Scarlett Johansson

Etiquette coach Noel Butler's lifelong interest in the proper way of doing things began in her English hometown of Windsor. "As a child, we were constantly going to Windsor Castle," she says. "In those days, it was free to walk all around the battlements and a small amount of money to go in and see the dolls' house or the state apartment. So I was brought up loving history. I mean, if you're born in Windsor with a great big imposing castle there, you'd be very hard pushed not to be interested."

Scarlett Johansson's every move seems to make news, even when the news is made up. A few weeks ago, Cosmopolitan UK published a cover story featuring a number of quotes from the star of movies such as "Lost in Translation" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" about her recent marriage to actor Ryan Reynolds. Problem was, she never said them. The interview hadn't taken place; the writer had invented the quotes and folded them into a previously published American Cosmo story.

"Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005" will be at the San Diego Museum of Art Feb. 10-April 22. * What on earth is Scarlett Johansson wearing--or not wearing? Somewhere in between "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and "Match Point," Johansson went from a betrayed innocent to an irresistible vamp, a career move in the middle of which Annie Leibovitz captured her. Johansson looks like a Vegas showgirl sizing up some high roller who's flown her to L.A. for a one-night stand.

THE one person on the planet who hasn't weighed in on Isaac Mizrahi's Golden grope is the victim herself: Scarlett Johansson. Was the move a harmless but weird ratings ploy, or just offensively bad manners? "It was definitely in poor taste," said Johansson, speaking about her reaction publicly for the first time. "I'd been prepping for two hours with hair and makeup and getting dressed. And the first interview I do, someone who I have never met before fondles me for his own satisfaction."

Scarlett Johansson tops a list of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World" in a poll of readers by FHM, a young men's magazine. "One of the best things for a woman to hear is that she is sexy," the 21-year-old actress said in a statement. "I'd like to thank FHM's readers for the huge compliment." Angelina Jolie is No. 2, followed by Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, Keira Knightley, Halle Berry, Jenny McCarthy, Maria Sharapova, Carmen Electra and Teri Hatcher. Scott Gramling, U.S.

APPARENTLY following the lead of Us Weekly ingenues-turned-pop sensations Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, Scarlett Johansson has signed a recording deal with recently reactivated Atco Records and is laying down tracks for a debut album. Unlike her Young Hot Hollywood confreres, however, the dusky-timbred, 21-year-old Johansson hasn't set her sights on generation "TRL" -- or necessarily even the widest possible listenership.

"This one is possibly the most misunderstood song in my catalog," Pete Yorn said Thursday night at the Henry Fonda Theater before he and his five-piece band launched into a propulsive version of his song "Burrito." A ruggedly handsome New Jersey native who's "been playing in this town for 15 years," Yorn doesn't really seem like the misunderstood type. He has an undeniable knack for catchy pop-rock tunes full of precise Everydude language -- "Leave out the others, baby / Say I'm the only one," he sang in "Strange Condition" -- but little about his four studio albums suggests the hidden presence of something deeper or more profound.

In "The Other Boleyn Girl," Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson play sisters vying for the affections of Eric Bana's King Henry VIII, so costume designer Sandy Powell wanted to make the heavy Tudor garments sexy. "I didn't do anything special to make [Portman and Johansson] look beautiful -- they just do," says Powell, who fought for the elaborate headdresses the actresses wear. "They're very flattering because they focus all the attention on the face." For Henry, Powell resisted frilly colors and fanciful textures and transformed Bana into a glam rock king with fur culled from old coats.

ANN POWERS name-drops over 30 actors and musical artists in her "review" of a new album of Tom Waits songs by Scarlett Johansson ["Singing Film Stars: Is This Just an Act?" May 11]. Wouldn't it have been more honest for Powers to just write a column called "30 or 40 Performers I'm Into Right Now"? Then just follow it with a little sidebar review of Johansson's album in a more succinct, Variety-styled "Good Field, No Hit," jargon, where Powers could say that she likes Waits' songs, likes Johansson's album producer but doesn't think Johansson is there yet. That would give potential buyers a direct assessment; let Johansson go back to her multi-million-dollar film roles and Paris Hilton-type parties; allow Powers to go back to whatever she does when she's not in her I'm-so-much-hipper-than-my-readers role.