Alanis Morissette has been getting a bit of extra attention lately, mostly focused on her ‘pregnancy’ and her ex-fiancé getting engaged. She also has a new album out, which is shaping up to be pretty good.

On Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson’s engagement:

Reynolds began dating Johansson last year (07) just months after he ended his four year relationship with the Canadian singer.

But single Morissette insists she isn’t jealous or resentful, telling Entertainment Weekly, “On a certain spiritual level, I feel like everyone’s where they need to be.”

And the star vows never to play out another relationship in the public eye: “Public romance. I’m going to be avoiding that in the future. I think the only time I’ll talk about any guy I’m with will be when I’m married with six kids.”

Contact Music

I think this is her way of saying “butt out of my personal life,” but in the politest possible way ever. Something I just love about Alanis is that while she can be really angry and crazy in her music, she’s not an angry or crazy person. I’m looking at you, Courtney Love.

A couple of weeks ago she also had this to say about her break up with Ryan Reynolds.

“Every time I go through something difficult, I think, `This is the motherload. I’m not going to get through this one.’ And then, six months later, I’m like, `What’s his name again?’”

Contact Music

Good advice for anyone going through a break-up, particularly one that leaves you sobbing on the floor inhaling chocolate.

Her album, Flavors of Entaglement, has been getting good reviews, although it is full of break-up songs. Rolling Stone describes the new album as “heartfelt” and that it features “electro beats, Eastern percussion, [and] orchestral arrangements.”

Alanis is shown performing in Las Vegas on 3/18/08, thanks to WENN.

Engaged celebs Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson haven’t set a date for their wedding yet, but that may be a good thing. The National Enquirer is reporting that there may be trouble in pretty young paradise for the pair due to Ryan’s jealousy over Scarlett’s co-stars. Hey, with Clooney back on the market and now possibly Ryan, my week is looking up!

Jealousy threatens to wreck the upcoming marriage of gorgeous Scarlett Johansson, warn pals.

“Her fiance Ryan Reynolds is so jealous, he almost drove Scarlett away,” a friend told The Enquirer. “Now that she is marrying him, she told him in no uncertain terms to quite being jealous - after all, he’s the one who is shattering many men’s dreams of getting sexy Scarlett down the aisle. But it drives him crazy when other guys flirt with her.”

[From The National Enquirer, pint version, June 9, 2008]

Somewhere, Alanis Morissette is cackling with glee. Anyway, Ryan Reynolds supposedly gets paranoid because of the good looking men Scarlett works with, such as Orlando Bloom and Ethan Hawke.

The 23-year-old “Lost in Translation” actress just finished working on a movie with hot actors Orlando Bloom and Ethan Hawke in New York City - and sources say Ryan, 31, was terrified she was going to fall for one of the hunks.

“In early April Scarlett had flown to Boston, where Ryan was filming. She wanted to spend a romantic weekend, but they had a blow up.”

Ryan’s representative denies that there was a blowup and that there are problems in the relationship.

But an eyewitness to the public spat told The Enquirer: “Ryan was clearly being a baby. Scarlett kept grabbing his arm and saying ‘Ry, come on….Ry, stop.’ But he kept yanking his arm away.”

While both of these actors are beyond hot, I just don’t like them together. Somehow, it always made Ryan Reynolds seem less shallow when he was dating someone like Alanis. Now that he’s with Scarlett, he seems just like any other famous actor who bases relationships on the hotness and fame level of his potential mate. But it looks like Ryan may be insecure about himself just like the rest of us- jealousy is a classic symptom of that.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Ryan Reynolds is shown at the premiere party for Fireflies In The Garden at the Berlin Film Festival on 2/10/08. I just looked for photos that showed him moderately annoyed-looking. Thanks to WENN.

Scarlett Johansson won’t be touring to support her new album Anywhere I Lay My Head, a collection of Tom Waits covers. According to reps, it’s because of her recent engagement and film commitments.

The Matchpoint star released her debut album last week, a collection of Tom Waits covers, but has no plans to follow up the LP with any live dates.

Johansson, who recently admitted to suffering from stagefright, had been rumored to be considering playing at a music festival this summer (08) - but has now ruled any future gigs.

A spokesman for Johansson’s record label Warner Music says, “It’s purely a hobby for her. Now that she’s engaged as well (to actor Ryan Reynolds) the opportunities seem to have become even more limited.”

ICYDK

Scarlett Johansson suffers from stage fright? That seems pretty unlikely for someone who lives her entire life in the public eye. Scarlett recently said that she had no strong desire to be a musician, but that “I thought of all of my friends who were struggling musicians (who) would kill for this opportunity, so I couldn’t really pass it up.”

I have my own idea too – her album isn’t anywhere near as successful as she might have hoped. Reviews have savaged it.

Rolling Stone, which gave Johansson a mediocre 2.5 stars out of 5, complains, “Johansson’s voice is unremarkable and her pitch sometimes unsteady; she’s a faintly goth Marilyn Manson lost in a sonic fog.”

Entertainment Weekly was also less than complimentary, giving the project an average “C” grade and remarking that her “expressionless voice” was concealed “deeply in the druggy ambiance.”

San Francisco Chronicle

If you haven’t heard the album, the critics are fair. It really just washes over you in an atmospheric monotone. Which is fine, if you like that kind of thing. I’m no judge – I actually liked Britney’s latest release!

I’m sorry that Scarlett’s album wasn’t more interesting, but I’m glad it’s going to take her back to film. Scarlett has a couple of films in the pipeline for the next year, including playing the title role in Mary, Queen of Scots.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Scarlett Johansson is shown at the premiere of The Other Boleyn Girl in London on 2/19/08, thanks to WENN.

I always saw Scarlett Johansson as very glamorous – yet very down to earth – sort of starlet. To hear her in interviews, she seems intelligent and appears to have depth rarely seen by celebrities her age. But apparently those qualities don’t preclude her from being a diva. She made such exorbitant demands of her accommodations at Cannes that the studio promoting her film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” was unable to foot the bill. Scarlett chose to stay home rather than compromise.

Scarlett Johansson was left at home in New York after a film studio refused to pay for the star’s bloated demands to attend the Cannes Film Festival to launch Woody Allen’s latest movie. The French branch of Warner Brothers Films, distributers of Vicky Cristina Barcelona in France, had spent weeks negotiating with Johansson’s representatives about flying her to Cannes.

They were willing, and happy, to pay for flights, hotel, provide a limousine, arrange for designers to show her gowns and for her to share hair and make-up designers with costars [Penelope] Cruz and [Rebecca] Hall. However, Johansson demanded her own exclusive make-up consultant at a cost of 5,000 Euros a day, which was felt a tad too much for a four day trip where looking after the star’s tresses and powdering her nose would cost a total of 20,000 Euros.

Then there was the problem over an hotel. The film’s director and his leading ladies were delighted to be staying in the centre of Cannes to make it easier for them to attend screenings, public events and to do interviews for TV and press. Johansson wanted to be at an hotel way out in the sticks, some 25 to 30 miles away.

“It was crazy. Penelope and Rebecca were going to be working very hard and it wasn’t acceptable that Scarlett would be having to come in from that distance every day, most likely turning up late and it would have thrown schedules into a lot of confusion. Also, I think, while Woody’s terribly fond of Scarlett, he was a little upset that she wasn’t being a team player”, an executive connected to the film told the Daily Mail.

[From the Daily Mail]

Keep in mind the source is the Daily Mail, and they enjoy putting a particularly pessimistic and critical spin on any story they can. Yet Scarlett wasn’t at Cannes, even though she’s widely been reported to be Woody Allen’s newest muse. That’s quite the slap in the face to him. The film did get rave reviews, and many said it was a return to form for Allen. However she has agreed to do the traditional press and promotion for the film in the U.S.

Hopefully Scarlett won’t be demanding makeup artists that cost $10,000 a day for the press junket. Woody Allen famously said Scarlett wore too much makeup. Maybe he could send her some Maybelline and tell her to suck it up.

Here’s the rest of the cast of - ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ at the film’s Cannes premiere yesterday. Header of Scarlett at Elle’s ‘Women in Hollywood’ 14th annual event on 10.15.08. Images thanks to WENN.

Scarlet Johansson proudly showed off her new engagement ring at the Costume Institute Gala last night in NY. She wore an linen-colored Dolce and Gabanna dress with a tight bodice and tulle skirt. Her hair was up in a messy style accented by a beaded flower headband with loose soft waves falling around her face. She looked incredibly happy and relaxed.

Johansson’s ring looks like its a round cut solitaire on a gold band.

Yesterday Johansson’s rep confirmed the rumors that she was engaged to her live-in boyfriend, actor Ryan Reynolds. Jaybird observed that it’s quite a coincidence that she’s due to release her album at the end of the month and just happens to announce her engagement now, but maybe she really wanted to wear the ring out to this special event and couldn’t wait.

Thanks to Splash for these photos.

OK! Magazine is claiming they have it confirmed that Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are indeed engaged. Scarlett’s ’s publicist Marcel Pariseau confirmed the engagement today. Johansson and Reynolds have been dating a little over a year, and engagement rumors have been plaguing them for several months. They’ve hardly ever spoken about each other in interviews, and have barely even acknowledged that a relationship exists.

OK! can confirm that Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are engaged! So far no wedding date has been set, and sources close to the couple tell OK! not to worry about marking the calendar anytime in the near future. “Scarlett doesn’t want to get married anytime soon,” says the insider. “So expect it to be a long engagement.”

According to the source, the Lost in Translation star’s reluctance to walk down the aisle had been a source of tension between the couple, so they came up with a compromise — “Get engaged now, and worry about the wedding down the road,” explains the pal.

However, says the friend, don’t mistake Scarlett’s hesitancy to mean there’s any lack of love on her part. “She has said time and time again that Ryan is the one who she wants to spend the rest of her life with,” says the source.

[From OK!]

Scarlett’s first album Anywhere I Lay My Head is due to be released on May 20th. It’s pretty interesting how all these starlets keep announcing engagements/marriages/and possible pregnancies right around the time their albums are due, no? First Ashlee Simpson got engaged/maybe knocked up with Pete Wentz, then Mariah Carey got married to Nick Cannon, and now Scarlett and Ryan are engaged. If they elope and/or she’s suddenly maybe sorta kinda pregnant, I’m going to have some serious questions.

For some reason Scarlett Johansson decided to do an album of Tom Waits covers despite the fact that she can’t sing. Her voice has no range and isn’t particularly interesting, and with all the benefits of modern technology there was only so much they could do to make her sound even passable. It’s kind of appropriate that she picked Tom Waits since she has a deep monotone voice that could pass for a man’s, and I’m sorry to say that because I really like Johansson.

Zooey Deschanel just put out a folksy sparse-sounding album that’s incredibly good, and she’s definitely an actress who is capable of crossing over into music. Johansson is a bigger star with much less musical ability, and she didn’t need to do this. You understand when someone has a passion for singing, but one of her handlers or someone at the music company should have told her “No.”

Here’s the video. Johansson is shown riding in a car, getting makeup applied, sitting for a photo shoot, and kissing Salmon Rushdie.

A lot of you said this song sounded ok when it was first released online last week. I’m in Europe and the clip was only available for US visitors so I had no idea. Now I know I don’t like it. Maybe I just don’t get it, but I can’t help but thinking there’s not much to get.

AOL has the first full track from Scarlett Johansson’s first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head. The album features ten Tom Waits covers and one original song. It’s due in stores on May 20th. After listening to it, I found it to be rather… not great. I don’t want to say bad because I like Scarlett Johansson, and I think it’s ridiculous that singers can become actors, but when actors try to become singers everyone gives them a hard time. But the song just didn’t do it for me.

Johansson doesn’t sound like she’s using her natural voice. She sounds more like she’s doing a Tom Waits impression. It also sounds like her voice has been run through the computer a couple times, but that’s not uncommon with the ambient type of sound Scarlett says she was going for. Tom Waits has a very specific style of music, one that either works for you or doesn’t. Choosing to do a first album that’s composed entirely of Waits covers is a pretty gutsy move – but it’s tough to say whether or not guts equals smarts in this case. Rolling Stone seems impressed with Johansson’s efforts – and they’ve likely heard the whole album.

~ Frankly, we’re pretty impressed by Scarlett Johansson’s first real foray into music, Anywhere I Lay My Head, a collection of Tom Waits songs. After time-consuming attempts at finding a producer to help her nail the sounds she’d imagined, Johansson met her match in Dave Sitek, guitarist for TV on the Radio. “I knew I wanted a sort of dreamlike, ambient sound, and we didn’t want to shy away from the cinematic aspects of the songs,” Johansson tells the S.S.

“Dave and I had the same vision, and it turned out to be everything I’d imagined.” With musicians like Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, the crew holed up at a Louisiana studio, and the bayou vibe crept into recordings like “Green Grass,” “Town With No Cheer” and, of course, “I Wish I Was in New Orleans.” (David Bowie makes an appearance, doing backing vocals.) Though Waits hasn’t yet heard Johansson’s takes on his tunes, Johansson doesn’t seem nervous: “Once we started recording, I became less fearful of encountering Tom Waits in a dark room with a mallet.”

[From Rolling Stone]

I will be eager to hear what the rest of the album sounds like. It’s clearly not some superficial attempt at a singing career, a la Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie. Johansson is a smart woman who put a lot of thought and work into her album, and I’m betting that those really into this particular type of music will think she’s done a great job.

Here are the promo photos for Scarlett’s album. Thanks to Agent Bedhead for the pictures.

Do you sit around worrying about how much each celebrity might be worth, if you were to translate their entertainment value into dollars? Me either, but now that the idea’s come into my head, I think I’ll start. I’m going to value Britney Spears at $1.92. Paris Hilton could probably fetch $3.49. Lindsay Lohan is somewhere in the $.99 bin. And Scarlett Johansson runs you $40,000. Sounds about right. I have yet to see Scarlett’s lady bits splayed across my computer screen. I’m pretty sure that drops anyone’s value by about 83%. Yes I’m pulling these figures out of thin air, and really, really enjoying it. I am worth a modest, yet accessible $5,679. Thank you for wondering. Scarlett auctioned off a “date” with herself on eBay, all to benefit Oxfam. She’s been working with the aid organization for three years, since the Asian Tsunami.

Scarlett Johansson went up on the auction block and was “sold” for $40,100. A meet-and-greet with the actress was up for grabs on eBay as part of a fundraiser for the Oxfam America charity and ended last night. The prize includes two tickets to the July premiere of her next movie, He’s Just Not That Into You, chauffeured car service to the premiere, hair and makeup for one by Privé and a meet-and-greet with Scarlett at the premiere. The deep-pocketed winner? “Bossnour” from England, who may have to shell out a few more bucks for airfare to get across the pond.

[From In Touch]

Not to be a jerk, but if I went on a date and it involved a meet-and-greet, I’d be a little pissed. I’m assuming the meet-and-greet will involve a little time to chat? One would hope? If she’s just walking down a line of people, shaking hands and signing autographs, I think this “Bossnour” gets to ask for $10,000 back or something. The funny part is that it involves hair and makeup for the winner… who one would assume (but we don’t know for sure) is a man, and probably not in need of such services. As much as guys love eyeliner and all… I’m guessing that wasn’t the big draw.

Here’s Scarlett Johansson at the Royal London Premiere of “The Other Boleyn Girl” on February 19th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Drew Barrymore was on Oprah last night, and donated a cool $1 million to the United Nations World Food Program. Due to rising food and commodity prices, which we’ve all felt the impact of at the local supermarket, the organization needs an extra $500 million dollars to help feed the world’s poor.

The 33-year-old American actress will give the money to the World Food Program, a UN body that delivers millions of tonnes of food aid to more than 70 million people in about 80 countries, she said on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

“I’m able to make this incredible donation - this has changed my life,” said Barrymore, who serves as a WFP ambassador against hunger. “But I encourage everyone to give.”

Later, she said the $US1 million was “by far” the largest donation she has ever made.

“But nothing has ever felt so good,” she said.

Sydney Morning Herald

Despite the enormous novelty check, this isn’t a publicity stunt for Drew. In 2006 she traveled to Nairobi and wrote an article for Marie Claire magazine, as well as filmed a documentary, about the living conditions and how schooling is helping with the AIDS crisis. You can read her article here.

Drew’s co-star Scarlett Johansson is also doing her bit for charity, selling herself on eBay. You can bid for two tickets to her latest film, He’s Just Not That Into You, and to meet Scarlett. The bidding was at $11,700 last time I checked, and all the proceeds go to Oxfam. The film stars Drew Barrymore as well as Scarlett, and Scarlett has launched a YouTube appeal to raise more interest in the auction.

Note by Celebitchy: Here’s Scarlett’s appeal. She seems kind of antsy at first.