Woody Allen says Scarlett Johansson has the potential to be a great actress

Woody Allen says Scarlett Johansson has the potential to be a great actress - as long as she avoids the Lindsay Lohan party-circuit.

The Oscar-winning director said the 23-year-old beauty could rank among Hollywood's best.

But he said she must steer clear of what he dubbed the "Page Six party route" - a reference to the New York Post's famed gossip column.

He said: "[Scarlett] is so beautiful and so sexy and so gifted.

"She can do anything, but she has to make the right choices of films and she's got to not go the Page Six party route.

"I don't want to read about her in the paper with this boyfriend or that boyfriend, or in rehab or taking pills."

And Allen, 72, who directed Johansson in films Match Point and Scoop, said he hasn't been impressed with some of the roles she has taken on.

He told Maclean's magazine: "I don't think she's always made great choices.

"She has to take her acting seriously, the way someone like Meryl Streep did it."

By Gavin Wilson, Feb 06 2008 © Copyright 2008 - Showbiz Spy