Insane Clone Posse: Dana Fox, Diablo Cody, Liz Meriwether and Lorene Scafaria.
The NYTimes Cady Heron Deborah Schoeneman pulls back the seven veils to flash us with a glimpse of the coolest chick clique since Heather, Heather, Veronica, and Heather:
Ms. Scafaria and Ms. Cody are usually not a duo, but half of a quartet. With their pals Dana Fox, who wrote “What Happens in Vegas,” and Liz Meriwether, a playwright-turned-screenwriter, they make up a Hollywood powerhouse writing posse who call themselves “The Fempire.”
“A 17th century Hungarian countess embarks on a murderous undertaking, with the belief that bathing in the blood of virgins will preserve her beauty.”
oh wait, that last bit leaked in from another post altogether. The Times article is much more informative and not at all patronizing:
“Some in the room tittered — maybe even Twittered,” and “Don’t even try to credit their bankability to their looks.”
um, don’t worry, I wasn’t going to. Pretty much the furthest thing from my mind. What else can the Times tell us?
“Their four-way chatter is a thicket of one-liners and retorts that cannot be printed here…” and
“…all four wear the same gold necklaces with tiny heart pendants inscribed with words that can’t be printed here, gifts from Ms. Cody…”
Quote tease. Lucky for us, somebody at New York Magazine has some balls and they tell us what’s on the pendant (though wouldn’t it be a lot more fun to guess?) I’ll have to tell you the cutesy/naughty stuff after the cut, because it’s NSFW & WTFC.
yeah, I won’t milk it for suspense. The identical pendants these four ladies wear say, “Fuck My Face.”
Sorry. Don’t kill the messenger. Even without knowing all this too-much-information, we get a fairly good idea what it must be like to be the poor puppies in this photo.
…Whenever one of them has a movie opening, they all rent a white limousine and go from theater to theater to watch the first audiences react.
“We’re usually drunk by the third theater,” Ms. Cody said. “It’s super porno and tacky, and we love doing it.”
To be fair, I heard Noel Coward used to do the same thing. It’s not all fun and games and unprintable retorts though:
…not everyone loves these four women, and plenty are happy to say so (many of them anonymously). So among them there is also a battle-scarred camaraderie. “Whenever you have a project out in wide release, there are haters,” Ms. Cody said. “Blogs, imdb, Rotten Tomatoes, reviews. It’s a lot to deal with.
Did I hear a dog whistle?
“I flew to New York a couple times to hold Diablo’s bag when she was doing press,” said Ms. Fox, who also held Ms. Scafaria’s handbag at the Toronto Film Festival.”
There were people who actually got upset that this article appeared in the Times Style section, instead of the Arts & Leisure pages. Seriously. There are others who get a bit huffy at the suggestion there’s something icky or sexist about the piece. Still others who cut past the silliness and seem to get it.
Me, I can’t help thinking of this:
I’d feel bad about posting that, except for this other enlightening slice from the Times about these four “glamorous” writers who “can command seven figures to write a movie that makes it into theaters with big stars.”
Then came Ms. Meriwether, a successful playwright in New York. Her agent, Cliff Roberts of William Morris, sent her first television pilot, “Sluts” — about a group of recent college graduates who move to New York —
Anybody want to suggest another pendant inscription?
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“Ms. Scafaria and Ms. Cody are usually not a duo, but half of a quartet.”
whew, I thought she was gonna say “2/3’s of a threesome.”
No alternative pendant inscription suggestions at all?
How about “Posse Whipped”?
“cougars in training”
Eh, the only thing that really bothers me is that they actually NAMED their group, which is, like, sooooooo middle school. Otherwise, congrats on getting people to actually talk about screenwriters again.
“um, don’t worry, I wasn’t going to. Pretty much the furthest thing from my mind. What else can the Times tell us?” LOL and true
Why waste ink and space on the likes of Nancy Oliver, Tamara Jenkins, Courtney Hunt, Kimberly Pierce when “The Fempire” tale needs to be told.
Seriously, girls get over yourself!
Diablo Cody’s fascination with porn has is not amusing anymore. Actually, it never was.
According to IMDB, with the exception of Diablo Cody, their collective screen credits don’t amount to much.
“…their collective screen credits don’t amount to much.”
Thanks for bringing that up, dela. I was gonna say something like, “I don’t know what’s more humiliating: Liz Meriwether’s only credit being the unsold pilot to the “Untitled Liz Meriwether Project”? Or Dana Fox’s credit for concocting What Happens in Vegas? ”
But I figured I’d try to be nice. (I’ve since changed my mind.)
“…Whenever one of them has a movie opening, they all rent a white limousine and go from theater to theater to watch the first audiences react.”
yeah? which “one of them” would that be?
That’s nice that they have a little support group, but it’d be nice if they’d aspire to writing something great instead of hipstery comedies that will be dated in a few years.
Ryan, Meriwether has written other things you know. Just last year her script “Fuckbuddies” made it on the Blacklist. It’s a totally transgressive comedy (minus the laughs) about a guy who sleeps with this girl, and they keep sleeping together, and here, here’s the twist — he wants a relationship, and she doesn’t!! I’m sure Super Sluts or whatever her show is called will be just as awesome.
Seriously now, I want to see more women (and people of color) as writers and directors because they can bring a perspective that’s been absent for so long. However, I fail to see what these ladies add to moviemaking. As a woman, I’m seriously conflicted that I already find this little group insufferable. What’s with the media whoring, ladies?
“… Meriwether has written other things you know. Just last year her script “Fuckbuddies” made it on the Blacklist.”
gee, and that’s what I thought Diablo Cody might have had inscribed on all their little necklaces
Isn’t this article about the article just as sexist and patronizing?
You’re whole attitude is off-putting.
“Isn’t this article about the article just as sexist and patronizing?”
The difference, Adam, is that I’m trying to spotlight the inescapable air-headed sexism, while the NYTimes article seems oblivious to its own silliness. The Times piece comes across as fawning. Do you think that’s my intention, too?
What’s funny to me about the Times article is how the writer is clearly ga-ga with a girl-crush on this gang. She wants to put them on a pedestal, but can’t manage to get a meaningful quote from Cody other than to have her repeatedly bleat about how much she drinks.
=====
“Waiting to answer, cross-legged in another, was Diablo Cody, struggling to keep her short blue dress from riding up.”
If only there were a preemptive solution to that struggle. Can anybody think of one?
“Goodness! I’ve left the house with my coochie hanging out! And I’m so insulted by everybody who’s fixated on my coochie! Why can’t you take us seriously!?”
Ugh. Yeah, the Times’ piece is disturbingly biased and fawning, totally enamored with their coochie-power antics. The writer is so aching to be one of them, I’m embarrassed for her. It’s like something from Mean Girls or Heathers or something. I’m almost surprised the Times ran it. But not.
I know Fuckbuddies was on the Blacklist, so maybe it’s fantastic, but the whole idea of it just makes me cringe. Ooh, how edgy and 1992.
dela, the writers you mention may not be young/photgenic enough or maybe they haven’t formed a posse..i think you need to have either of those traits on your side…. *arrrgh*
i liked the stuff in the gawker link and the stuff in the replies in the filmdrunk is uh the funniest thing i’ve seen/read sine uh yeah i liked those. but i wasn’t cool enough/a fan of juno so yeah i’m biased.ha ha…
i *loved* this article and the replies. ryan, you’re our fortune cookie prize !!!
Did someone just call Diablo Cody photogenic?
fauxtogenic
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