Scarlett Johansson declines Marine Corps Ball invite, sends bubbly
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Scarlett Johansson is the latest Hollywood type to be invited to the Marine Corps Ball, this time to the Nov. 10 event in Albany, Ga.
Perhaps rebounding from that whirlwind Sean Penn thing, or maybe even the Ryan Reynolds thing, Johansson declined. She cited a ‘prior commitment,’ but the Ministry suspects something else was to blame: a high-concept video.
Original inviter Sgt. Scott Moore, who asked Mila Kunis to his Nov. 18 event on a bet, stood in front of a camera in Afghanistan and simply asked.
Cpl. Kelsey de Santis, who’s ball-bound with Justin Timberlake on Nov. 12, had a few burly fellow Marines as background, but essentially stood in front of a camera in Quantico, Va., and simply asked.
Then things went south -- quite literally, to video shoots in Texas and Georgia. Betty White declined the invitation of Sgt. Ray Lewis, whose video included various calisthenics and a costume change. Now ‘Avengers’ actress Johansson says no to Sgt. Dustin L. Williams, whose video included various calisthenics and a picture of Johansson toasting with bubbly.
Coincidence? We blame the emphasis on editing and story line!
Of course, Kunis and Timberlake might have be influenced by the fact that their invites came in the course of their high-profile promotional campaign for ‘Friends With Benefits,’ but we don’t want to go there. Miley Cyrus, meanwhile, got invites both simple and more sophisticated, but may have been overwhelmed by the multiple requests.
White and Johansson both declined graciously -- with the latter promising to send a case of Champagne to help Williams and his pals celebrate the Marine Corps’ birthday, and ‘Terminator’ actress Linda Hamilton posting her own video offering to step into White’s party shoes.
Back in Georgia, Williams seemed prepped for whatever answer came, telling Zap2It via e-mail earlier this week, ‘With her current career I would imagine Scarlett Johansson is a busy woman.... Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’
He said that a yes, however, would have boosted the morale of the Marines as a whole.
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-- Christie D’Zurilla
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