (Woody Allen) in London, and tells her that the murderer is the aristocrat Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman). Sondra drags Sid in her investigation, seeking for evidence that Peter is the killer. However, she falls in love with him and questions if Joe Strombel is right in his scoop.

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Plot Keywords:

implied sex | swimsuit | serial killer | strong female lead | scantily clad female | 

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Taglines:

The perfect man. The perfect story. The perfect murder.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) studies journalism at the fictional Adair University. This is the same university from which Harry Block (Woody Allen) was expelled and by whom he was subsequently honored in Deconstructing Harry (1997). It was later mentioned as the university where Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) previously taught philosophy in Irrational Man (2015).

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Goofs

There were several scenes where Scarlett Johansson's lapel mike radio frequency transmitter strapped on her waist behind her is visible.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Funeral Speaker: Don't mourn for Joe Strombel. Joe Strombel had a full life. A newspaper man in the best tradition. A great credit to the Fourth Estate. It didn't matter if the bombs of the war zone were falling, it didn't matter how high up the political scandal went, or how many big corporations or small time racketeers leaned on him. Whatever the risk, if there was a story there, Joe went after it. And he usually got it.

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Connections

References Porky's Romance (1937)

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Soundtracks

Dengozo
Composed by Ernesto Nazareth & Domenico Savino
Performed by Lester Lanin
Courtesy of Epic Records by arrangement with Sony BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

A throwback to the old Woody Allen.

This movie is classic Woody Allen. It's light as a feather, very talky and does not take itself seriously, rather it enjoys itself as it goes along its merry way.

The premise is that a young journalism student (Scarlett Johansson) finds herself being visited by a ghost (Ian McShane) while participating in a magic show. She's given the 'scoop' of a lifetime when he gives her the potential identity of a serial killer. She ask the help of the magician (Woody Allen) whose act she was in as she follows the trail.

A material like this can not be taken seriously and this movie does not. It does not have any mean bone in its body unlike say an Adam Sandler movie. It goes for laughs without trying to embarrass anybody. The movie is talky and has a lot of one liners, which means it's usually hit and miss. There are a lot jokes that are obvious and maybe not even funny but I think there are enough to make me recommend it.

The acting is very good, the actor shows respect for the material and the audience. They don't act as if they're superior to the material and to the audience. Frequently today, comedies that stars stand-up comedians take on the attitude of those comedians, unfortunately many of those comedians have attitudes I can not stand. This film has good performances from Hugh Jackman, McShane and yes Johansson. They all treat the material with proper respect instead of disdain. They know that the material they are doing isn't to be taken seriously yet they just don't dump on it.

Unlike most comedies today, the movie does not treat its audience as a bunch of morons instead it trust its audience will be willing to go along on a romp and enjoy themselves which I did. Credit has to go to Woody Allen for getting his actors to put their faith in his hand and for writing good material no matter how ridiculous the premise might be.

Overall the movie has very entertaining with a lot of jokes, some fall flat some funny. Personally I have never found Woody Allen movies to have a lot of big belly laughs but in some cases such as Scoop they can be very entertaining and put a smile on your face for the rest of the day.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Woody Allen Fall Project 2006

Filming Locations:

CityPoint, Moorgate, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$17,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,003,000, 30 July 2006

Gross USA:

$10,525,717

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$39,220,946

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Ingenious Film Partners, Phoenix Wiley

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1