We’re all happy for Diablo Cody winning an Oscar this year for writing the only $100 million dollar baby in the race, her being a woman and all. The folks at ONTD have captioned this “Diablo Cody doing what she does best.” Who hasn’t dreamed of winning an Oscar and having one’s photo taken kissing the Oscar? Plenty of women have taken that photo. Ms. Cody has her backstory to contend and something tells me it will be hanging around for a while. What is that line in The Insider about being famous versus being infamous?
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No freaking way. I’m absolutely disagreeing. Next time when you post something think about reaction of readers.
Screenplay have rules, discplines, art, structure, sequence,
main plot, subplot, sub text, etc. There are courses for this. She can’t just possibly learn the craft by reading other screenplays. READ THE SCREENPLAY.. THE MOVIE IS A DIRECTOR’S INTERPRETATION OF THE SCREENPLAY. THIS IS THE OSCARS FAULT AND STUPID ENOUGH NOT TO READ THE SCREENPLAY. THE AWARD IS FOR THE SCREENPLAY. SO READ THE SCREENPLAY AND NOT WATCH THE MOVIE.
Actually, her holding the Oscar like that sorta turns me on. She gots skillz.
Thanks for helping me think of a caption, Memphis.
“Don’t backlash in my mouth, ok?”
Honestly, I don’t really care about her past. I’ve dated strippers too, and they aren’t the most intelligent creatures, but I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. But the main thing is, did Juno’s script really deserve an Oscar? I mean, words like “home slice”, “doodle”, and the rest of the absurdities the script had really wasn’t shakespeare. the crazy fact is, those words were what got her the praise. It wasn’t brilliant, it was high schoolish.
And it’s not Backlash for me. I’ve been big supporters of movies before that had bigtime backlash, like Sideways.
And how about that scene when she was in the doctor’s office and Juno’s mom tears into the doctor. I understood the point, but it was very oddly paced and the dialog was jarring and felt out of place with the rest of the movie. If they wanted to nominate a comedy, they should have gone with Knocked up instead.
The Oscars needs to know who their real winners…
I don’t mean to put down Diablo who won the best original screenplay
but do you really think without learning the art and craft about
screenwriting is possible to get an oscar?
Screenplay have rules, discplines, art, structure, sequence,
main plot, subplot, sub text, etc. She can’t just possibly learn the craft by reading other screenplays.
She may have a good story but to put it in a screenplay is a new ball game. Other
writers are busting their chaps for years learning the craft and Diablo
just happen to have a remarkable talent to have it. Oliver Stone took ten years to master the craft.
Sure, a talent can come anywhere like a diamond under the rubble. But when you find that rare diamond, it too
needs to be polished just like this woman. How long has she been writing a screenplay and
how many?
I’m speculating that Diablo got help from a good screenwirter and I would probably understand for the movie Juno to win. But whoever helped her should get
the credit as well. What if Steven Speilberg gave you a screenplay and it wins an oscar.
Are you the real winner?
This woman got helped to write a scrrenplay and We need to show the world that co-writer.
Its important. Otherwise, spec scripts will start pouring out there, coming from anywhere without the
art and discipline. And we wonder why art is degrading… Its bad promotion for the art!
The OSCAR should be concerned about this. And they should READ THE SCREENPLAY not just watch the movie.
. . . and here I thought, Serena, that perhaps you were now in a transitional phase — like phases of the moon or something — and were simply trying to keep us from getting confused. And yes, in both Jack’s and Diablo’s case, not to mention everyone else, it’s all about image and perception. (“We don’t see people as they are; we see people as we are – Anais Nin, with credit to Dorothy Porker.)
I don’t think you’re being naive, Andy. It’s just that sexual and gender issues push a lot of buttons.
sartre, you can ask Ryan for confirmation. He knows all about it.
I was advised to post under another name because someone else was posting under my user (Serena) in the Liz Smith thread.
Let’s just say that I have my own opinions as to the person(s) involved & as to the reasons why.
I’m sorry, call me naive if you must, but I cannot for the life of me understand the flack against Diablo Cody and her past. To me, it’s just like any other backstory in Hollywood: plucked out of obscurity and thrust into the limelight. It just so happens Ms. Cody’s former profession was a tad risque, and yes, it was probably more than a tad, but still. Quentin Tarantino was a high school dropout and video store clerk, now he’s a critically aclaimed writer/director, not to mention an Oscar winner. So it’s really hard for me to believe that her backstory had anything to do with her win; she wrote a good screenplay, so can we look passed everything else and try to think she was awarded based on merit and less on pole-dancing?
As for the facade/Halloween costume comment…is there honestly no one in the world that conveys an image onto themselves? And whose to say it’s completely her image? I think the media holds a share of the responsibility. I don’t think it’s fair to presume so much about this woman when we do not even know her, save for, of course, the infamous backstory that is a moot point.
But I am a giant Juno fan, so perhaps I am a bit biased?
In short (or long, at this point), I think she deserved it, plain and simple, the end, roll credits.
Thank you for your time and allowing me to rant.
Carly, how do we know you’re our friend Serena? And if you are Serena why would you call yourself Carly? It’s all very confusing.
EXACTLY, Pierre. Your last paragraph particularly resonates with me.
But, whether in Jack’s case or Diablo’s case, it’s all about image & perception, isn’t it?
I do adore you…
I echo the sentiments of dr_black and Sasha.
And what was Diablo supposed to wear to the awards? A Nicole Kidman cast-off? A retooling of Gywneth Paltrow’s princess pink ball gown?
To me, the telling moment was in the pressroom when a reporter asked her if she planned to name her Oscar. She declined, “. . . out of respect for the institution” of the Academy. This woman will be around, I’d bet. Whether she ever wins another Oscar is uncertain, but by working with the likes of Spielberg and HBO, she’s smart enough to learn the ropes — and she was humble enough to admit that she’s learned things from her co-nominees. There’s no reason for me to think she’s anything but genuine, with an eye toward the commercial. What’s wrong with that?
Look at the respect and acclaim that someone like Jack Nicholson receives, while at the same time being the object of gushing ribbing about his much-discussed excessive sexual exploits. Cody may not have the artistic track record of Nicholson, but skewering her because of her past exploits — whether or not they contributed to her celebrity and current success — seems to me like a sexist double standard.
dr, you’re on the something. It’s strange how often the screenwriting category results seem swayed by the backstory of the nominees. Think Ben and Matt and Billy Bob. The Miramax campaign machine knew exactly how to leverage their backstories. Did they ever produce another screenplay?
Oh, I agree completely that her backstory helped her and Juno a hell of a lot. And I think it’s a valid point to make in a discussion about the film’s Oscar win and without it, Michael Clayton would probably have won (a result I would have been happier with, I would have been even happier if Ratatouille had taken the Oscar) But the same can be said about lots of winners, the outside story can power someone to a win as much as the quality of a film. (Even though I think The Departed was the most deserving winner last year, the fact that Marty had never won did help. Jennifer Hudson’s American Idol runner-up story also helped her to a victory last year.) What bothers me is the sniping at her. I think there’s plenty of criticisms that can be made about the quality of Juno, none of which involve her being a stripper. I just think that the shorthand of ‘Cody is a former stripper = Juno is a undeserving film’ is plain nasty.
Did anyone else notice that after choosing that awful dress she was clearly uncomfortable with the slit? You can’t have it both ways, friend-o. It made for an awkward walk to and from the podium.
I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for Ms. Cody’s next script that actually sees production by a major studio or subsidiary much less acclaim.
I was really glad to see the Halloween costume facade crumble to bits at the end of Diablo’s heartfelt acceptance speech last night. (haroldsmaude, in fine live-blogging form last night, said DC showed up dressed as Pebbles Flinstone — lol!)
I mean that’s a choice, that get-up, as is the harsh ink-blot hair and Betty-Boop lipstick. Everyone has their own personal style, and I’m all about individuality, but I think it’s great that there are fewer and fewer groaningly tasteless gowns, as stars have realized it’s not a crime one night a year to show some genuine glamor and refinement. Isn’t that one of the major reasons we tune in? I have Real Sex on HBO if I want to see what hookers are up to (and sometimes I do).
As much as I loved Diablo’s speech and the subsequent crumbling (I can say sincerely, it was my third favorite moment of the night) it was telling in some way that when she finally broke down and showed some real genuine emotion, and let us get a glimpse of the human being behind the pop-tart exterior — she looked furious at herself as she was walking offstage.
I know it’s not possible (and not right) to try to gauge someone’s inner feelings by a 4-second glimpse and she rushes past the backstage camera, but I’ve watched it a few times, and it seems to me that this is not how she wanted her speech to end, and she was pissed at herself for ruining her own prepackages act she had planned.
She’s not ever going to turn out “deserving scripts” RichardA talks about if she keeps trying to hide who she really is behind this cartoon slut version of herself she’s concocted.
(And how come RichardA can get right to the point in one line, while it takes me 6 paragraphs? Diablo’s not the only one with packaging problems. Sorry. I’ll work on that.)
Winning an Oscar is also a trust, I think. I hope she honors that and make more even deserving scripts.
Without having seen The Insider in a couple of years, I think it’s something like this:
“This will blow over. Stories like this have a half-life of 15 minutes.”
“No, that’s fame. Fame has a 15-minute half-life. Infamy lasts a bit longer.”
jms67 is right that it will take D. C. a while to pay this off… probably right up to when she writes another acclaimed screenplay that shows she’s more than a flash in the pan (no pun intended).
” Hot in a crazy way, but a shady past and from a broken home, and ladened with numerous mental problems that require constant medication.” LOL
Juno was decent, but not an Oscar worthy film in any category. I might give Page some kudos and didn’t mind her nomination. Cody looks like my ex from last year. Hot in a crazy way, but a shady past and from a broken home, and ladened with numerous mental problems that require constant medication.
Dr_Black, I agree with you that people are incredible a**holes for continuing to bring this stripping thing up. But Diablo used it to raise her profile. Bless her heart for finding a way into the business, but this is the price she’s going to have to pay for some time now. Frankly, I’m tired of it. Hopefully others will feel that way soon, too. (The joke is played out. Really it is.)
She deserves this big-time! Last time an original screenplay stuck with me and stood out was Pulp Fiction. Again, No Country for Old Men is overrated. I’ll come back to this site when ‘good-movie season’ begins in early September. btw, Caption THIS!
I agree, Dr. Black, but you know, this is the world we live in. She used the story to get her foot in the door and get noticed and you can’t undo a story like that. In other words, you can’t really have it both ways. She is really the one who has the website, pussyranch, and wrote Candy Girl the blog about stripping – it’s out there front and center. I think Juno is a good script and I think she’s a fab person. This story, though, is going to be around a while. And p.s. I’m not even sure she would have won the Oscar without the backstory, honestly. It became a “thing” and that gave her the boost. She played the game the way the game deserved to be played, otherwise we’d probably be looking at a Tony Gilroy win.
The whole Diablo Cody thing has been incredibly unpleasant. Juno was regarded as a decent little film until it became an awards contender (much like Little Miss Sunshine last year and Crash the year before). Now you can’t read anything about Juno without comments like ‘Little Miss Stripper’ or that caption quoted in the article. Yes, Cody herself entered her past into discussion, but people have been constantly using it as a way to devalue any acclaim given to her. It’s this very snobbish attitude, almost as if she’s beneath the Oscars because she was a stripper. Nasty and uncalled for. It says a lot that people can’t restrict their criticism to the actual film rather than the individual.
Honestly, I don’t think she gives a crap at how people look at her at this particular moment. All she should care about is how she has an Oscar and most of the “haters” don’t. And her speech was one of the genuinely emotional moments of the night, though I wonder if even she expected that she would react like that during her speech. Maybe it finally all hit her at that particular moment.
I’m not going to caption this, but I just want to say how glad I am D. Cody won, she deserved it hands down.