This van looks legit.
Scarlett Johansson is a sexy manhunting alien, and she also plays one in Under The Skin. Director Jonathan Glazer (Birth, Sexy Beast) took a unique approach to the film, shooting guerrilla style in the highlands of Scotland using up to eight cameras at the same time. We’ve already heard rumors Glazer asked Scarlett Johansson to pick up real hitchhikers in a van, and Glazer later confirmed many scenes had to be cut when the non-actors Johannson picked up wouldn’t sign a release form.
Now Scarlett Johansson herself is talking about picking up random dudes in her van, and The Daily Mail spoke to one of the guys about the obvious best day he’ll ever have (including the days his two kids were born).
Johansson tells The Guardian (via io9):
A remarkable aspect of Under the Skin is that a lot of the people who appear in it aren’t actors. They’re normal people – who happen to be walking down a road minding their own business when a pretty lady pulls up in a van alongside them and offers them a lift to Tesco and then a film crew clutching disclaimers leaps out of the back.
At what point did Glazer tell you: “Oh yes, by the way, Scarlett, we haven’t really got any other actors. We’re just going to cruise the streets and find them”? “That happened later on. And none of us knew how it was going to work. We toyed with lots of different things like prosthetics, teeth, all kinds of things that would change my face but only slightly, when in fact there was no need to do any of that.”
Apparently nobody believes a brunette in a van who looks like Scarlett Johansson and offers a ride would be the actual Scarlett Johansson. That van looks legit.
The Daily Mail talked to one of the guys Johansson picked up, the newly-single father of two Kevin McAliden.
“What man wouldn’t think, ‘Wow,’ when a good-looking woman has just pulled up in a van. […] She said: ‘Are you single? What are you doing tonight?’ I thought, ‘Yes! This is unbelievable!’ I’d been having quite a tough time in my personal life, so this was like a lucky break. I should have known it was too good to be true.”
Guys. Dudes. Listen. Real life isn’t Bang Bus. If somebody tells you to get in the van, it’s not going to end how porn tells you it will.
Kevin was “stunned” when he got out of the van and was approached by a crew member. “The man said: ‘Do you know who that was who brought you home? Scarlett Johansson.’ I knew instantly it was the truth. It all fell into place. Afterwards, when I told my family and friends, they accused me of being nuts. But I had the last laugh when they saw the film trailer.”
Dear Penthouse, I never thought this would happen to me…
Here’s a clip of one of the non-actors Johansson picked up in her sweet van. (It’s not the guy interviewed above.) I’ll never get over how Scottish people can be speaking English and yet I still can’t understand a word of it.
In addition to using guerrilla tactics to film Under The Skin, they’re also utilizing guerrilla marketing. They placed a Casual Encounters ad on Craigslist (since removed) showing a picture of Johansson’s back with the message, “w9he2n9 is the la2st t2ime y3ou to4uc4hed 1som4eone.” It was a not so subtle way to get people to call 929-223-4414 to hear an ad.
The Playlist screencapped the ad before it was removed:
Well, if you insist.
UPDATE: And here’s a new featurette for Under The Skin just uploaded by STUDIOCANAL UK.
Under The Skin opens April 4th.
Via io9 and The Playlist