These are photos from Friday and the weekend, where the cast of The Avengers were filming scenes in New York City. So… these superheroes exist in the real world. And they’re in NYC? Sure. Let’s see if I can properly identify everyone. Chris Hemsworth is Thor, the dude with the cape and the hammer. Scarlett Johansson is Black Widow, introduced in the second Iron Man movie. Jeremy Renner is Hawkeye, a superhero I don’t know anything about. Robert Downey Jr. reprises his Tony Stark/Ironman role, and Mark Ruffalo has come on board as The Hulk, correct? There’s also Nick Fury running around somewhere, but meh on him.

Out of everybody, who rocks your boat more? I always like RDJ in his Tony Stark gear, because I feel like RDJ has brought his own fancy, stylish idiosyncrasy to Stark. But if I could choose to spend some time with just one of these dudes, it would probably be Hawkeye/Renner. I like the way Renner is rocking his tight black pants (are they jeggings?!?!?) and leather vest. It could come across as “Village Person” but Renner somehow makes it look butch. Plus, I like the way he’s carrying his bow. That’s a man with a plan.

UPDATE: OMG, did I forget Captain America? He was there too.

I guess I should say something about ScarJo… in these shots, her hair looks decent, unlike the last time we saw her. Plus, she’s lost weight and her catsuit/jumper thing looks good. Basically, she looks like she’s recovering from Sean Penn. Maybe she’s getting some Renner action? I wouldn’t hate them as a couple.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

At this point, Scarlett Johansson makes most of her money from her myriad modeling contracts rather than her “acting” career. Over the past few years, she worked as the face of L’Oreal, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Mango and Moet & Chandon Champagne – I think there are more, but those are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Oh! And Reebok. I forgot about them. What’s strange is that all of Scarlett’s ads seem to follow the same basic “look” – her hair is always light, usually in a platinum Marilyn Monroe coif, but sometimes she’s a light strawberry-blonde. She’s almost always reclining on something, which makes me think that she’s too lazy to bother with “posing”. And her mouth is almost always open, and a vapid, mouth-breathing expression is on her face. As I was looking at Scar’s old ads, I noticed the theme. It’s kind of scary how they all blend together. She’s not a good model. Perhaps that’s why Mango ditched her? Either that, or because she always looked so corpsey in their ads.

So these are Scarlett’s latest ads for Dolce & Gabbana. They’re for the makeup line – something for “Secret Eyes Mascara” and “the Creamy Foundation and Passion Duo Lipstick line.” Sure. ScarJo says about the mascara, “I’ll start with a light flirty look in the morning, then later I’ll want something fuller and more dramatic. Secret Eyes has a divine texture so you can feel free to layer.” Unfortunately, I have to say it: why would hire ScarJo if you’re just going to Photoshop her to the point where you’ve given her a pig nose? LOOK AT HER PIG-NOSE. It’s ridiculous. Scarlett’s real nose looks nothing like that. Jennifer Aniston had a similar Photoshop problem with some recent SmartWater ads too – some Photoshop wizard just loves to give women pig-noses. Ah, well. At least David Gandy isn’t grinding on Scarlett in these ads. That would have been too much.

Here’s what Scarlett really looks like, post-Sean Penn. That man did a number on her.

Ads courtesy of D&G.

As Kaiser reported yesterday, US Weekly has a big story this week all about how Scarlett Johansson supposedly wants her ex husband, Ryan Reynolds, back so she can start a family with him and have his gerbil-faced babies. Meanwhile he’s wary of getting back with the woman who dumped him, and has been happily off sowing his oats with a bunch of PYTs and models. One of his latest hookups, the lovely Charlize Theron, didn’t work out according to US, which has an inset story on that Scarlett article all about how Ryan dumped Charlize when she started to get too serious. I get the feeling that if the timing would have been better, like if Ryan wasn’t freshly divorced, he would have been all over that for the long haul. He got burned and he’s waiting to see what happens. It doesn’t help that Scarlett is messing with his head. Or are Ryan’s people pushing that story to make it look like Scarlett thinks she made a mistake?

Anyway, here’s US’ story about the end of Charry:

A source says the newly divorced Ryan Reynolds ended his brief summer fling with Charlize Theron, 36, in late July [after two months] because he “only wanted something casual, but she’s in a rush to settle down, have kids and start a family since she’s getting older. Charlize didn’t take it very well when he broke it off. She knows deep down that it wouldn’t have worked, but she is pretty bummed about it all.”

No wonder: The relationship seemed so promising for the private pair, who kept their relationship very quiet, says an insider. In fact, the couple weren’t even on anyone’s radar until Reynolds was spotted emerging from the Oscar winner’s Malibu home June 5. “They just dated, mostly long-distance,” says a friend of the twosome, set up by mutual pals. (Theron’s nine-year relationship with actor Stuart Townsend, 38, ended last year.) The former neighbors, who had known each other for several years, quickly discovered they had a spark: After a covert dinner date at Gjelina in Los Angeles July 13 (“He came in before her and sat down, then she snuck in,” says a fellow diner), they were spotted making out in a nearby parking lot. But Theron’s family focus, compounded with conflicting schedules, forced Ryan to end it. “They’re both too busy,” says another pal of Theron… “And they were hardly ever together anyway.”

[From US Weekly, print edition, August 15, 2011]

Oh well, they would have been so blindingly attractive together. People said the same thing about Ryan and Scarlett and we hardly saw them though. It’s like Ryan’s relationships only exist in the abstract.

I’m kind of surprised to hear that Charlize was pushing for a family, though. She said all that stuff about not getting married until it was legal for same sex couples and she doesn’t strike me as the type who wants kids. She had plenty of time to have kids with her last boyfriend. I always pegged her as more of a Cameron Diaz type when it came to relationships. Have fun while it lasts.

Photos of Charlize are from 7/23/11. Photos of Ryan are from 8/1/11. Credit: WENN.com

Bradley Cooper gets a lot of crap for looking like an emu, but why is that very few people ever say, “Jesus, enough with the Gerbil-face, you beady-eyed freak” to Ryan Reynolds? I get that Ryan is loved by many of you, and obviously, we have different tastes in men. But how can you look at him without feeling the urge to put him in a cage with a little stationary wheel? He would look at home there. Think about it.

Anyway, as we’ve talked about before, Scarlett Johansson has been flailing ever since Sean Penn unceremoniously dumped her a few months ago. She’s tried to rebound and she’s tried to go back to her old man-eating ways, but something just feels “off”. So ScarJo has decided that what she really needs is a Mulligan.

Ryan Reynolds‘ flirty behavior with Sandra Bullock at the premiere of The Change-Up must have caught the attention of ex-wife Scarlett Johansson, because Us Weekly is reporting that she’s determined to win him back!

“She has been calling him incessantly trying to see him, trying to meet up with him or see how he is,” a source tells the mag.

The once-hot couple has been spotted having dinner together several times, most recently at Little Dom’s in Los Angeles on July 8, but don’t expect them to officially get back together anytime soon.

Even though a friend close to Ryan and Scarlett says that “he still loves her,” he’s keeping her at arm’s length because “he does not want to get played again. … He feels she just quit on him.”

Once of the biggest strains on their relationship was that Scarlett didn’t want to have a baby, but now she’s suddenly changing her tune.

“She’s doing everything possible to get him to take her back,” another source tells Star magazine. “Even saying she’s ready to have a baby.”

[From Hollywood Life]

Some will yell that HE could do much better, and there will be a handful who quietly think “SHE is the one who could do better.” Let’s face it, though: they BOTH could do better. I never bought the image ScarJo tried to sell when she was with Ryan, like she was suddenly this wholesome, career-oriented wife who didn’t care about glamour and only cared about things that were “real” like “art” and “not wearing makeup.” She’s not that girl. She’s a city girl who likes to get drunk and likes to have a good time. Meanwhile, Ryan needs to be with somebody more down-to-earth, who enjoys downtime activities like hiking and being in the country. I could honestly see him with Jessica Biel. And I could see ScarJo with an assortment of randoms – she just needs to get her game back.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

When a Marine made a YouTube video inviting Mila Kunis to be his date at the Marine Corps Ball, many of us found it charming. Mila was told about the request, and she agreed to go, although for a while it looked like she was trying to get out of it (but she wasn’t). Many of you took Mila’s side and claimed that she was publicly bullied into accepting the invitation. I disagreed. There was totally a way for her to say no without looking bad, but that’s not even the point – the point is why would you say no if you’re a young, single starlet looking for good publicity?

Well, Scarlett Johansson doesn’t give a crap about any of that. When she was asked to the Marine Corps Ball, she had prior commitment and she didn’t feel bullied into trying to work her schedule around. Here’s the invite:

He’s kind of cute, right? Right. Well, ScarJo isn’t going. Some may say “ScarJo hates the troops.” She may, but I doubt it. I think she just didn’t feel like rearranging her schedule, or maybe she didn’t realize that if she went, she could make Sean Penn jealous! She did find the time to release a statement about it, though:

“I feel incredibly honored to have been invited to the Marine Corps Ball by Sgt. Dustin L. Williams. Not only does Sgt. Williams deserve recognition for his bravery, selflessness and dedication to the United States and its people, but he also displays a cheeky talent for film making. Sgt. Williams, unfortunately due to prior commitments I will not be able to attend the Ball with you this year but I am sending you a case of Moet and Chandon with gratitude. In my absence, I raise a glass to you and all the men and women of the U.S. Marine Corps, past and present, in thanks for your continued commitment to preserving the safety of our nation.”

[From ScarJo’s exclusive statement to Zap2It]

She sent him a case of the champagne that she represents! She didn’t even have to pay for the champagne she sent him. Oh, well. Zap2It spoke to the Marine and asked him what he would do if ScarJo refused. He replied: “If I was told she could not attend, I would understand. I would not believe the invitation would be denied without good cause. With her current career I would imagine Scarlett Johansson is a busy woman.” So, he’s nice about it at least. Damn. Now I kind of want to go in ScarJo’s place.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Do you get the feeling that Scarlett Johansson is just one of those girls who can never be without a boyfriend/husband or major crush? She can’t just BE. She’s can’t be alone, single and enjoying it for more than a week it feels like. I used to think she was just a maneater, taking whatever and whoever she wanted. Maybe she was at some point, but ever since Sean Penn dumped her, it feels like ScarJo has been flailing, physically, emotionally, and romantically. Sean moved on from ScarJo in a matter of minutes, boning randoms at the Cannes Film Festival, spending time with various actresses and models and generally looking and seeming completely over it. Scarlett seems determined to find another high-profile boyfriend, and it’s looking like she flunked out with Justin Timberlake. So now she’s turned her dong-seeking attentions to Justin Bartha, character actor and ex of Ashley Olsen.

Scarlett Johansson may not be single for long after her split with Sean Penn — the stunning actress has been spotted cozying up to “Hangover” star Justin Bartha. Johansson, who split with Penn a month ago, attended the opening of off-Broadway’s “All New People,” in which Bartha stars, on Saturday, and the pair were photographed together backstage.

Spies said Johansson and Bartha later seemed “completely engrossed in each other” during a cast dinner also attended by playwright Zach Braff and actress Heather Graham at Café Un Deux Trois.

One witness told us, “There were about 15 people at the table, but Scarlett and Justin sat next to each other and talked all night. They seemed pretty fascinated with each other and only talked to each other. It looked sometimes flirty, but also they seemed to be involved in a deep discussion.”

While some sources insist 26-year-old “Lost in Translation” star Johansson and Bartha, who turns 33 today, are just good friends — exactly what they previously said about ScarJo and Penn — she and Bartha were also reportedly seen “flirting up a storm” at Karaoke Boho here on Saturday.

She split with Penn, 50, after five months in June. Bartha ended a two-year relationship with Ashley Olsen in March.

Meanwhile, Scarlett’s ex-husband, Ryan Reynolds — recently linked to Charlize Theron — hung out with a brunette stunner at the Jimmy rooftop bar at the James Hotel in SoHo on Tuesday night.

The pair were with two other friends, but another witness told us, “I definitely got the vibe that Ryan had eyes for the brunette. All four hung out the entire time together, but there was definitely chemistry between the two them. Lots of laughing and all smiles.”

Reps for Johansson and Bartha didn’t get back to us. Reynolds’ rep had no comment.

[From Page Six]

I was going to declare this a downgrade, but I worried that I might offend the people who like Bartha. Bartha really doesn’t seem like a bad guy at all – from what I’ve seen, he’s a sweet guy, a little dorky, but charming and nice. He and Ashley kept their relationship very quiet, but there were no scandals around them and it’s not like he was screwing around or anything. BUT… he’s not exactly the kind of high-caliber, super-famous, A-list star that Scarlett tends to go for, right? In celebrity-land, she’s dating down. And it just feels like she’s flailing, once again.

Photos courtesy of WENN & Fame.

This morning, Page Six has an interesting little advance article from Life & Style and now L&S has released the full piece to us. Sources claim that soon after Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson’s divorce was finalized, they went out to dinner and ScarJo seemed like she was ready and willing to “give it another go”. Sort of. She was extra flirty!

Six months after their marriage fell apart, Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson were spotted together at an intimate dinner in LA on July 9, Life & Style has exclusively learned.

The two exes dined at Little Dom’s in the Loz Feliz section of LA. The duo arrived together and sat at a secluded booth in the back of the room, a fellow diner tells Life & Style.

“Scarlett was being very flirty with him, staring into his eyes and listening very intently to everything he was saying,” says the eyewitness. “The way Ryan looked at her, you could tell he still has feelings for her.”

While the couple’s marriage officially ended on July 1, it seems they haven’t closed the book on their relationship just yet. Scarlett quickly moved on with a much older Sean Penn, but the pair called it quits in June.

On their July 9 date, “Scarlett kept pinching Ryan’s cheeks and caressing his face and while they were chatting, Ryan would rub her back periodically,” the eyewitness adds. “Something’s definitely up.”

[From Life & Style]

Ugh. My take on this story is that it probably did go down, maybe a little less touchy-feely, but something like this went down. I think ScarJo was just doing that thing that some girls do – she was making sure that some dude still wants her, even though she threw him over. I think Scarlett got thrown over herself by Sean Penn, and she’s flailing around, trying to act like it wasn’t a huge hit to her ego. That’s how I take it – she’s making herself feel better by making sure she could still have her ex.

Meanwhile, Us Weekly claims that Ryan has a new girlfriend. The woman? CHARLIZE!! Ol’ Rose Boobs Theron is getting on Ryan Reynolds? Bizarre.

All year long, Hollywood watchers have wondered which starlet would snag newly single Ryan Reynolds. Mystery solved!

A source tells the new issue of Us Weekly (out Wednesday) that the Green Lantern star, 34, and Charlize Theron, 35, “have been dating — for months! They’re exclusive, and it’s very hush-hush.”

While the two haven’t been photographed together, a witness noticed Reynolds’ motorcycle at Theron’s home all morning on June 5, then saw the actor exit her house around 3 p.m. — and she left just minutes later.

Has Reynolds (who split from wife Scarlett Johansson last December) found a perfect match?

“They’re both career-focused,” explains the source, “but not in a crazy way.”

For instance, don’t expect to see the stars side-by-side on a red carpet. “She won’t go to an event with him,” the insider says of Theron, who split with love of nine years Stuart Townsend in 2010. “That’s not her style.”

Meanwhile, Reynolds hasn’t completely shut off contact with famous ex Johansson, 26. He and the Iron Man 2 actress were spotted having a cordial dinner last Friday at Little Dom’s in L.A., an observer confirms to Us.

[From Us Weekly]

While I kind of like Charlize for her ice-queen persona (she held with it after Nicole Kidman abandoned hers), I think she might be kind of a pill in her personal life, and I’m pretty sure Ryan is as well. Is this a case of two surly personality-types finding true love? Or is it just a hookup situation, nothing serious?

UPDATE: So, I know Lainey said Ryan was in Canada when the alleged ScarJo date went down, but L&S, People Magazine and Us Weekly are all saying it took place, and that there was some touching. The magazines are getting “leaks” from someone’s publicist, so something went down.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

This story is a perfect storm of simultaneously single actors coupled with the easy target of Bradley Cooper and yet another opportunity to use the photo of Scarlett Johansson’s wonk foot at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. When Kaiser first wrote about that swanky event, she astutely took note of this photo of Scarlett in profile: “Yes, that’s Bradley Cooper! SCANDAL.” Well, she totally called it, for the tabloids are duly (and belatedly) making crap up about it.

If you’ll remember correctly, Scarlett attended this soiree with her then (weave-wearing) boyfriend, Sean Penn, where he reportedly also told her to go back to school. However, InTouch now seems to believe that Scarlett had already mentally broken up with Penn at that point and was furiously flirting with Bradley, who just happens to be her co-star from She’s Just Not That Into You. Naturally, the tabloid makes ScarJo out to be a very needy woman, which seems rather unlikely to me:

Newly single — and terrified of being alone — Scarlett Johansson sets her sights on Bradley Cooper.

Only a few weeks after breaking up with Sean Penn, Scarlett Johansson is already hot for a new guy. And this time, thankfully, she’s not looking for a father figure! According to a friend, the 26-year-old has her eye on none other than her sexy former co-star Bradley Cooper, 36. “She’s wooing him,” her friend explains, “She’s texted him, and they’re planning to meet up soon.”

He’s taking his time

The actors first met a few years ago, when both were involved with other people. Now that they’re single (Bradley recently broke up with longtime girlfriend Renee Zellweger), Scarlett, who is never alone for long, wants to see whether their on-screen spark can be duplicated in real life. “Scarlett likes everything about Bradley,” the friend reveals. And who wouldn’t? “He’s charming and quick-witted.”

So far, surprisingly, Bradley’s been playing hard to get — telling her he’s focusing on his career right now — but Scarlett’s not so easily thrown off the scent: “She thinks she can change his mind,” the friend confides. After all, can anyone say no to Scarlett for long?

[From In Touch, print edition, July 4, 2010]

Poor Bradley Cooper. The tabloids just won’t stop matching him up with every one of his female costars. He also has to fend off advances from ex-Italian princesses and journalists who mistake him for an ex-boyfriend. Bradley just can’t catch a break, but I’d actually believe that he wants to focus on his career at present because — let’s face it — the seemingly simple act of checking his voicemail every evening is probably turning out to be a routine nightmare.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame & Vanity Fair

Soon after Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds split up, and a few months before Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel split, there was a rumor going around the tabloids that Scarlett and Justin were hooking up on the downlow. This was back in January, although Scar and JT were rumored to be in some kind of casual hookup situation back in 2007, before she got with Ryan and before JT got with Biel. While I think Scarlett could do better, she doesn’t listen to me, and JT might still be good for the occasional night out. According to Page Six, that’s exactly what went down:

Scarlett Johansson didn’t seem to be mourning her split with Sean Penn during a late night out with Justin Timberlake. The pair headed to Kenmare and partied until 3:30 a.m. yesterday along with Bungalow 8 nightlife queen Amy Sacco and a few other friends.

While Johansson and Timberlake — who split with Jessica Biel in March — have been linked in the past, a spy said, “It didn’t look particularly flirty. Scarlett was dressed down and remained low-key with Justin and the group. At one point she went over to the deejay to request a song. Later, two girls joined them. They all left together around 3:30.”

[From Page Six]

“Later, two girls joined them. They all left together around 3:30.” That made me think they were going to have an orgy/foursome. Wait, are foursomes considered orgies? I forget. Anyway, I’ll buy this. I think that when Scarlett is single, she just hangs out with dudes who she’s already boned, or who maybe want to bone her. She doesn’t seem to have a lot of girlfriends, and maybe she’s just one of those chicks who seem more comfortable with men. So, are Scarlett and JT actually hittin’ it? Meh. It seems rather drama-free now, given that they’re both single.

I love this video so much for the terrible, awful acting from both of them. It’s so bad, it’s hilarious. Plus, it’s a good song.

Screencaps from JT’s “What Goes Around” video featuring Scarlett, plus additional photos by Fame.

Obviously, I will jump at nearly any chance to reuse this photo of Scarlett Johansson and her whacked-out foot placement at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner that she attended with Sean Penn in early May. Of course, it wasn’t long afterward that Scarlett and Sean inevitably and officially broke up, and now there are the recent reports that Sean did the dumping because she’s clingy, and Scarlett’s still pursuing. I’m inclined to believe that’s probably true, since Scarlett’s not used to getting dumped and probably hasn’t gotten the message into her head that Sean’s just not into her any longer.

However, there’s now an amusing (if not entirely believable) report that dinner at the White House may have had something to do with the breakup. The Enquirer seems to believe that Scarlett broke up with Sean because he suggested that she needed to get an education:

Heavy-handed Sean Penn wrecked his relationship with Scarlett Johansson when he went overboard with his controlling ways – telling her she should go back to school.

“It was the last straw when Sean disparaged her lack of education about politics and urged her to go to school,” revealed an insider.

“Scarlett loves him, but she had to end the romance because she felt she had no breathing room.”

The May-December romance began to unravel when the 26-year-old “Lost in Translation” beauty admitted she felt a little out of her depth intellectually when she recently attended a White House gala.

That convinced Penn, 50, that the pillow-lipped beauty — who never attended college — needed to get more education. Back in 2003, she applied for New York University’s arts program but was rejected.

“Sean suggested Scarlett take a political science course,” revealed an insider, and it rubbed her the wrong way.

“She’s a free spirit and just became fed up with him trying to take over every aspect of her life — from career choices and work habits to people she associated with,” disclosed the insider.

As The Enquirer revealed, the “Milk” star — previously married to actress Robin Wright — had been organizing many aspects of Scarlett’s life since the pair began their controversial romance in January.

Even Penn’s 20-year-old daughter Dylan told pals she was “grossed out” by her dad’s fling, which began after ScarJo filed for divorce from her huband of two years, “Green Lantern” hunk Ryan Reynolds.

Not long ago, possessive Penn showed up on the set of Scarlett’s latest movie, “We Bought a Zoo” — scowling at guys who came near her.

Concluded the insider: “Scarlett got tired of telling Sean to pull back. In the end, she wanted a mentor, not a father.”

[From The Enquirer, print edition]

Well, I can see where getting rejected from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts would cause Scarlett to have a sore spot on the subject of college education. Even worse, Scarlett already fancies herself an intellectual and probably didn’t appreciate being told that she’s not as smart as she thinks she is. Still, when she’s rubbing shoulders with the likes of Barack Obama (and the dinner wasn’t the first time that’s happened either), she could at least stand to take a basic course on International Relations or Poli Sci 101. Still, that’s nothing that one wants to hear from your boyfriend, so this argument may indeed have contributed to their breakup, but I doubt she initiated the split. Also, that bit about Penn scowling at guys onset is hilarious. The scowl is Penn’s natural expression!

Even when Sean smiles, the guy looks like he’s suffering from discomfort in the lower abdominal area, if you know what I mean. And I think you do.

Meanwhile, based upon that photo of Scarlett and Sean together at last weekend’s Spike TV Guys Choice Awards, Star [the print edition] maintains that they’re still very much a couple yet have hit a rough patch because while Scarlett “believes she’s found the real thing,” Sean’s just not ready for a serious relationship again after divorcing Robin Wright. Further, Star asserts that both Robin and Scarlett’s mom have expressed their verbal disapproval of the coupling. Oh, and ScarJo and Sean supposedly argue about everything but enjoy a so-called “amazing chemistry,” and Sean likes banging a woman who’s half his age. I can totally buy that the last part was a big reason that these two ever dated in the first place, but I doubt that they’re still together by any stretch. And yeah, he totally dumped her.

Photos courtesy of Fame Pictures and WENN