The Diablo Cody Backlash
I’d also like to address this whole Diablo Cody backlash thing, because the web seems to be in high attack mode, and no one is attacking back. There’s more venom getting slung at this one girl than some presidential candidates. She’s just a screenwriter for God’s sake. Here’s Brian Orndorf of DVD Talk: “If Diablo Cody is the future of screenwriting, then I'll bite down angrily on a cyanide pill now.”
Please do, Brian, that’d be kinda cool.
His sad diatribe continues: “I don't want to live in a world where random ‘ThunderCats’ references pass for wit… I chalk up this lack of affection to the screenplay by scribe du jour Diablo Cody. The writer-turned-stripper-turned-blogger has made a name for herself with a droopy sense of humor, which runs along the lines of the ‘I Love the 90s’ cable series, only stickier and intensely crowed with self-awareness. Cody is mesmerized by affected, stagy dialogue delivered in a rat-tat-tat style, which is fine for the average production, but when the lines consist primarily of lofty pop culture references and heavily considered mallrat gibberish (think the boozy secret language of twins, only thickly underlined), it forms a puddle of artistic poison that serves no purpose but to parade around the writer's questionable gift for capturing self-aware alternateen lifestyle masturbation…”
You don’t get laid much, do you, Brian?
Here’s a question to all you haters out there: whatever happened to sheer entertainment and a celebration of style?
Even my good friend Dennis Cozzalio chose Juno as the worst film of the year (in a year that had Hostel Part II, I Know Who Killed Me, Norbit, Epic Movie, The Number 23, and Who’s Your Caddy?). Are you kidding me? Dennis wrote, “flavor of the month screenwriter Diablo Cody shovels a lifetime of what are surely Diablo Cody obsessions and pop culture references onto a very slight frame of a character, all in the name of speaking for, or to, the MySpace generation.”
So? She has 10,000 MySpace friends. You have 39.
Rock critic Jim DeRogatis couldn’t resist bashing the film in what was supposed to be a review of the soundtrack. He accused Juno of “glib insincerity” and suggested it could be seen as “anti-abortion and therefore anti-woman, despite its arch post-feminist veneer,” and declared, “as an unapologetically old-school feminist, the father of a soon-to-be-teenage daughter, a reporter who regularly talks to actual teens as part of his beat and a plain old moviegoer, I hated, hated, hated this movie.” Even Julie Klausner and Kathryn Palmateer accused the film of being “anti-abortion.”
What the hell is wrong with you people? Just because a character chose to keep the baby doesn’t make the film anti-abortion. It means the character CHOSE TO KEEP THE BABY. She was never denied the chance to choose. Yes, she had her own quirky reasons for keeping it, but those were HER REASONS. That’s all there is to it.
“Diablo's win is irrelevant,” said Holly, 35, a stand-up comedian and stripper who once danced at New Jersey's Satin Dolls, the inspiration for Bada Bing in The Sopranos. “I have seen a lot of girls achieve their goals while dancing on the side. I'm glad to see that the media has put her in a positive light, but I doubt it will change things for most women trying to do something else who are always going to be judged for having danced.” That certainly seemed to be the case in Lauren Wissot’s review. She described Cody as “a first-time screenwriter lacking in (emotional) life experience.” I left a comment: “What do you know about Diablo Cody that you can say she’s ‘lacking in (emotional) life experience’ in order to give her characters depth and substance? What kind of harsh judgmental statement is that?”
I didn’t get a response.
Then there were the leaked nude photos, which Diablo said she had posted on her blog ages ago. She wrote, “Hey! Did you guys hear about the ‘nude’ (except not really) pics I voluntarily posted on the Internet myself? What a tantalizing ‘scoop!’ Seriously, I thought nudity was only a scandal if it the photos were leaked by some crumb-bum rat or vengeful ex. I personally put my vag out there with pride, ladies and gents. And you bet your ass I'd do it again if the Beef Council would cough up the proper endorsement money.”
Hehehe…
And then some dork posted a sequel to Juno on eBay. “ A writer claiming to have penned a sequel to Juno is selling the script on auction website eBay.com for $100,001. In the seller's note online, the mystery screenwriter insists the script is available to any legitimate production company which ‘wants to jump on the bandwagon.’” I’m honestly offended that a mysterious screenwriter could be this stupid. This gives us anonymous writers a really bad rap.
I guess I should mention that the Associated Press recently reported Diva-like behavior over Diablo’s shoes for the Oscars, and I must confess, I’m a little confused by this. Why, Diablo, did you think you were trying on those shoes in the first place? Did you think he had a foot fetish or something? Wearing personalized clothes for advertising is Oscar tradition! It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You better be careful what you rant about. The press will most certainly jump at the chance to tear you down if they even catch a whiff of you acting like a Diva.
And finally, there was the video spoof and leaked pages of ‘Quotey’ that were really below the belt. Apparently, certain creative types who aren’t talented enough to write their own award-winning screenplays felt the need to take out their own shortcomings on Diablo. And then some cheap little marketing group posted an article called Can’t write an ad? Write a Screenplay. They said, “After Diablo Cody’s Oscar win for best original screenplay, the Star Tribune interviewed some of her former co-workers. This is from Rosemary Abendroth at Fallon: Diablo Cody ‘was a very low-level employee here for a brief time. She was a copy typist, an administrative person. She was never creative.’”
Oh yeah? Who’s got the Oscar now, ROSEMARY?
31 comments:
Good stuff. I really don't get the type of criticism she seems to be receiving
I imagine backlash comes with nearly any amount of success - and probably in some pretty surprising circumstances one wouldn't expect to find it.
I can only assume the majority of it in this case is jealousy? And some kind of jaded "I hated her first" thing. Andy Samberg? really?? What the fuck?
I don't get the sense that everything she's done has been a carefully plotted promotional path that would someday get someone to show Jason Reitman a script. And then trick him into liking it.
She wrote a movie. I would assume that most everything after that point has more or less been out of her control. As far as I know she's never forced anyone to go see it. I haven't seen Juno yet but I'm sure it's probably at least decent at what it is. I know I like everyone else involved in the film.
I've seen some movies that really should've been good and turned out to be shit. I don't ever remember a reviewer going into any detail about the writer's life by way of pointing out what they felt the flaws were with the film.
And if someone's first film turns out to be too wordy, wouldn't a normal reaction be, "...we'll see what happens now that she's got this one out of her system..." kind of a deal?
I saw some post comparing the spotlight that Diablo is receiving to that of other screenwriters like Charlie Kaufman... As far as I know she's never forced anyone to seek out her blog or to give a shit about her. That's kind of everybody else's deal, isn't it?
... and yes, I am a different Cody.
As an anonymous female who has toiled at screenwriting for like eight years now, I have a ton to say about Diablo Cody (98% positive) but I think I'll save it for tomorrow and make it into a blog post. I do think she's the real thing and will do interesting things - and I don't think it'll just be writing. She's whip smart. No one seems to get that.
I understand the backlash, even when I don't necessarily agree with it. For one thing, we're dealing with a writer whose pseduonym is DIABLO CODY. Her real name is BROOKE BUSEY This is a far cry from RICHARD BACHMAN, or even RODERICK JAMES.
But let's just deal with the 500-lb. elephant in the room. I think there is an element of jealousy in the blog community Over Diablo's success. On a surface level, Juno seems like a deceiptively simple movie to write and execute. Of course, it's not (and I think a lot of credit goes to Jason Reitman, who kind of rubs me the wrong way), but that's how it seems. So it's not a surprise that the blog party line eventually becomes: Hey, I have a blog, I write screenplays...how am I any different than some stripper?
And as a blogger, because she's shared a lot of her life publically, people glom on to her, and feel they can share and say whatever idiotic thing that comes into their heads (c.f. the fanbases of Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith, et al) because really 'she's just one of the gang.' Even though she's not.
Second point would be that Diablo is someone who was very calculated in what she did, even when he was a hopeful in Minnesota. Here's a woman who subjected herself to the profession of stripping - which I imagine from my limited time in strip clubs is constantly depressing, often degrading, and casually hilarious - as a lark. For the jokes. And eventually for a blog, then book, then (unrelated) screenplay. And then at that point she was handed over to some crack team of pubs who created The Legend of Diablo Cody. So to some people, she'll seem false and engineered. And is, but no more than Paul Haggis, or Hillary Swank, or Quentin Tarantino.
Which brings me to my next point. Can't you agree, MM, that on some level, the parodies, even when they're colored with nastiness, are really tributes? I ultimately think Diablo is the 21st Century Quentin Tarantino: because she has such a distinct style that is uniquely her own but equally imitatable as well. Just as most anybody can do a lousy yet affectionate Don Corleone, or Austin Powers, or Ron Burgundy, or Borat, the screenwriting community can do their own lousy yet affectionate impression of Ms. Busey.
For what it's worth, I like Diablo and found JUNO enjoyable enough, though I doubt I'll ever have the urge to see it again. I wish her all the best in the future, and for her to mature and grow as a writer (though I doubt she'll do it with a script with the "Lasanga with teeth" line in it, even though in all fairness, I haven't read the script in question). In a world full of Paul Haggises, and Brett Ratners, there are people much more worthy of my dislike than Diablo Cody. Right now, it's like, you know, she's totally Flavor Flav, totes fun and goofy, but man one day she could no diggity be Chuck D, Fighting the Power and broadcasting her message Air America-style.
(Note: that last line was my lousy yet affectionate tribute to Diablo Cody.)
Oh Jesus, dude.
Get Diablo Cody's dick out of your mouth.
I saw the movie at a pre-screening (months before the "backlash" was even imagined) and the movie still reeked of all the qualities that the detractors have been harpin on about. I spent half of the flick rollin my eyes at the dialogue and blieve me, I am hardly the pretentious art film type.
It all just rang so terribly false.
Juno was essentially a good idea that died under a fraudulent shellack of manufactured "cool." I still maintain that theres half a good movie in there buried underneath all of it.
I understand that writers (just like singers) tend to kitchen sink their first big projects with every affectation they've ever had in their life but this one felt doubley so.
Watch how her next projects turn out. She writes in one voice, her own and her next few projects will reflect that.
I wouldnt be surprised if some of her fiercest critics werent motivated by jealousy, but that doesnt automatically disqualify their points of view either.
Matt -
I ultimately think Diablo is the 21st Century Quentin Tarantino: because she has such a distinct style that is uniquely her own but equally imitatable as well.
Yes! That is what I think. I compared her to Quentin in a comment on another blog:
http://gumontheseat.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-really-dont-know-clouds.html
If she follows Quentin's trajectory, then we have a sweet Jackie Brown to look forward to. It's my favorite Tarantino film because it's calm, it's measured and it's full of character.
If I remember correctly, you - MM - said in the run up to the Oscars that Juno was a great script but not worthy of the Oscar, and now that I've seen the film I think you got it just about right. Any aspiring writer (and a lot of 'successful' ones) would give their eye teeth to have written that script. It is both sharp and witty but warm and tender at the same time. The dialogue is "too much" inasmuch as no-one speaks like that all of the time of course, but was a great and successful example of heightened naturalism. The trick - as you point out in your review of her next script - is to have more than one trick up your sleeve. New writers typically write about what they know, and while watching the film I couldn't help wondering how much of the story of Juno was Diablo's own, she may well have been a precocious sexually active young teenager and there may or may not have been a pregnancy in her life, but hey, what business is that of mine, it's fiction let's leave it at that and just celebrate that a novice writer could not only hit the big time by having her script produced, but having it win the big one as well. Gives hope to all aspiring writers and probably puts the willies up established ones, which is no bad thing.
I might be horribly wrong and misinformed here, but weren't the oscar committee going overboard by awarding Juno's screenplay? I read a few pages of the screenplay before realizing almost all the characters were speaking (as MM puts) in 'Cody speak', and then the fun element bogged down very fast for me. Now why would a screenplay with obvious flaws (despite having a great cast of characters and storyline) get an OSCAR? Unless of course there weren't any other deserving candidates... All I'm saying is yes, the backlash is going overboard, but maybe fault isn't just on their side.
The only thing I would have changed in Juno was to have it set in the 80's. Having it set in present time made the pop culture references and music references somewhat insincere coming out of the mouth of a 16 year old girl.
I'm sorry, 16 year old girls in 2008 don't talk about Dario Argento movies. Fuck, I did not even know who Dario Argento was when I was 16 and I have always been a big horror fan.
The main complaint I have heard over and over by both teens today and by the actual 30 somethings the movie is intended for, is that "teens don't talk like that, nor know about most of the things referenced in the movie." and this is true. Fuck, I know educated people in their twenties who have never seen M.A.S.H. nor Three's Company.
All this could have been avoided by simply having the movie set in the 80's. There were no set pieces, and the director and production designed did their best to make it feel like the movie was set in the 80's, so why didn't they just do it?
As for the movie being "anti-abortion" I say "so what?" It actually unnerves me when people start saying shit like that. So, let me get this straight, it's "anti-abortion" because Juno decided to keep the baby? Has society fallen so far that now having a baby is not the appropriate thing to do when pregnant?
All that said, I really did like Juno and it was, in my opinion, the best of the nominees for best screenplay. However, I have this itching feeling that Diablo Cody has peaked with Juno.
Lastly, the best original screenplay of last year was "The Living wake" by far. Shame it's locked in some kind of limbo and has not been seen outside of a handful of showings.
I think Diablo Cody is in a tough position because of the way she's marketed herself (from her initial decision to become a stripper up to what PR people promoted for Juno).
She made herself a type of counter-culture icon by going against her middle-class upbringing and becoming a stripper. Not a bad move, since it gave her something to write about.
Then she wrote a good indie movie with heart (the dialogue did get to me on a second viewing but I still think Juno is great) that ended up appealing to the mainstream public.
Now the counter-culture people who loved her "way back when" are ticked that she's "sold out" with her popularity.
Meanwhile, segments of the mainstream dislike her because of her "rebellion" (her stripper past).
And many within the LA establishment are jealous of her success.
A backlash was bound to happen.
I do think Diablo Cody is a smart woman, though- let's hope she can ride out this storm and continue to grow as a writer.
(And I attribute her unfounded attack on the shoe designer a sign that she's feeling the pressure of everything right now.)
Well, Diablo represents someone who, in the world of struggling screenwriters, didn't seem to pay her dues and now she's up top of the heap alongside Kaufmann and Tony Gilroy.
She said she didn't study screenwriting, she just took a script she liked and copied the format (I don't really buy that) and it's her first script and it went all the way.
That pisses people off, because they want to know and believe that THEIR rules for achievement in scriptwriting matters, that scriptwriting is a more elusive, demanding craft than just writing some dumb book . . . and here this upstart who used to strip just showed them you can simply write something and people make a fuss over it if they like it.
It pisses off people in the trenches who believe there's gotta be a "certain way" of doing this as a career . . . they're jealous because she leap-frogged a lot of folks who've been slogging at this craft for years.
That's where the hate comes from.
Me, I love her just from her interviews and columns, and I remember reading her old blog back in the day, she's funny. I've never seen JUNO but she's got game and that's always enough for me.
Joshua- You're probably right as to why there is a fair amount of venomous reaction to her in the screenwriting community. She so publically leapfrogged the process. Whereas, if I recall the woman that wrote letters from iwo jima kind of leapfrogged the system too, but in a different way. She was a student in a class Paul Haggis was teaching and she recommended her to Eastwood to write "Letters" I LOVED that story because I got the feeling this woman was recognized for her talent and got a chance to bust through the door which she did with great skill. YES,Diablo took advantage of her break and wrote a very good screenplay. But here's the problem for me, until she proves she's more than a one trick pony, there will always be this nagging doubt as to HOW and WHY she got her chance. I think the possibility that she got her chance because she was a stripper makes me way more jealous than the fact that she leapfrogged the system. Cuz trust me, you do not want to see me in a g-string. Hell, that's what we all want to do as well right, leapfrog the 5 years of hell you have to go through to get noticed if at all?
Our good friend Rose, on TS, noted that her own story is the high concept that people look for in movies, you know, stripper turned famous screenwriter. Let's see how the third act turns out.
She didn't get the break as a screenwriter because she stripped . . . she got a book deal becuz she wrote a very funny and entertaining blog about stripping (I read it back in the day) and then wrote a very funny and entertaining book about stripping - which in turn led to writing a screenplay . . .
There's this idea that she got a screenplay deal without writing at all, but that's not necessarily true . . . she wrote a good book that broke her through (like Daniel Benioff, who wrote the novel THE 25TH HOUR) and writing a book, I can tell ya, is work . . . I've written both and books are a load, they really are.
So it seemed like she leapfrogged, but the reality is she worked at it, writing, and folks are just jealous because she seemed to take screenwriting itself for granted . . .
When the guys won for GOOD WILL HUNTING, remember all the talk about how they didn't really write it, etc, because it didn't seem like these actors EARNED the right to be able to write a good screenplay?
It's jealousy, I think. There's a groupthink out there who posit a good writer has to learn something new about telling a story when they pick up a screenplay, but the reality is, a good writer is a good writer . . .
That's my view. I still haven't seen JUNO, but as I mentioned earlier, I REALLY liked the script for MICHAEL CLAYTON . . . I would not have had a problem with Gilroy winning . . .
Joshua - I'm with you. Basically, that was going to be the thrust of a blog post I might still make today about Diablo Cody. She wrote a friggin' memoir! And it was great - not too long, measured, witty, fun, couldn't put it down. That's hard to do. I read a lot of bloated memoirs.
She also wrote a bunch of blog posts that captured the attention of a large audience (I read it from time to time myself, back in the day) and then she tried her hand at screenwriting. She wasn't a newbie writer at all. She was just trying a new form.
Most writers don't sell their first book out of the gate. I know people who have been slaving away at novels or memoirs for 10 years without a sale. The fact she did it in like a space of a couple of years from the time she started stripping - wow, that's amazing. I'm actually more impressed by the memoir than I am the screenplay. But I'm impressed by both.
Why do people care so much about the backlash? Some of us just don't like her, and think she's a product of hype. Simple as that. I've read both of her scripts and was very underwhelmed.
Also, as for the personal attacks, I guarantee you this. If it was discovered that Tony Gilroy had been a male stripper, had a long running blog titled "The Dick Joint" (or something less lame, but similar), posted naked pictures of himself on the internet, and had changed his name to a more media friendly pseudonym the press would be all over it.
Basically, fair or not, you can't have the good without the bad.
And no way in hell did she deserve that Academy Award. The script was average, not great. The movie was really good, due to the actors, director, and the soundtrack.
The criticism she is on the receiving end of may be understandable but that doesn't make it right. The level of scrutiny she is under might be justified if she were up for a lifetime achievement award, then, yes, we'd want to know all about her and her oeuvre. What? She doesn't have one? Well, that's alright, her award was specifically for the Juno screenplay which should be judged on its own merits. Even if you don't agree it as the best, Juno was a lot of the general public's movie of the year, so she must have done something right. More contentious - for me - was the best adapted screenplay award. Cormac McCarthy writes quite cinematically and all the Coen brothers had to do was not f@@k it up. That deserves a prize?! I'm kidding, but keep a little perspective on criticism of Juno, please.
Coming to the defense of a grown woman who clearly doesn't give a shit what others think only makes the "backlash" more understanding.
The only thing I care about Diablo Cody right now is that she is a hot screenwriter. I'd do her.
Hehe.
Jesus, some people don't like her! I don't like her! Get over it! Annoying, gimmicky, self-absorbed flavor of the month....
It really makes a case for her talent to attack her critics by saying stuff like, "You must not get laid much!" and "Who's got the Oscar now?!?" Real mature.
I'm sure Jessica Bendinger, Kathryn Bigelow, Julie Dash, Audrey Wells, Callie Khouri, Jane Espenson, Tina Fey, Leata Kalogrides and Maria Magenti are just overjoyed to see Ms. Diablo become the premeire female screenwriter in the world today.
Thanks for quoting my DVD Talk review!
And I'm married, so no, I don't get laid much.
I see all the traffic that your Diablo Cody posts have driven to your blog, and I think: I should write about her.
But... meh, I just am not enthusiastic either way. Don't love her, don't hate her. Will watch her career out of curiosity, because she seems smart and more than a little like me. Similar choices, but she's worked it better.
""You must not get laid much!" and "Who's got the Oscar now?!?" Real mature."
I agree completely. I am astounded at how out of control the Diablo "lovers" can get in defending this girl. So she got an Oscar. So what? Lawrence Kasdan doesn't have an Oscar. Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar. Robert Altman never won a competitive Oscar. Winning an Oscar is not proof of talent.
Cody said-"I can only assume the majority of it in this case is jealousy?"
I can only assume a statement such as this one comes from a complete moron. Yeah, attack the attackers. That's also mature. So if I don't like Adam Sandler movies it means I'm jealous? If I think Martin Lawrence is a talentless fool it means I'm jealous? Or does it just mean that I think they suck? Yeah, that's what I thought.
This thread is getting pretty funny. Apparently it's OK for Cody-bashers to sling whatever kind of shit they like at her, but if any of it gets thrown back, that's immature!
Matt, I think I saw your dad driving a Datsun!
I think what's irritating the Diablo supporters is the venom and ad hominen attacks being leveled at Diablo.
If you think the dialogue sounds false or is overwritten, fine, then state that. There's no need to make snide remarks about her being a stripper or seeming self-absorbed or anything like that.
I personally thought the Coen brothers only got their Adapted Screenplay Oscar for No Country because of hype- the novel was great but the adaptation was poorly done. I don't critique their interpersonal awkwardness or their appearances, though.
I agree, Juno wasn't a perfect screenplay. As I mentioned in my earlier comment (Anonymous #2), on a second viewing the dialogue was aggravating. What makes Juno work is that the story has heart- it's a sweet story and it feels different from most of the movies put out these days. And obviously, a significant segment of the public agrees with me, given the money Juno's made.
Eve (Anonymous #2)
OUCH. Jealous much, criticizers? Is JUNO the best script ever written? Doubtful. Was it well-written and did it hold the audience's interest all the way through? Yes. At least for this audience member. In fact, it was the only movie I went to see twice in the theater during the past year.
If the inane "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" can win for best original song, then surely a well-written script that entertains its viewers and captures their interest the entire way through can win an Oscar, too. You go, Ms. Cody.
Juno was a light entertaining film. Who cares where it came from or if the person who wrote it didn't "pay their dues." This year was full of great films, but most of them were incredibly dark. I did not walk out of the theater after "No Country For Old Men" with a smile on my face. I enjoyed it, but it didn't necessarily make me feel happy.
Diablo Cody is known for her past because it gave her a niche. It made her stand out from the pack. People are more interested in Stripper Screenwriter than Went to College for it wrote a couple episodes of a teen drama for UPN then got lucky. The media plays into this type of thing. She marketed herself well and now she just has to figure out how to break away from the label.
And if we're going to talk about being rude, and calling names, read the original post by Mystery Man. I believe he started the shit slinging.
C'mon Matt, lighten up, let's not fall out over Diablo Cody, please. I'm willing to concede, it might have been a Mazda.
If we are to reduce this thread to "who started it", I think that is answered in the first line of the original post ("the web seems to be in high attack mode, and no one is attacking back. There’s more venom getting slung at this one girl than some presidential candidates. She’s just a screenwriter for God’s sake.").
I.e. the post was not about whether Diablo Cody is any good (or even whether her screenplay merited an Oscar), but about whether she deserved the opprobrium that the accolade seems to have generated. Some mudslingers don't seem to like it that MM has turned it back against them, and some people that flat out don't like Cody or her work but have never had that much to say about her to be fair (I read your blog) seem to have got caught in the crossfire.
Good luck with the writing, I hope someone pays you for it someday.
I have put Mystery Man's 'Cody' post linked in my article:
Malicious Content: Gossipmongers and the Paparazzi
http://www.screenwritingforhollywood.com/hollywood-horror-stories/malicious-content-gossipmongers-and-the-paparazzi
From the commenters, I get the feeling that I am not alone in the way I feel about the popular negative catty press happening right now. I'd love to hear your feedback.
Mystery Man, your article is really great and with force. Well said! This is a topic that really gets me fired up.
Thanks!
I think the sad truth is that Diablo Cody will do in public what the rest of do in private: hit the ground running with a great story that came from our heart and then find ourselves unable to follow it up until we actually study the craft of writing.
MM is constantly telling us not to start selling our stories too soon. If we haven't learned how to construct a good story, then our best efforts are not going to hold up in HW.
Diablo started too soon. She still has a lot to learn and her inexperience is going to bring her down. And that's sad, because she really does have a lot of natural talent.
Seriously mang, Diablody's the Kimbo Slice of screenwriting.
Juno kept the baby? What?
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