Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Diablo Cody Goes To Hollywood

After writing blog posts during a year as a stripper in Minneapolis, writing a book about the experience, writing a exceptional smash-hit screenplay (Juno), and catching a lot of attention dressed up as the long lost sister of Barney Rubble, Diablo Cody has caught tons of attention.

Few writers have risen in star power so quick. While some may call her crazy, I'm starting to wonder if Diablo Cody is really a very very smart person who knows how to use the Hollywood machine to generate all the press she needs to be a hot commodity, and as a writer no doubt. In fact, she is using techniques that musicians and actors have used. Allowing the press to create all the buzz you need.

The question is whether or not Diablo Cody's screenwriting will continue to keep people interested.

Diablo Cody has to named upcoming projects a television series called The United States of Tara and a film called Jennifer's Body.

Of the two projects, one sounds great, the other sounds like a bust...but I've learned not to judge a project by it's title or it's premise.

But, of the two projects the most intriguing is The United States of Tara. The US of T is a Showtime TV series, created by Steven Spielburg with Dreamworks. The TV show is about a mom with split personalities trying to hold her family together. The premise, sounds a little like the Ali Larter storyline in Heroes, but what makes this even cooler is Toni Collette's playing the Split-Personality mom. Has there been better casting?

Yet, the movie Jennifer's Body sounds a little Scream/Faculty/I Know What you Did Last Summer-ish. Of course I could be wrong but the story is apparently about a cheerleader who starts killing her male classmates. The movie is directed by Karyn Kusama (Girl Fight) and stars Megan Fox (Transformers). This doesn't quiet sound like the next big hit, but who knows?

There's also supposed to be a script floating around called "Girly Style" that I believe has been picked up by Universal.

Who knows if Diablo Cody will stay in the game, and if the Diablo Cody franchise will former, similar to other fan-favorite screen writers like Charlie Kaufman or Tarantino.

And I'm still interested in Cody writing Juno 2, even if it's 20 years from now.

7 comments:

Anita said...

I, for one, hope she can go the distance.
(Thanks for stopping by)

Out Of Jersey said...

I am unaware of her work. i have yet to see Juno and am waiting for all the hype to die down before I can say whether it was worth it or not.

Anonymous said...

Didn't the writer of Little Miss Sunshine win Best Original Screenplay last year? (Yes, I realize I'm on the Internet, and I can look it up. I'm lazy, okay?) My point is that the Academy seems to like quirky, humorous scripts. Is this their way of recognizing comedies without giving out bigger awards like acting awards and Best Picture?

Regardless, I thought that Juno and its script were overrated. I wish I had seen the film before it was advertised on TV a million times. Maybe I would have appreciated it before I was told to appreciate it.

I don't think Diablo Cody is nearly as talented as Quentin Tarantino or Charlie Kauffman. Sure, she wrote some clever and original dialogue. But the story was not amazing. You watch a Tarantino movie for the combination of amazing dialogue with amazing storytelling. Juno had sometimes amusing dialogue with a story that was slightly better than a sit-com.

I'll stop. Because just as I'm sick of all of the praise for Diablo Cody, I'm sick of the criticism too. Juno is what it is. A good movie, but not a great one, with a good script, but not a great one.

par3182 said...

samantha morton? what happened to toni collette in the united states of tara?

Terence Towles Canote said...

I have to say I agree with Jeremy. The Academy seems to like quirky, humorous scripts. And I suspect that it could be that it's their way of rewarding comedies without giving them Best Picture or other major awards.

I haven't seen Juno, so I don't know if it is overrated or not, but if it is like Little Miss Sunshine, it could be overrated.

RC said...

@par3182...ahh..my bad, i knew it was Collette but every once in awhile i get Collette and Morton confused. I think they're both great.

Anonymous said...

It is amazing to see what a blogger can accomplish these days!