woody allen and scarlett johansson in a marx brothers movie.
3 July
Scarlett came to me today with one of those questions actors ask: “What’s my motivation?” I shot back: “Your salary.” She said fine but that she needed a lot more motivation to continue. About triple. Otherwise she threatened to walk. I called her bluff and walked first. Then she walked. Now we were rather far apart and had to yell to be heard. Then she threatened to hop. I hopped, too, and soon we were at an impasse. At the impasse I ran into friends, and we all drank, and of course I got stuck with the check.
— Woody Allen, “Scarlett: ‘What’s my motivation here?’ Woody: ‘Your salary’,” The Guardian, 12 January 2009 (by way of the New York Times Ideas blog)
