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Diablo Cody To Turn Steven Spielberg Idea Into Big-Screen Comedy!!

Published at:  Jul 15, 2008 11:12:34 PM CDT

I am – Hercules!!



Steven Spielberg and Oscar-winning “Juno” scribe Diablo Cody, already teaming for the Toni Collette multiple-personality Showtime series “The United States of Tara,” are now collaborating on a DreamWorks project for the big screen.

Cody will be crafting a screenplay for the project based on an original Spielberg idea.

With what the idea deals, no one is yet saying.

Recall that Spielberg once contemplated directing "Juno" long before Jason Reitman became involved!

Read all of Variety’s story on the matter here.



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    Readers Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:17:20 PM CDT

    Did she give him a lap dance or something?

    by fiester

    Diablojob is a flavor-of-the-month hack. Juno sucked. Those sort of precious flicks produce more serial killers than a hundred slasher flicks.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:18:02 PM CDT

    Hey, ChocolateReign

    by mavra chang

    Hope you're feeling better. This news might make you sick anyway!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:18:37 PM CDT

    I would love to see Spielberg direct good movie again...

    by geekyanimenerd79beyotch

    I mean, this is only my opinion, but he hasn't done a good movie since "The Color Purple."

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:19:11 PM CDT

    I can't be bothered to see Juno...

    by sirloin

    ...for better or for worse. Perhaps it's my loss. I'll definitely be seeing the new movie she wrote where Megan Fox gets naked. I'm sure Juno is lovely, and if someday it means the difference between me getting laid or 'batin, then I'll definitely see it. I'd sure like to lay Diablo Cody, though. Sexist Males of America, I think I just earned my membership card. I'm actually just kidding about all of this, but in a way, not.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:19:50 PM CDT

    ZOMG!

    by geekyanimenerd79beyotch

    I left a letter out of my previous subject!! Find the mistake and you will receive.. an accommodation?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:22:07 PM CDT

    "a"

    by sirloin

    Geekyanimewhatever,
    I'd like to stay at the Four Seasons in Pebble Beach. Thanks.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:39:01 PM CDT

    I didn't know that Spielberg

    by charlie murphy

    almost directed JUNO. that's interesting. this story, really isn't. is spielberg directing this? what exactly is IT? until i know, i don't really care.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:39:06 PM CDT

    Huh?

    by darth pants

    So somebody is working with somebody else on something, but nobody knows what that something is. How does this count as news?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:43:55 PM CDT

    I know exactly what it is.

    by the guy who slept through everything.

    BOOM BLOX: THE MOVIE! based off the Wii video game, and yes it will NUKE THE FRIDGE!!!!!!!!!111

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:51:03 PM CDT

    fanboys are so threatened it's sad

    by badmrwonka

    a woman writes a great script, and it gets made into a great movie, and guess what? she's getting a lot of work from it!if it was some guy, instead of some girl, no one would care. but you're all so threatened by a strong woman, your only recourse is to lash out at her and call her a hack.with all the horrendous films out there and reality TV nonsense and just pandering crap, someone that writes a funny, touching and sincere film should be applauded, and YES should get more work and more recognition.you know it's true, but you're too scared of the fact that she has a vagina to admit it. pretty fucking sad.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:52:33 PM CDT

    What's wrong with Spielberg?

    by harold-sherbort

    So Indy 4 was a let down to most people. He's still got a lot left to say. And what he's made in the time he's been an active filmmaker, is more than most can say. A few missteps doesn't tarnish what he has done. Close Encounters was way ahead of it's time. And I don't care who you are, if you saw E.T. before your hearts turned cold and bitter, more than likely you were moved by it in some way.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:54:49 PM CDT

    One more thing..

    by harold-sherbort

    Let the shit talking commence.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 15, 2008 11:58:39 PM CDT

    OMG!!!

    by mavra chang

    I'm afraid of vaginas!!!!! Wait a minute...Nevermind!;p

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:00:03 AM CDT

    Juno is not a well-written script!

    by unfaithfullyyours


    Smug, condescending and reeking of "I'm so much cooler than the rest of you fuckwads." I wanted to beat that movie with a stick. The excellent cast saved it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:06:25 AM CDT

    I'd love to see him direct a small movie

    by larry of arabia

    The closest he's come lately is "The Terminal" which is sorely underrated. Give him $20 million and see what he comes up with. I bet he could do it, in the past he was famous for being ahead of schedule and under budget (with one notable exception). The last little film he did, "The Terminal" is horribly underrated but it stands up well as a simple pleasure.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:07:18 AM CDT

    Spielberg is a hack and a plagiarist. Deal with it.

    by uncle stan

    Allan Quartermain is rolling in his African grave.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:11:40 AM CDT

    Now we hate Spielberg?

    by larry of arabia

    I didn't get memo from "The International Association of Talkback Posers." I'd like to start hating Del Torro now, just to get back ahead of the curve. Damit I want a fantasy character that isn't pale and has eyes in the right place!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:20:59 AM CDT

    Had Spielberg directed Juno...

    by iamjack'suserid

    Would she had concieved her child in a fridge?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:37:31 AM CDT

    Minority Report Rules

    by duke of hurl

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:38:48 AM CDT

    Spielberg doesn't have the chops??

    by pr0g2west

    Have you forgotten about Munich, Saving Private Ryan, and Schindler's list? How much more raw can you get? If Spielberg wanted to make a film about teen pregnancy, I think he could handle it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:39:02 AM CDT

    "I'm so much cooler than the rest of you fuckwads."

    by troutmaskreplicant

    Well she probably is. She seems like the kind of woman who could wither a guys cock with a dirty look...Actually I kind of think the Tarantino hate and the Cody hate have similar reasons behind them (beyond that some people think they're overrated). Do people take a special dislike to them because they're both Geeks who went over to the "hip" dark side?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:46:40 AM CDT

    @BadMrWonka

    by onyx390

    That's complete bullshit. You're trying to invalidate our opinions with what? Petty thug tactics? Threatened by a strong woman my ass. If anything, we're threatened by the fact that America seemed to haved loved Juno's overwritten and synthetic dialogue. When that movie finished, the first thing I did was see who the screenwriter is and vow never to see a movie by that person ever again.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:12:52 AM CDT

    Yes, after that steaming shit pile that was Indy 4...

    by hiperaktiv

    I dont care about anything Spielberg does anymore. I laugh at the thought of him directing Juno. You just know he would have had Juno keep the baby in the end and with the bf raise a family or some lame crap like that...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:25:23 AM CDT

    I Repeat...

    by therealmoriarty

    ... fanboys, as a culture, are afraid of women unless they are clad in spandex and handing out free blowjobs, and even then, most of them wouldn't know what to do. If you don't like JUNO, that's fine. But the "lapdance" line above? Textbook loser fanboy woman-hating misogyny.

    If you don't like her work, I dare you to have the conversation without referring to her gender. I fucking dare you. You'll fold within five posts.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:30:12 AM CDT

    steven gonna bang the stripper?

    by bacci40

    i cant see how she made any money, she has tiny boobies...now script girl, her i would stuff 20s into her g-string

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:31:30 AM CDT

    Actually...

    by geekyanimenerd79beyotch

    ...I think Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Color Purple are his only good movies. *gasp* I have an opinion. What next, individuality? Ah, the possibilities.
    Also, why do you bring up "God" and then promote suicide?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:31:47 AM CDT

    Fukin a right Mori

    by dvdhound79

    Ask how many of these assholes if they've ever even completed, yet alone attempted to write a screenplay.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:37:33 AM CDT

    and ya mori, i is a misogynist

    by bacci40

    and i dont think diablo cody is a bad writer, although i found juno way on the fantasy side of things...especially since the movie was heavily tilted to the female point of view...if you are a real man, you had to feel for the jason bateman character...it wasnt that he didnt want to grow up...he was never given allowances to keep any part of his childhood or his dreams...what was the jennifer garner character afraid of? let the guy play in a band once a week you fucking shrew...and you all know that she was gonna totally fuck up that kid...and no post partum depression? no pre partum depression? has cody ever been around a pregnant woman? are they gonna have any fridges in this movie?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:44:01 AM CDT

    No problems with Cody or Spielberg separately

    by mavra chang

    I just prefer them unmixed for film. I also thought Ellen Page was great in "Hard Candy". Fine..."Juno" was cute. Should teen pregnancy movies be cute? I am a fan of Spielberg, but moreso of the edgier stuff than the fluffy, cutesy-quirky type of film that might be predicted from this union.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:44:50 AM CDT

    Diablo Cody - Overhyped as Hell

    by ronaldlark

    If she didn't have the oh-so-fashionable backstory of being a stripper whore, there wouldn't be nearly as much hype around her. Juno, to me, was insufferable. I can see how the story would be appealing to women; but every time I hear a guy say he loved the movie, I lose a bit of respect for him.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:46:23 AM CDT

    Hating on Del Torro Larry of Arabia? pfffft...

    by tbransonlives

    Really want to get ahead of the hating curve? Start hating RDJ. Fuck Robert Downey Jr. Yeah, I'm cool.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:47:38 AM CDT

    The curse of the green Satan.

    by roketopunch

    GARBAGE. She is a total hack who doesn't know structure in script.
    Juno didn't know if it was comedy
    or dark drama. It didn't even know if it was dark comedy. It just didn't know. Spielberg just sees money now. He sees the world in green not black and white or colors
    of the prism breaking light apart. Only green. Fuck him and Cody who sucks. I saw the pilot that she wrote, it was a horrible mistreatment of multiple personality. I hope it doesn't get picked up.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:51:56 AM CDT

    Why the Juno hate?

    by happyfat73

    It was amusing enough, it had its heart in the right place and it was, ultimately, a very engaging film.
    Some of the dialogue may have been on the nose, but it was mostly pretty sharp and insightful. It's one thing to not engage with the film, but the screenplay certainly didn't "suck".
    So many people around this place seem capable only of expressing themselves in absolutes. Things either rule or they suck. One day these people will wake up and realise that there are degrees of quality... Juno may not have been the greatest film ever made, but for a first screenplay, it was fucking impressive.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:52:28 AM CDT

    Juno = Garden State

    by ronaldlark

    Two movies that I couldn't stand while everyone else on the planet claims to love them. I vomited on my penis and my stomach acids turned it into a vagina. ...now I love Juno.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:00:19 AM CDT

    Did Moriarty get a lapdance?

    by domi'sinnerchild

    Pretty defensive. Hey, I liked Juno a lot, but she was a stripper. Easy and obvious joke, I wouldn't call it "misogyny". Seriously, screenplays are easy to write. Ask any waiter in LA.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:01:57 AM CDT

    Calling out Garden State! Awsome!

    by spectrebeeyatch

    I still dislike that movie. I liked Juno because of Jennifer Gardner I thought her performance and character were much more interesting than Juno but whatever. I love Spielberg, even though I didn't like some choices made in Indy 4 I still admire the man as a director. He needs to stop having a boy crush on Shia Lebarf tho, like seriously.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:21:08 AM CDT

    Saving Private Ryan came out ten years ago

    by domi'sinnerchild

    Think about that. He'll almost as cold as Brian DePalma.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:55:10 AM CDT

    Spielberg should just make Superman!!

    by darthbakpao

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:17:04 AM CDT

    homeskillet diggity deep-skeepin! oh my blog!

    by geraldbeans

    give me a break and kill this girl.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:20:11 AM CDT

    Moriarty, have you lost your mind?

    by geraldbeans

    What are you talking about? We don't have to mention that she's a stripper to point out that she actually put the line "Oh My Blog" in a fucking movie. And that the argument wouldn't last five posts? I've never posted five times in one thread here in my entire life.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:23:04 AM CDT

    Spielberg and small movies

    by kwisatzhaderach

    I don't think Spielberg could ever manage to make a small movie. The Terminal had the potential to be a little movie, until Spielberg decided to actually build an airport terminal to shoot in.
    He's so used to having all the toys at his disposal I can't see him ever giving them up. I'd like to see Spielberg tackle something like 'Midnight' the recent episode of Doctor Who with one set and a group of actors - i'm sure Spielberg would come up with something amazing.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:26:15 AM CDT

    WhinyNegativeBitch

    by kwisatzhaderach

    A.I., Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, War of the Worlds and Munich are all impressive pieces of filmmaking. Some flaws, but not a bad run for a guy in his sixties. The most impressive thing about Spielberg's movies today is that they all look like the work of a 30 year old, not a 60 year old.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:30:43 AM CDT

    unfaithfullyyours is right

    by slowgraffiti

    except that the cast didn't save it. Juno is like Napolean Dynomite and the Royal Tennenbaums made palpable for soccer moms.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:31:31 AM CDT

    JUNO´s dialogue...

    by perromaldito

    was like watching an episode of the Gilmore Girls, and THAT´s not a good thing

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:37:58 AM CDT

    Give an Oscar to a stripper...

    by underdogthe3rd

    ...nice move, Academy!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 4:40:14 AM CDT

    JUNO was just awful

    by caruso_stalker217

    Doesn't matter who wrote it. There were a few bits here and there that I liked. But most of the movie made me want to shoot blood out of my eyeballs. The character herself was completely unlikeable. She was just a dick. Every time I'd start to like her she'd say something stupid and I'd lose all respect, like most women I become interested in. I'm sure Juno would be into watching ROBOCOP with me some night, but I bet she'd ruin it by saying something stupid.
    Anyway, the ending was kind of nice but any enjoyment I got out of the movie was tarnished by all of the stupid shit coming out of the characters' mouths.
    The line about the pie balls was good.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 5:41:12 AM CDT

    I accept, Moriarty...

    by tophat

    ...I do not like her work, and I will have the conversation without referring to her gender ...Look at how much JUNO leaves out. Ellen Page did a swell job with gestures and tones of voice; Diabolo Cody nailed the teenage slang and adult cant phrases dead; and the set decorator and costume designer got the walls, hairdos, posters, and T-shirts letter perfect. But the inside is missing. There are no real, no really deep, emotions or interactions as far as the eye can see. A high school girl gets pregnant and what we learn the most about is how her mother alters her jeans, how an ultrasound device works, and how other kids stare at her in school. Where is the inside? Where is the fear? Where is the crisis of confidence? Where is the romantic doubt and despair? Everything is letter perfect, except that Cody forgot to include Juno MacDuff's (and Paulie Bleeker's) heart and soul. "....Oops, I knew there was something I was supposed to pick up on my way here...." (And don't say that comedy can't go into those places of the human heart: Look at Chaplin's City Lights, Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid, and John Korty's Crazy Quilt.) There are places that Juno does not go. The gossamer structure of Juno and Paulie’s relationship would shiver into tatters if the movie continued beyond its ending – if the young couple were shown making love, feeling empty and lonely afterward, or having hurt feelings and getting into an argument the next morning; or probably even if they had to talk more in the final five minutes. The suppression of dialogue in the final sequence is a revealing fact about what Cody is and is not able to do, is and is not able to show. As a second limitation, there is something adolescent, or at least not fully mature, in Cody’s vision of life. The film limits its depictions of pain to characters’ feelings of loneliness, embarrassment, and awkwardness; it does not present anything approaching anguish, desperation, despair, or deep internal conflict. In other words, JUNO is set in the realm of comedy, in the classic sense of the term; tragedy, a much greater but much more demanding and complex vision of life, is beyond Cody’s scope. Cody also doesn’t deeply analyze her characters’ personalities. She doesn’t probe and explore the twisted way emotions and psychological states express themselves. In her script, to have good intentions, to try hard, to mean well, is to be a good person. It’s not an extremely deep view of human character and expression. A more complex film would have asked questions about and grappled more seriously with Paulie’s subservant passivity and Juno’s ontological weightlessness. As a final limitation, there are flickers, slides, shades, and layerings of consciousness and emotion that Cody simply cannot go into because her characters are too limited. Her work evades difficult issues. ...and, as a side note, I'm sick of the contributors of this site acting higher than the Talkbackers. The use of "fanboys" in Moriarty's post says it all. Newsflash guys, YOU'RE fanboys too. Remember that the next time you get on your pedestal.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 5:58:02 AM CDT

    I defend fiester's "lapdance" comment

    by bobo_vision

    She used to be a stripper, so the lapdance comment is totally in-keeping with who she is as a person. And in my opinion, Juno was smarmy and pretentious. Based on one script she's now collaborating with the biggest powerhouse of Hollywood. And as we all know, Hollywood is a sleazy town; a pit of debauchery. So is the "lapdance" joke really so bad?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:05:15 AM CDT

    Also...

    by bobo_vision

    ...you have to remember, Hollywood is a place where sucking dicks is a common method of achieving career mobility. Seriously. Everyone knows this. Context matters. This isn't a woman who has just been named a Supreme Court Justice. This is a stripper in Hollywood. C'mon.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:11:30 AM CDT

    nobody here likes films...

    by emeraldboy

    doesnt matter what film it is. I cant remember when anyone actually talked about a film they liked and everyone agreed. Everyone on the talkback hates films.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:15:15 AM CDT

    Moriarty, don't get your panties in a bunch

    by drunken rage

    Jesus, really, calm the fuck down. "... Fanboys, as a culture, are afraid of women unless they are clad in spandex and handing out free blowjobs, and even then, most of them wouldn't know what to do." What the fuck are you talking about? Where did that idiotic observation come from?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:16:17 AM CDT

    I don't hate on Juno...

    by obsd

    But I think the dialog from the teenage girls (Juno specifically) was fairly atrocious and unbelievable. Almost every time Juno opened her mouth to say something "cool", I was completely taken out of the movie. People like Daniel Waters (Heathers) and Joss Whedon have an ear for teenage dialog. The colloquialisms that their characters use are believable (and funny and hip, which is what Ms. Cody was trying for and failed) in the context of their movies/ tv shows. Diablo Cody doesn't have that at all. Her dialog is more Dawson than Buffy (as in: no teenager ever talks like that!). I feel like the actors in Juno did a much better job than the writer. They really stepped up to the plate in making the scenario a believable one. Except for the Jason Bateman thing. Now, obviously I'm looking at the film through the eyes of a male, but I didn't find his leaving to be realistic at all. Mostly because Ms. Cody decided to paint him with the "bad guy brush" for no reason other than the story needed more conflict at that point even though his character is more than a little sympathetic in my eyes. Jenifer Garner had completely cut his balls off and put them in a jar, and when he finally calls her on her castrating ways, he runs away and Garner becomes the hero of the piece suddenly? Wha...huh? Makes no sense to me. And that's the thing about this movie. The acting is brilliant, but the script needs a lot of work. And I just can't help being a little cynical about the writer's "backstory" being used as a part of the selling point of the buzz for this film. Certainly some douchebags have had some sexist things to say about Ms. Cody, but isn't using the fact that she was a sex worker as part of the publicity for the movie and also publicity for selling the "Diablo Cody" brand in itself sexist? It is relying on sex to sell something, correct? I mean, she wrote one (1) movie and using the "she was a stripper, isn't that cool?" is relying more on her sexuality than her talent and/or body of work. Discuss.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:21:19 AM CDT

    Hate films? NOT!

    by mavra chang

    I love movies. Most of the people here love movies. So what if we don't all agree? That's what the talkbacks are for. It'd be pretty damn dull around here if we all had the same opinion.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:33:19 AM CDT

    Juno

    by laughing irishman

    I'm a guy, 30, and really liked Juno. My son, has a friend who is a 12 year old girl, and while not the same age as Juno in the movie, talks very similar to Juno, with that being said she hasn't seen the movie, Dad won't let her, which is a good thing in my opinion. Juno was a like a sour patch kid. It's all sour and cynical and tears up your tongue if you have too many, but it's sweet on the inside. It tries to show you some of the pain and awkwardness of the situations Juno is in. Being pregnant in High School, the Adult Life not quite turning out the way you want it and giving up on your dreams to become the status quo, and having that reawakened by some mental taboo with a minor. Is Diablo Cody geius with dialogue? No. Bug she put together a workable screen play, that the actors took as their own and made a memorable dark dramedy.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:44:49 AM CDT

    that is all true mavra chang.

    by emeraldboy

    Its just that it seems people around seem to open fire and castigate things to easily.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:55:14 AM CDT

    Since when do most people here love movies?

    by derlanghaarige

    Okay, the Black Hole Talkback made it look like there were a few people here who do, but most of the time I read nothing else but "he/she/it sucks" and stuff like that.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 6:58:37 AM CDT

    Better they do it here....

    by mavra chang

    In a safe, relatively anonymous virtual environment with some semi-like minded indviduals than out in the real world where a few of the opinions might cause serious issues. If a person chooses to express "hate", I'd rather see it take the form of talking trash than letting it fester and acting out about it. Let the people vent and go on with their lives.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:01:43 AM CDT

    That was my 5th post

    by mavra chang

    Do I get a cookie?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:04:58 AM CDT

    if spielberg directed juno...

    by palooka_boy

    i don't think it would've been as good. the baby would turn out to be a cyborg, and ellen page's bump would have been cgi.

    ...actually that sounds more like a Bay-Juno

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:07:49 AM CDT

    I think the internet ruined a whole generation of moviegoers.

    by derlanghaarige

    Thanks to "worst film ever"-websites and "funny"reviews.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:21:57 AM CDT

    The Internet can also teach appreciation

    by mavra chang

    It just depends on how one chooses to use it. Look at what Quint is doing with AMAD (to borrow your own example). That's something great. Not all of the films are classic, not everyone has an in-depth, positive opinion, but some talkbackers are enjoying the experience and using it to find films that they might not have watched otherwise. They might also find out that they are not the only ones who enjoy a movie like "On Golden Pond" or "The Black Hole", topics that don't usually come up in a normal day at work without earning some weird looks.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:26:46 AM CDT

    DerLanghaarige, I completely agree.

    by knuckleduster

    But just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:51:04 AM CDT

    With geeks, it's all a matter of relativity.

    by knuckleduster

    If Juno was largely ignored or ill-received, the fanboys would have stood up for it, calling it "a little gem of a film". But when it wins an Oscar the geeks pounce on it, because now that film has a certain status that they think isn't fitting for a film like Juno. "It should have been a cult classic; it can't be a cult classic if it wins an Oscar!". It's all relative. If The Assassination of Jesse James won every Oscar out there the fanboys would have lost their minds and the inevitable backlash would have resulted in them calling it a piece of shit (luckily it didn't and now it can be appreciated as the underrated masterpiece that it surely is). It's the same with directors. No one gave a shit what someone like Len Wiseman was up to before he was announced as the director of Die Hard 4, but the moment that announcement was made, he was called a hack by the fanboy community (while actually being merely a competent but mediocre director). We're all guilty of it, but it helps having some perspective and being aware of how our opinions are influenced. P.S. Fuck Mark Steven Johnson. Fuckin hack asshole.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 8:08:31 AM CDT

    Fuck JUNO and Fuck that Hack Brooke Busy

    by fat lenny

    I'm not going to refer to her as her clever little "stripper" name. I don't care what her gender is, the fact that she was a suburban middle class girl who supposedly stripped part time for a short period of time was nothing more than a PR move. JUNO (the little movie that COULD!) is no different than Little Miss Sunshine or Garden State... movies that are backed by Hollywood but try to claim and run on indie cred. It's fucking annoying. Ms Busy may be a decent writer at the end of the day, but she was nothing more than a cog in a very well planned and executed scheme to be the "indie hit of the year" even though it was nothing of the sort. I won't watch JUNO and I won't watch anything else that she writes... I think it's pretty telling that her second movie has a Megan Fox girl-on-girl makeout scene... she is already resorting to cheap gimmicks to draw audiences. I hate her dialog, I hate her silly made-up name, and she is basically the kind of person that I would like to slap the shit out of. So yes, much hate abounds, but it has nothing to do with her vagina and everything to do with what she stands for.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 8:13:58 AM CDT

    Fat Lenny

    by laughing irishman

    "I won't watch JUNO and I won't watch anything else that she writes"


    So you haven't seen Juno?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 8:33:49 AM CDT

    There was an article the future of Filim criticism

    by emeraldboy

    People such as philip french in the UK or say Roger Ebert are increasingly becoming extinct because of the rise of film blogging. ordinary people can now become film critics. Movie studios will in the future and have started to go online and read what film bloggers are saying, this is resulting in the studios having previews three days before a film opens. in the past it was ten days. it is a form of censorship in a way. people are not reading newspapers in the numbers they were. Movie studios will take all the positive reviews and disregard the negative ones.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 8:43:06 AM CDT

    It reminds me of the Sandi Thom story...

    by emeraldboy

    Sandi thom is a scottish musician. Who had one hit. The story of how she found success went like this...she was a struggling musician and she was late for a gig. IT was a horrible night. so she fired up her computer. and went to her my space page and uplaoded her gig from there. She said she got 100,000 hits and on the back of that got her contract. for a while she stuck to her story and people believed her. the only ones to disagree where here agent and her record company. Who pointed out that erm she had got her contract six months before her myspace gig and that she was a signed artist already. her credibility took a huge battering. but she became a member of the britgirl rockers who stormed the states last year.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:08:53 AM CDT

    BlackCrippler...

    by obsd

    Wow. Way to lift up the discussion, man.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:11:03 AM CDT

    BlackCrippler

    by al swearengen

    Anybody ever tell you that you're a fuckin' cunt?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:15:48 AM CDT

    caruso_stalker217, you summed it for me ...

    by unfaithfullyyours

    I'm always suspicious when a studio tells me something is wonderful. And I felt like Juno was kind of jammed down my throat with millions of marketing dollars.

    But mostly, it was the dialog. It just reeked of really trying hard ot be clever. Which is fine. I like a good stylistic choice. But for me, this was so in your face, it took me out of the movie. I will grant that as the movie got going, it backed off and got a little better.

    And the lead character is so bitchy to everyone ... As an audience member, I wanted her to get her due. Would that have been obvious? Maybe. But in this case, that's how I felt.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:28:22 AM CDT

    Fuckin' BlackCrippler

    by al swearengen

    Well, then it should come as no fuckin' surprise that what I'm about to tell you is absolutely fuckin' true. You are a cunt. One that I'd be inclined to throw off my fuckin' balcony.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:49:26 AM CDT

    Jesus Christ.

    by mr. zeddemore

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:54:05 AM CDT

    Jesus Christ.

    by mr. zeddemore

    I started writing at 15, and am now 23. That's eight years of scriptwriting, experiencing the highs and the lows and respecting anyone who can do it. But I still think Juno was a badly written film. The acting was great, the directing was solid, and the music was good... but the writing wasn't. The dialogue was awful. Doesn't it tell you anything that the best moments in the film came in dialogue free scenes - where it was about emoting, not talking? Or how Michael Cera conveyed so much towards Juno in looks... or how we knew who Juno was during the opening credits, and thus didn't need an entire film of her 'kooky' dialogue? Sorry, no, it's got fuck all to do with her being a woman. Kevin Smith pulled the same trick in Clerks II, and I'll call him on it. Cinema is escapism, but that doesn't mean you can write 'hip' dialogue that's the modern day equivalent of the awful dialogue that Ford had to salvage back in 1997. And this is from me, a chap who 150% understands how difficult writing anything is, let alone something personal.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:57:00 AM CDT

    Fuck

    by mr. zeddemore

    1977. I'm sure Ford had to salvage shit dialogue in 1997, but I meant 1977.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:03:29 AM CDT

    Juno's just one of those stories...

    by blue_demon

    Good story idea, but horrible, horrible writing."Honest to blog?"It would have made a good afterschool special in the 70s if not for the whole "cooler-than-thou" attitude. Oh, and Mori, relax.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:06:43 AM CDT

    Next AICN DVD cover blurb!

    by blue_demon

    "If you don't like this movie, YOU HATE WOMEN!" Drew McWeeny - Ain't I A Tool News

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:17:29 AM CDT

    JUNO can kiss my shiny metal ass

    by mrblueo

    I hated the character of Juno more than Jar Jar Binks. Those of you who disagree go watch Episode 1 again. Jar Jar has aged like a fine wine.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:17:30 AM CDT

    Ahh... Sarah Polley.

    by samsquanch

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:23:58 AM CDT

    Now the nerds are feeling threatened

    by samsquanch

    about being called out for feeling threatened. Oh you silly nerds!

    But seriously, you are afraid of women. Especially women with more talent, cooler friends, more money, and lives that are infinitely more fun than yours. And we all know where fear leads- to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads where? That's right! To the dark side!

    Don't be so afraid of the ladies, boys. They aren't harmless, but they know you are.

    All this to say, Juno was a helluva lot better than that abomination Garden State, but absolute crap compared to anything Sarah Polley has written down on a napkin.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:29:49 AM CDT

    who the fuck said anything about art?

    by samsquanch

    It's a screenplay. from HOLLYWOOD. Not exactly haute couture.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:32:27 AM CDT

    Where's Anchorite? I was sure he would have said something

    by samsquanch

    Pathetic and revolting about Diablo Cody and/or Ellen Page by now. There's a guy with fear and hatred issues, hoo boy.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:33:17 AM CDT

    woah, Danny,

    by samsquanch

    that actually made me cough... nicely done...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:42:05 AM CDT

    Garden State.....

    by emeraldboy

    was one of the most boring films I have ever seen. and I didnt see Zack braffs follow up either. I dont mind Zach braff on Scrubs. two eps of that and he was fully fledged director. what?????

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:44:46 AM CDT

    samsquanch

    by mr. zeddemore

    I hope that wasn't directed at me. I'm not threatened by anything but the thought of watching Angelina Jolie 'act.'

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 10:54:20 AM CDT

    I think part of what bothers people...

    by bobo_vision

    ...about Juno, was how Diablo Cody's personal story was tied into the whole "little film that could" aspect of the movie which was romanticized. Her background as a stripper-cum-screenwriter was part of the PR. People love underdogs and seeing people overcome adversity, like that Will Smith movie about the homeless guy, but I wouldn't call her struggle the same, and Hollywood tends to romanticize sleaze (see "Pretty Woman"). Even though Juno was not directly autobiographical, it was hyped and overrated. Obviously, that just my opinion, and if you liked the movie you probably see things differently.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:05:38 AM CDT

    Dannyglovers...

    by mr. zeddemore

    She really, really is.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:33:29 AM CDT

    Oh Boy! More Pop Culture References!

    by laserpants

    Diablo Cody is like a really boring Quentin Tarantino, but without the cool, without the style, without the talent. But she's kinda hot, so producers fall all over themselves throwing money at her. Oh, and JUNO sucked. That said, Ellen Page is an adorable pixie and I want to stick my penis in her.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:34:44 AM CDT

    Gilmore Girls was fucking hilarious

    by hercules

    and so was Juno

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:37:58 AM CDT

    Gilmore Girls Was Deeply Irritating

    by laserpants

    I wanted to fuck them both, though. Family Guy demonstrated exactly where Gilmore Girls should have gone -- mother and daughter yammering on and on in a way that NOBODY ever talks like in real life (just like in JUNO -- nobody, NOBODY talks like that; writers write like that, but its no natural, it cmoes off forced and "precious") suddenly making out, tearing each others clothes off and fucking.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:41:33 AM CDT

    Ellen Page's Body Is Shaped Like The Letter H?

    by laserpants

    She has two haves with a line in the middle? Are you sure you know what Page looks like, Danny?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:43:18 AM CDT

    Btw, Agree on LOST IN TRANSLATION

    by laserpants

    It didn't deserve an Oscar nod, but it was a great film with a believable female lead; not a snarky popcult reference fest for wanna be hipster douchebags.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:45:15 AM CDT

    I Bet Diablo Cody Gives Great Head Too

    by laserpants

    For evidence of this, see the fact that she has a career; a career which started after she was finished stripping and giving lap dances to, I suppose, high powered Hollywood execs. Good work, Diablo! Use your assets! Being a hot chick must be great. You can pretty much do whatever the fuck you want.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:46:45 AM CDT

    I Disagree, Danny!

    by laserpants

    She's thin and waify, but blocky? Nah. At least I don't think so.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:55:50 AM CDT

    Juno was unfunny, irresponsible, steaming turd of a film

    by quadrupletree

    The fact that it was successful, let alone Oscar winning, absolutely, totally BLOWS my mind. There are times when you watch something and you know you may not like it but you can see how other people could and that's fine. But for me Juno is something that is sooo horrid, such a terrible piece of writing and storytelling, my mind can't comprehend how anyone could not see it for what it is. I don't just not like it, I hate that film. I could care less if the person who wrote it has a penis or a vagina, it's tasteless and dangerous.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:58:19 AM CDT

    I love Gilmore Girls!

    by derlanghaarige

    I hate every kind of soaps, but Gilmore Girls was great! I wonder if it's too late for a spin off about Kirk...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:02:12 PM CDT

    Don't give me that sh*t, Moriarty

    by mo_green

    The lapdance comment is totally fair because she was a f*cking LAPDANCER before she was a screenwriter! I liked JUNO but Cody is a perfect example of why there aren't many respected female screenwriters today. When one of them writes a hit, she immediately becomes a "schtick", gimmick writer who parlays her fame into a bunch of shitty genre movies.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:09:34 PM CDT

    That was pretty harsh, Mori.

    by biggie kaiju

    Nice job generalizing and stereotyping what you consider to be a "fanboy." My girlfriend found it hilarious. Asshole.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:09:53 PM CDT

    No I didn't watch JUNO

    by fat lenny

    What does it matter? I read part of the screenplay and saw enough trailers to know that watching the movie would fucking kill me inside.

    And "Cody" winning screenplay was just about as plausible as those tools Damon and Affleck winning for Good Will Hunting. Unbefuckinleivable.

    Oscar is dead. Long fucking dead.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:15:11 PM CDT

    Speilberg and Small Movies

    by larry of arabia

    I think you need to go watch "The Sugarland Express" or "Duel." Great small movies. "The Terminal" is underrated and at it's heart a small character study.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:18:35 PM CDT

    Oh, and on Cody

    by larry of arabia

    I'm just not even entertaining that part of this discussion. It's childish and pointless to argue about.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:30:10 PM CDT

    But I am a woman...

    by infinite_probability

    ...and I understand the reaction to both "Juno" and Cody (TopHat's analysis was pretty good, IMO). I saw the movie before the hype and with an open mind, having felt completely let down by "Knocked Up" (an okay-- just okay-- movie which is pretty disingenuous about being almost entirely from a male point of view. The posters-- "What would you do if this guy got you pregnant?"-- are aimed at women but the film struggles to make it's female characters legitimately cool or relatable. The whole thing plays out like a the world as seen through the eyes of a man who doesn't understand why women think the way they do but has learned that for an easy life he is obliged to do what it is they want all the same.), and walking into the theatre (at a pre-hype festival showing) I was all like "Girl Power!" and crap like that. And then I saw the movie. Anti-climax of the year. It was, you know, *alright*. But, as Top Hat says, very empty. And coasting on the ability of (and pre-existing goodwill towards) all lot of the cast (I'd say exactly the same thing about "Lost In Translation". I think Coppola Jr. has chops as a director but that her screenwriting Oscar was as undeserved as Diablo Cody's), if you ask me.

    A big stumbling block for me was the fact that Juno's decision not to abort no more made sense than Katherine Heigl's, beats me why so many feminists/pro-choicers give the film a pass, especially given the incredibly negative depiction of the Family Planning Clinic.

    Another well-noted problem is the fact that Juno is an utterly charmless creation who is a better representation of what a certain 16 year old girl demographic *think* they are like than how they actually *are*. And that's not a good thing because 16 year old girls, as a rule, are not particularly funny. I know, I was one. I mean, this is the fundamental problem with the movie-- it's not really funny or witty *at all*. I saw the last half of "Rushmore" the other day and you know what? That movie had an too-cute soundtrack, very little realism, quirkyness up the ying yang, a precocious unlikeable lead and no moral or message (that I could divine). But it had some properly funny and inventive moments (and even if it didn't do the wretched month title-cards thing first, they did it before "Juno"). Maybe "Juno"s intention was to create a Daria or a late-era Lisa Simpson (i.e. smart mouth kid where the attempted satire/obviousness/ desire to namedrop has overwhelmed the joke) in which case it's not surprising that I don't like it and that I'm not excited for any future Cody projects. But if she were going for a Veronica Sawyer or an Enid Cohn or a Darlene Connor than she failed. I'm a girl but I'd pick "Ghost World" (written by a dude) over "Juno" any day of the week. It's worth pointing out that I'm not a bitter aspiring screenwriter or anything like that although I can imagine many critics of the movie are.

    The irony is that if Cody is anything like Juno (and it's a fair bet) then she'll be able to understand why she is being bashed better than anyone else. It's not like she doesn't understand the low blow (the Korean girl who can't write English, anyone? The girl with the squint? The ultrasound tech who has *actually got a point*?)-- she's a blogger after all. Seriously, does anyone think that the character of Juno would like the movie of 'Juno'?!? You know it would be waay too mainstream for her...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:52:45 PM CDT

    I dont know if this is true...

    by emeraldboy

    But did william goldman really write Good Will hunting. He put it in his book. then I lost all respect for goldman when he wrote that rubbish dreamcatchwer. Misery is one of my faves. it is the best adaptation of a king book and I still cant watch that scene with kathy bates, james caan in the bed and the mallet.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:55:27 PM CDT

    tophat and infinite probability, I disagree

    by necgray

    Tophat's points are actually the more dire of the two. Tophat, it IS a comedy. How can you fault it for not going more in-depth when it wasn't meant to? Maybe the hype surrounding it as a quirky indie flick unfairly imbued it with an expectation of something deeper, but the text for the most part isn't meant to be all that deep. There are certainly moments of depth and heart, which is another point with which I disagree. The scene in the mall between Garner and Page is damn near heartbreaking. Of course the actresses are a large part of the effectiveness of that scene, but their performances are in the context of the dialogue and scene description of the script itself. As for Infinite, well, if you dislike Rushmore then there's no chance you and I will agree anyway. But to address the whole abortion thing: if they get an abortion, there's no movie, is there? I mean, that's a pretty logical conclusion, right? It's like saying, "Luke was raised by farmers, who are traditionally conservative, so he wouldn't want to join the rebellion." Or "Demonic possession doesn't really exist, so Linda Blair didn't need to be given an exorcism." Yeah, okay, it might have been the smart move for Heigl and Page's characters to get abortions, but then there would be NO MOVIE. See, you either have to accept the premise or not. If you don't accept the premise, it's really not worth talking about any other aspect of the film.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 12:57:11 PM CDT

    Emeraldboy/Knocked Up

    by mr. zeddemore

    I can't see him writing Good Will Hunting. For one thing, it's got no ties to any themes he had. I always got the sense he wrote, largely, what he knew -- and I never got the sense that he knew that world, really... and I'll never get the Knocked Up hate. The male characters were funny, but they were also immature as fuck - the female characters, on the other hand... I felt they were in the right nine times out of ten. What, we're meant to hate Leslie Mann because she's afraid her kids might be snatched? Bullshit, Paul Rudd's the one whose being the ass there, refusing to grow up.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:06:26 PM CDT

    fatlenny, some advice for you from Tool:

    by necgray

    And this goes for everybody who continues to bash Cody because of the image she and the studios have cultivated: "I've got some advice for you, little buddy. Before you point your finger you should know that I'm the man. If I'm the fuckin man then you're the fuckin man as well, so you can point that fuckin finger up your ass. All you know about me is what I sold you, dumb fuck. I sold out long before you ever heard my name. I sold my soul to make a record, dipshit. And you bought one. All you read and wear or see and hear on TV is a product begging for your fatass dirty dollar. Shut up and buy, buy, buy my new record. Buy, buy, buy, send more money. Fuck you, buddy." Replace "record" with "script" and there you go. Remember this song when you're bashing Cody and Juno for commercialism and self-promotion but shelling out $12 to see The Dark Knight for which I've seen umpteen million ads...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:07:55 PM CDT

    The Moral of Juno...

    by obsd

    If you are a casterating bitch of a wife who has steamrolled her husband's hopes and dreams and allocated him a 5'x8' room in a 5,000 square foot house and you make sure he has no life because he's too busy giving you the life YOU want and tending to your own neurosis you'll make a great mother just for the simple fact that you want a child. And who cares about your husband after you've backed him into a corner and practically forced him to leave for his own sanity? Because now you hove a baby! And your smothering ways are certainly not going to pass on to the child or anything and fuck him up for life. Not at all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:08:28 PM CDT

    Juno was great you stupid bitches...

    by lanemyersclassic

    I don't give a fuck who wrote it, it was highly entertaining. I saw it 2 times in the theater. Some of my favorite movies are: Predator, Cani Arrabiati, Apocalypse Now, Haute Tension, Ichi the Killer, Freeway. I am not a girl.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:09:29 PM CDT

    have, not hove.

    by obsd

    But you knew that.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:12:09 PM CDT

    Jesus

    by mr. zeddemore

    I don't care what she did before she wrote. Her script didn't wow me. Just like how I'm sure Simon Pegg is a nice chap, but I think Spaced was useless.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:15:02 PM CDT

    Mr. Zeddemore

    by the7returns

    How many of your apparently brilliant scripts have been made into films? How many have attracted the quality of actors in said films?

    Oh none? Well then that makes you kind of irrelevant then eh?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:19:01 PM CDT

    gridbug, you're gonna bash Juno but not ND??

    by necgray

    How in the blue hell can you support Napoleon Dynamite and bash Juno? How? I'm floored. I enjoy probably the last half of ND, when he actually gets involved in the Pedro campaign. But up to that point it's an endless mire of unlikeable caricatures going about their patently unengaging day. I mean, what was that bullshit with the chicken coop? Napoleon, from the first frame he occupies, strikes me as a kid without much of a work ethic. Whoa, big surprise that he's bad at his summer job and doesn't like it! Is Kip necessary to the story? Is Kip's relationship with Lafawnda necessary? Does anyone actually like Napoleon up to the point that he gets involved with Pedro's campaign? Even when he gets involved, which makes me like him because he's sticking up for the underdog, he's still an infuriating, self-delusional douche. Tell me that shit with the liger is any less "precious" than any line in Juno and I'll eat my hat. (which is a good bet because even if you disagree, I don't own a hat, and therefore cannot eat it)

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:21:59 PM CDT

    The7Returns

    by mr. zeddemore

    When did I say I was brilliant? I'm not, admittedly. But what I was trying to say was that my attitude towards her wasn't derived from nerd rage... it was derived from the logic of screenwriting being that you don't write 'hip' dialogue that takes away from everything else. Which is a valid point, not like your 'oh, lets attack the guy and act like he said he was something which he never actually said' bullshit rhetoric.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:25:58 PM CDT

    OBSD re: Garner's "emasculation"

    by necgray

    See, I think you and others kind of miss the point. Does it seem like Bateman is really communicative with his wife? Does it seem like he's made attempts at reasonable conversation about his hopes and dreams? I don't think it does. When he married Garner, doesn't it strike you that HE knew what he was getting into, and that maybe she made a point of telling him BEFORE they got married that she expected him to be a bit of a square? Juno asks her dad if it's possible for two people to be happy together, and it's because she sees how horrible this couple is for each other. Garner's not blameless, I'm not saying that. But neither is Bateman. Does it seem like he's told his wife that he's unhappy? No, it actually seems like he's been keeping his unhappiness pretty secret. It's a two-way street.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:29:45 PM CDT

    After months of what I would call Harry knowles free passing...

    by emeraldboy

    I went down to my local rental shop and rented Knocked up and Superbad on DVD. I really have no idea why every judd apatow film seems to get a free pass on this site. The guys films are a mystery to me. I have seem quite a few at this stage. and I would gladly never sit through one again. I cant be the only one who doesnt find his films funny. I do have a sense of humour. I know each persons is different. I find mock the week fucking hilarious and I loved the angus deayton Hignfy. Adam Sandler is a mystery to me as well as the shouting technique. The funniest thing about anchorman wasnt ferrell it was Steve Carrell Brick Tamaland. Ferrell jerk comedy stylings wear me down. I cant go to his films anymore.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:31:12 PM CDT

    mr. zeddemore, do you like Tarantino?

    by necgray

    "...you don't write 'hip' dialogue that takes away from everything else." Yeah, QT is sometimes guilty of that. I'd also point out that the 'hip' dialogue was a stylistic choice. You might not like it, but it was a choice. NOT a failure or a mistake or whatever. Do I like that choice? I'm iffy about it. I was never distracted by it, but that's me. I'm not distracted when QT does it (except the snore-inducing monologues that are Death Proof), either. Just saying, before you bash her and say "Cody sucks", maybe you should consider the alternative, "Overhip dialogue sucks". You don't fault an author if you don't like the font used for his book, do you?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:41:25 PM CDT

    Whoa

    by mr. zeddemore

    Firstly, I don't hate Cody. She wrote a film I didn't care for particularly, but I harbour no ill will to her. She wrote the film her way, and that's cool. I felt the dialogue was poor, but that's not a reflection on her ability in general. I'd have to see four or five of her films to judge that, and if she's writing a horror I'd guess she'll make it more sparse and less colourful. QT wise, I like his flicks. The dialogue does get OTT, but he's so good at casting that he can (mostly) pull it off. Not in the Death Proof script, granted, but the film veers strongly away from the scriptbook I have. He could've cut down on a lot of the monologues, but he nailed the action. In short, if Cody wrote a film I wouldn't rush to see it, but I wouldn't not see it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:42:02 PM CDT

    regarding Goldman and good will hunting..

    by emeraldboy

    I think he ended that chapter with a joke, about him convincing fox to sink titantic with an iceberg. He told a long story about how he wote Good will hunting and put it in a drawer and forgot about it. The name of the book was called which lie did i tell? what was odd was the whole part a deal he claimed he made with miramax and Damon and affleck. where they all agreed that they would keep quiet about the fact that Goldman wrote and that if he lost best original screenplay he would admit that he wrote it. Goldman said he was waiting backstage to go on. but damon and affleck went ahead. leaving goldman on his own. Goldman says they didnt even thank him. Could be all bollox and i lost all respect for goldman after dreamcatcher. serves him right, grouchy old bastard. The name of the book is called which lie did a tell. on its on my bookshelf.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:42:41 PM CDT

    emeraldboy

    by mr. zeddemore

    I liked Mock The Week and Anchorman, but not Spaced. It's a crazy world.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:44:26 PM CDT

    Emeraldboy (2)

    by mr. zeddemore

    I have that book. Did he write it? Maybe. He hasn't written anything classic in a while, but BC&TSK is a tremendous film... so I overlook his flops.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:48:03 PM CDT

    necgray

    by bobo_vision

    That quote from Tool you used seemed like nothing more than a chance to say, "Hey, I'm cool because I listen to Tool", which makes me understand why you liked Juno. I think some of your arguments are flawed. Regarding the fact that all films are products being promoted, just like The Dark Knight, that may be so, but it depends on whether or not that product lives up to the hype and the heaps of accolades. In the case of Juno, it was overhyped. You probably disagree. And your point regarding "overhip dialogue" where you said "You don't fault an author if you don't like the font used for the book", you used a flawed analogy because Cody actually is a writer. So, "overhip dialogue" in a film written by Diablo Cody would be comparable to "overhip dialogue" in a book written by an author, not the font.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 1:48:15 PM CDT

    sorry, winston

    by necgray

    I thought you were someone else re: the hate. All the Cody bashing works me into a froth. The fucking hilarious, depressing thing for me is that I actually AGREE with most people that Juno didn't deserve the Oscar. There ARE problems in the script, particularly her relationship with Janney and the too-slow development of her relationship with Bleeker/Cera. But when 9 out of 10 people are either shitting on Cody herself for banal, insipid reasons ("She's a fake product!" Yeah, so is 99% of fucking Los Angeles, you dipshit) or taking the dialogue to task, which is an argument I've heard over and fucking over again and is a choice that you either go with or don't but isn't worth spending such fucking VITRIOL on, I get crazy with the cheese whiz.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:12:05 PM CDT

    Bobo_Vision

    by necgray

    Well, if you actually read the quote, it kind of, I dunno, applies to the point I was making. If I happened to listen to Mot the Hoople and they happened to write a song about commercialism or self-marketing that I felt was particularly appropriate, then I'd quote from that. I frankly don't give a toss if you or anyone else on AICN talkback boards thinks I'm "cool". The only concerts I've been to are Jethro Tull at a county fair, Jewel, and Weird Al Yankovic. There, does that dispell this whole bullshit "chance to say I'm cool" argument? "Lives up to" is a totally subjective argument and I'd like to point out that hype has just as much to do with the consumer as it does the provider. If you think it was overhyped, put the blame equally on everyone who bought into it. I do. I think part of the reason Cody got an Oscar was hype. Do I blame her? Fuck no! Because it's all fucking hype! You're telling me there wasn't insane hype behind Daniel Day Lewis' Oscar nom? Get a clue. And my point about the overhip dialogue is that it's a tool. If you don't like the tool, don't SOLELY fault the user of the tool. Was it a bad choice of tool? Maybe. Again, I didn't think it was a big deal. Is Cody a limited writer with a toolbag containing ONLY that tool? Maybe. We'll see when her next movie comes out or if there's a review of her script.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:17:13 PM CDT

    Hey TheRealMoriarty

    by fiester

    No, you will fold in five posts. Her gender IS her work. The woman packages herself with her bio and uses her sexuality to open doors for her and everyone thinks it's "cool" and "post-modern".
    Juno was a whiny, twee flick. The dialogue was cringeworthy and the story ridiculous. Not as many people liked this movie as people think. Everyone I know who saw it couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. And if you don't think Cody sells herself as much as any other whore actress out there looking to climb the ladder, you've already fallen for her lapdance schtick. So stop being so high and mighty and pretending your gallant or something. She's probably not going to suck your dick for defending her on the AICN board, not when she can blow big time directors now. You missed your chance, pal.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:18:05 PM CDT

    Dannyglover, you mean english speakers?

    by necgray

    What the fuck else would you call it? "Invective". "Vituperation". "Venom". Is that enough fucking synonyms for you? "I'm spewing invective at DANNYGLOVERS DICKBLOOD because he apparently doesn't like the word 'vitriol'". See, I even used it in a sentence for you, you cretin.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:23:55 PM CDT

    The Academy

    by greatgooglymoogly

    Also gave out an award for a typical sounding rap song called "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp."

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:24:20 PM CDT

    fiester

    by necgray

    So you have video of Cody using her sexuality to open a door? You have a recording of her offering Spielberg a blowjob if he'd direct her script? Who are the "people" who liked this movie as much as "people" think? Is it worth bothering to say that everyone *I* know enjoyed it and understood what the fuss was about. Does Mori deny that Cody markets herself? And what about his statement that hyperbolic AICN talkback fanboys are sexist douches implies gallantry? He's not sticking up for her as much as he is faulting some of the folks hereabouts. Which, given the weekly responses to Scriptgirl and the talkback for Massawyrm's review of Sex and the City, is a pretty fucking valid criticism.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:25:35 PM CDT

    I don't know why I'm even wading in

    by bloo

    because I doubt Moriarty will even come back to address what have been I think legitimate challenges to his throwdown, which is dissapointing, Moriarty, if you're serious, I'll take you onDid I dislike Juno, yes, but do I dislike Diablo Cody, no, how can I dislike or fear someone I don't know. Am I jealous of her success, of course, I have scripts sitting on my shelf and in my head that will probably never see the light of day, but I applaud her courage to step up and make a na me for herself.I think Juno had it's good points and it's not so good points, I loved the STORY but didn't care for the char. Juno herself was too hip too cool too full of herself. She was the center of her universe, I felt, and the world bowed to her feet. She wanted sex so she had sex, she wanted to have the baby so she had the baby, she wanted to spend time with the adoptive parents, she spent time with the adoptive parents. Everything was about Juno.I was also disappointed by the emasulation of the men. Not just Jason Bateman, but Micheal Cera, and JK Simmions. Each give into Juno's demands and whims, each never really stand up for themselves. typing this out now, I see that Juno is making the same mistakes with Cera that Garner did with Bateman.Charterzation was also lacking. Every char. was a stock char. with no real devolpments or beats, they stand out only because of the actors that played them, except for Juno herself. Watching RoboCop we see him as Murphy not Peter Weller for example. However in Juno, we see Jason Bateman doing Jason Bateman, we see jennifer Garner as jennifer Garner, we see JK Simmions as JK Simmons. Honestly can you tell me that Bateman ISN'T playing the same nervous scared geekboy that he played in The Kingdom, Mr. Magorium, etc. Is Jennifer Garner really any different, self assusured confident, strong, full control of what she wants but still vulenerable and scared and nervous, then she was in The Kingdom, 13 going on 30 and the one with Kevin Smith? JK Simons as the tough, loud, brash, loveable guy he's played so well in other movies. Cera as the geeky loveable loser? She created stock char. and fileld it with actors who are known for doing these types. there really is no orginality in it. Juno stands out because, I believe, she is Diablo Cody's idealized version of herself at 16. Even Rainn Wilson's cameo at the beginning is stock and standard for Rainn, why is Dwight working at a convience store in whatever town Juno takes place inReality, listen I know movies are reality but that's what everyone kept saying "oh this movie is so real" no it's not, kids don't say "no it's Morgan Freeman" or "Honest to Blog" I have an 18 y/o brother and a 11 y/o sister "OMG" or "TTYL" are more likely to come up then HOnest to Blog. One thing I learned doing television news with my eye focused on going to HOllywood was the rule "Show don't tell". Cody, like a lot of young inexpirenced screenwriters, which I consider myself in, Tell Don't Show. Telling us that she is on her hamburger phone after we can see she's on her g-d hamburger phone. Her language or her little blonde friend telling us how she's different at school instead of showing us she's different in schoolOn a personal note I hated the weird Retro/modern hybrid that was so popular in Napelon Dynamite as well. Choose a time frame and stick with it, everyone has cell phoens and texts, noone uses landlines anymore, who wears stretchy head bands and knee legth stripeed socks?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:26:10 PM CDT

    CANNONBALL!!!

    by hawaiian organ donor

    Everyone is jumping into the pool so it seems I will too.I dislike Diablo Cody as a writer the same way I dislike Paul Haggis as a writer. Cody gave us Juno, Haggis gave us Crash and Million Dollar Baby. All won awards they didn't deserve. It has nothing to do with me being afraid of women, but annoyed that crap gets recognition. If the woman who had written Lars and the Real Girl had won the award, I wouldn't have a problem with it as she was infinitely more deserving.I've read the Juno script numerous times and it never gets better. It's just a series of snappy banter with the requisite tender moment thrown in here and there. If Tarantino or Paul Thomas Anderson had written Juno, my opinion would be no different.I don't hate Cody, I'm just waiting for her to impress me and earn the Oscar she didn't deserve.With regards to Spielberg, Indy 4 was a huge misfire but then again so was The Lost World and War of the Worlds. The haters who keep saying he's lost his touch are delusional. In the past decade he's given us outstanding cinema. He's always ready to make reparations for his turkeys. He followed up the Lost World with SPR and Amistad. He followed up A.I. with Minority Report, Catch Me and The Terminal (sue me, I liked it). And after dropping War of the Worlds on us, he offers up the olive branch that was Munich. The guy has directed or produced at least a dozen movies that would be in most fanboys top 100. Indy 4 was a misstep of epic proportions but it's a good bet he'll rebound.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:28:12 PM CDT

    great argument, danny

    by necgray

    "She's a bad writer. So I'll call her a fucking whore." No, you're not at all making Mori's point for him, are you?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:28:43 PM CDT

    Ellen Page looks like the leader of other rich kid team in the S

    by domi'sinnerchild

    The one that gets in the "throws like a girl" argument. Watch it. It'll ruin her for you.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:29:05 PM CDT

    That was the Sandlot

    by domi'sinnerchild

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:31:11 PM CDT

    necgray - re: Daniel Day lewis

    by bobo_vision

    "You're telling me there wasn't insane hype behind Daniel Day Lewis' Oscar nom? Get a clue." Actually, I thought Daniel Day Lewis's Oscar was well-deserved and no one else in that category even came close to his performance. Who do you think deserved that Oscar? Tommy Lee Jones in "The Valley of Elah"? George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" where he played a character very similar to all his other characters? That wasn't hype at all. And should we fault a writer for the "tools" they choose to use? Of course! Their choices in their work determines the quality, and with phrases you use like "I get crazy with the cheez WHIZ" (Beck reference?), I can see how you like her choices, but I find that type of language annoying and pretentious. I can see how maybe the film spoke to some people, but not deserving of all the praise it received. And its rare that I know all about a writer before I see a film, especially a first-time writer, but I did in Cody's case thanks to the hype machine.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:37:02 PM CDT

    Diablo Cody is the most overrated...

    by kid z

    ...person in history outside of that 1st century Judean zealot who got billed as the son of god a few centuries later by the Emperor Constantine. Talentless, Boho/poser hack!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:39:06 PM CDT

    I hate to be pedantic...

    by emeraldboy

    This is from the horses mouth page 332 and 333, its all about doctoring.....

    Whats a mother to do? here was my solution- i had met these two very untalented, very out of work performers, Affleck and damon. They were both in need of money. The deal we struck was this. I would give them the initial credit, they would front for me at
    for me at the start, then once we were set up, the truth would come out. you know what happened. Miramax got the flick, decided to use them in the leads, i decided I would kill the commercial value of the flick. if the truth were ever known. Harvey weinstein gave me a lot of money for my silence. Plus twenty percent of the gross. which is why i am writing this from the riviera.(which is a joke).
    I think the reason the world th world was so anxious to believe Matt damon and ben affleck didnt writer their script was simple jealousy/ They were young and cute and famous: kill the fuckers.
    I remember when a national magazine called and said they had been told that I wrote. I literally screamed at the writer. I have had this kind of thing occassion before and I hate it alot. If you write something and that something has quality, how awful to to have to have the world think the work belongs to others.
    The real truth is that castle rock had the movie first and rob reiner, no fool he, was given it for comments. Rob had one biggie. Affleck and damon in an early draft had a whole subplot about how the govt was after damon, the math genius to do subversive work for them, there were chases and action scenes and what rob told them was this: lose that aspect and keep the characters. When I read It and spent a day with the writers all i said was this Robs dead right. Period. Total contribution zero. But i'll bet in some corner of your little dark hearts, youre still al saying bullshit. I mean its five years and what else have they dont Nada.
    Now I will tell you the real truth...Every word is mine. Not only that I'm the guy who convinced james cameron that the ship had to hit the iceberg.... I love the line about platrow and her chief thought about the ceremony was to be sure to remember to wear comfy shoes, that she had given no thought to winning and didnt care "well there arent enough lightening bolts in heaven to cover the faslehood in that little discourse but the interviewer just hung on every humble word that came out of little Gwynn's head...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:39:44 PM CDT

    A lap dance...

    by kid z

    ...from Diablo Cody? The mere thought makes me go all "frightened turtle" for at least half an hour. Bet she was strictly Tuesday afternoon fare at whatever scumhole she poledanced for.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:40:10 PM CDT

    Danny

    by hawaiian organ donor

    I'm not sure we'll achieve the lightning in a bottle that was the Emmerich thread.I certainly won't post several dozen times a day like I did there simply because I'm neglecting my job.I just wanted to wade in here to give my two cents. This TB is going to get ugly and mark my words, the ban hammer will come down more than once.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:42:05 PM CDT

    Hod..

    by jonah echo

    get thee to the vikings and aliens now..You are missed.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:45:27 PM CDT

    gridbug re NDVJ

    by necgray

    Like AVP, but with hipster comedy characters. Anyway, this is a matter of taste, clearly. I didn't think those characters were "awesomely" fucked up. I found them irritating. In a way that I didn't find Juno's characters. Diff'rent strokes, as they say. I do, however, think your argument about the whole "true indie production" thing to be ridiculous. Again, you can't blame Juno as a movie for containing big name actors. I don't get the point. I mean, if you're someone who gives a shit about how "independently" a movie is produced, then maybe it matters. But otherwise, who cares? I mean, you use the admittedly funny analogy of Hot Topic, but which movie was distributed by MtV? Furthermore, I think the argument's not apt because ND was an indie film from the ground up. It was then distributed by MtV films. Juno was produced from the ground up by a studio. It might have been marketed as an "indie", but it never was. Which, again, is NOT THE FAULT OF THE FILM. People need to seperate their issues. It's like Bloo blaming Cody for who got cast. She didn't write in the script, "Oh, by the way, the adoptive couple are going to be Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner."

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:53:00 PM CDT

    necgray

    by bloo

    I don't blame Cody for who got cast, but I think she got very lucky in who got cast...try and imagine Jason Bateman being played by...Will Arnett, it just doesn't work

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 2:56:55 PM CDT

    AICN talkback once again defeats me

    by necgray

    I'm spending way too much time trying to make points that are countered half the time by people whose tastes just aren't shared and never will be or VITRIOLic dicks with no argument and a boatload of stupid like Dannyglover. And with a screenname like that, you know he's a thinker. So I fucking give up. Bobo, I wasn't saying anyone else should've got that Oscar. Day Lewis was amazing, absolutely should have gotten it. And again, AGAIN, I don't think Juno should have. And my tools point was not that Cody is blameless. I even said that. My point was that you shouldn't dislike a writer just for one aspect of their writing. ESPECIALLY when that writer has only produced one script/novel/etc. And don't anyone give me the hype bullshit because AGAIN it's not the fault of the film that it got hyped to hell and back. And it IS Cody's fault that SHE is hyped to hell and back, but she's not doing anything different from ANYONE else in fucking Hollywood, so get off her ever-loving fucking BACK. Fuck a doodle doo.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:08:13 PM CDT

    necgray

    by bloo

    I was really hoping for a discussion on the film with you, I will say that I disliked Napeloan Dynamite more then Juno and really the only similarity I see between the two is the wierd modern/retro hybrid world they live in

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:08:23 PM CDT

    necgray

    by bobo_vision

    Fair enough. I know she has only made one project so it's probably too little to judge her by, so I hope her next project is decent.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:10:26 PM CDT

    I think I also

    by bloo

    said that I don't dislike Cody, but as any writer would be am jealous of her success

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:13:38 PM CDT

    Hah!...

    by kid z

    ...good point, Glover! Also, achieving some modicum of fame and notoriety by writing a book about being a stripper, then insisting, when doing press for Juno, that no interviewer be allowed to ask you about being a stripper is just the sort of arrogance I'd expect from a poser fraud like Cody.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:19:06 PM CDT

    hey now girdbug

    by bloo

    "not in the same way I "hate" the fucktards in Kansas" I'm from Kansas!and just for the record, despite what a lot of peole think, Kansas was never for implrementing intelligent design instead of evolution, only teaching both parts of the issue

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:25:01 PM CDT

    Besides, was she really a stripper?

    by obsd

    Is there any proof? Has anybody ever talked to her fello strippers or customers? Or did everybody just believe whatever they read in the press packet because if it came from a publicist, it must be true? In these days of the auto-LIE-ography (a Million Recees-Pieces, or that white lady who grew up in the ghetto, or JT LeRoy, the rentboy who only existed in the mind of the sister-in-law of the woman who posed as him) who the hell knows what the truth is? I could write a book about how I was a trainer for an Elephant-Polo team in India, then use that fame to go on to write mediocre screenplays and nobody would ever ask to see proof of my Elephant-polo training abilities. As long as I had tits, that is.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:25:18 PM CDT

    Senor Spielbergo ees muy bueno...

    by nasty in the pasty

    ...but Meester Burns...El Diablo.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:29:01 PM CDT

    OBSD

    by bloo

    I've never seen anyone say she wan't and in interviews I believe she metnioned the name of the club (just checked on wikipedia and they say it wasin the Boston Glode and the name of the club is the Skyway Lounge in Minneapolis...she does look like the stripper that latched onto me the last time I went to a strip club in Topeka,KS

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:38:11 PM CDT

    no offense gridbug

    by bloo

    none at all

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 3:45:34 PM CDT

    Bloo...

    by obsd

    I'm just saying, there may have been nobody around to refute it, but I've never seen any interview with one of her co-workers, either. I can name about 20 strip clubs off of the top of my head, that doesn't mean I worked at any one of them. So we've only got the word of her, her publicist and her agent. And as we know publicists and agents are the types of people who say that their junky clients are always in rehab for "exhaustion" and that the starlet who had a gang-bang with the L.A.Lakers are "just good friends" with them.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 4:15:49 PM CDT

    People who want to get to the top will do anything..

    by emeraldboy

    including selling there own grandmother. or pole dancing.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 4:28:10 PM CDT

    you have to be the following things.....

    by emeraldboy

    To make it Ruthless, ambitious, Creative, talented. a control freak, tough sa hell and be a salesman. Ramsay has learned that the hard way. to get results you have to push and Work your fucking arse off. we are not all like gordon ramsay that is for sure. read his book Humble pie as an example.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 4:37:07 PM CDT

    Sandi Thom....

    by emeraldboy

    Is a scottish musician. It was a horrible night and her bicycle broke and she was late for a gig. She went down to her basement fired up her pc and did her gig online. That was her story. and she stuck to it. She then claimed that the gig pulled 100,000 hits on her myspace webpage. and that she got a record contract on the back of that. that would have been the end except her manager kept getting calls. from her agent. That is the manager from her record company. see sandi thom at the time of the myspace fiasco already had a record contract and a record deal with a major lable. The more her story was scrutinised the more it fell apart. She doesnt give many interviews these. her hit single was i wish i was a punk rocker. but something else took a hit her credibility.....

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:11:24 PM CDT

    Jenny, Juno

    by project424

    Far superior film. I sooo wanted to beat Diablo Cody over the head with a book of cliches.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:21:28 PM CDT

    Problem with Juno

    by lashlarue

    The whole movie was pretty much the trailer. Otherwise, a fine film even if it was over hyped by the critics. Oh, and I have no problem with Diablo Cody being a writer. However, I do have a problem with her being a stripper.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:47:44 PM CDT

    Funny thing about using the word "emasculating"

    by samsquanch

    Is that it emasculates you. See?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:51:12 PM CDT

    I find it funny that the same people who GO to stripclubs

    by samsquanch

    Are the same people who think that WORKING in one is degrading.

    Um, they're getting paid, you're just a fucking customer. Who's degraded?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:53:47 PM CDT

    Hey Bloo- teaching both in schools

    by samsquanch

    Is just as fucking bad.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 7:59:28 PM CDT

    And, shit, I just have to point this out Bloo-

    by samsquanch

    "Did I dislike Juno, yes, but do I dislike Diablo Cody, no, how can I dislike or fear someone I don't know. "

    You know, that when people are talking about being afraid of women, or hating women, they aren't talking about one specific person, right? That usually the discussion is about larger issues that face us as a society and a culture, right?

    I'm not sure if you really thought you were deflecting the 'fear of women' stigma, or if you knew what the hell you were talking about at all.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 8:11:40 PM CDT

    I know someone who had this kind of adoption

    by larry of arabia

    The birthmother did it for the exact same reason Juno did. So those of you that don't believe this kind of thing would ever happen is wrong. It might not have been through a Paysaver but it was surprisingly similar and totally legal. The only addition was a social worker, who would have seemed like a construct in this movie.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 9:35:39 PM CDT

    Juno?

    by jackiegleasonufo

    I don't watch that garbage.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 16, 2008 11:29:01 PM CDT

    juno dot dot dot

    by dijjot

    i dont get it. it was like the little miss sunshine of the last year, or summat? the girl seemed pretentious, and her being pregnant is like a deus ex machina, because girls who have burger phones and speak in quips are usually lesbians. oh, and was the third act supposed to make me feel sympathy for her? wtf. jennifer garner's character had depth, though.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 12:47:25 AM CDT

    Dijjot, um

    by samsquanch

    burger phones and speak in quips? That's your definition of a lesbian? Huh. I would have thought gay sex might be a clearer identifier. Those things just say 'teenager' to me. You've never seen a real live lesbian, have you? Porn doesn't count, btw.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 1:07:14 AM CDT

    GeekyAnimeNerd79Beyotch THAT's BECAUSE HE DID

    by proman1984

    GREAT MOVIES SINCE THEN YOU BITCH.

    THIS WILL ROCK and it's not even for him to direct.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 1:09:50 AM CDT

    IN SHORT: SPIELBERG ROCKS AND YOU ARE ALL UNWORTHY

    by proman1984

    WHINY BITCHES.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 1:21:37 AM CDT

    yeah

    by dijjot

    talking into buns is a red herring to me. lol@the passive aggressive type insult though. golly gee, a real live lesbian. and yeah, she comes of as gay. or that indie scene kid bi loser type.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 1:34:59 AM CDT

    "Have any of you nerds ever SEEN a vagina?"

    by thelordofhell

    "I mean seriously, if I had a mop and a vagina, could you tell me the difference between these two? Because on the day you actually SEE a vagina, you'll throw that stormtrooper cookie jar RIGHT out the window.....Star Wars, Schmar Wars, this pussy is GRRRREAT!!"---Bobcat Goldthwaite. That's all I can think about when I'm reading these fear of a woman making something of herself posts. You people are just pathetic. Go back to masturbating to YouPorn.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 2:03:09 AM CDT

    Comes off as gay.

    by samsquanch

    Except the part with her being PREGNANT. Or are you referring to Ellen Page, the actress playing the role? There again, I don't see it. Unless you just mean that all women must wear tons of makeup and have fake tits and giggle a lot or they must be dykes. In that case, your logic is irrefutable. I think you might need to get out more.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 2:23:19 AM CDT

    i mean ellen page.

    by dijjot

    and uh..."Unless you just mean that all women must wear tons of makeup and have fake tits and giggle a lot or they must be dykes. In that case, your logic is irrefutable. I think you might need to get out more." is just kind of pandering to the shit youre stewing in your own head. because i didnt say any of that. But go ahead, let your passive aggressive internet beta male run free. might need the exercise.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 2:28:52 AM CDT

    samsquat

    by bloo

    I was specifically talking about Diablo Cody. As far as women go, I don't fear women either, they can have jobs...in the kitchen...I"m kidding of course, I think woman should have every right to be a succusses and be even better then a man in an area, but not at the expense of a poorly written, good idea script

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 2:36:12 AM CDT

    I'm so glad the term 'beta male' is getting some mileage.

    by samsquanch

    No, but you did call her a bi loser. I guess I'm just trying (clumsily, I admit) to figure out what 'heterosexual' would mean to you, if hipster quips and uh, burger phones(?) Scream homo. Idle curiosity. Your post was just strange enough to pique my curiosity.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 2:40:41 AM CDT

    Fair enough, Bloo

    by samsquanch

    But do me one favor, would you? Figure out the grammatical difference between the words 'women' and woman'. I seem to find this fucking everywhere these days.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 3:10:33 AM CDT

    samsquanch

    by bloo

    I know the difference, I caught it after I typed it but you know AICN and the lack of an edit button, sometimes I get to typing quickly and don't edit myself

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 3:13:16 AM CDT

    noted. Sorry for being too quick on the draw.

    by samsquanch

  • Jul 17, 2008 5:18:55 AM CDT

    necgray

    by infinite_probability

    Gone or not, I need to address a couple of the points you made. The first one being the claim that I dislike "Rushmore”—you are completely wrong. I’ve seen that movie in it’s entirety and I like it. I brought up “Rushmore” because it shares many of “Juno”’s ‘faults’ yet it is a fundamentally better film (witty, inventive *and* eventful). The thing about “Juno” and Cody both is that I feel like I know exactly where they are coming from and what they are aiming for (I could tell immediately, for example, that the writer, who I knew nothing about on seeing the movie, was shamelessly influenced by “Ghost World” and “American Beauty”) and that they are *failing*. It’s “Daria” and late-era Lisa Simpson I dislike (although they have an advantage over “Juno” in that none of them suddenly expect to have a real claim on your empathy or emotions after having bashed you over the head with narcissism, glibness and snark.)

    The second point is about your claim that if Juno had had an abortion there would have been no movie—I believe you are incorrect. I’ll bring up my another gripe I have with the movie here because it is tangentially related (and so we understand, if the film had been sufficiently funny, humorous or eventful, this probably would not have been a problem for me) that is, Juno’s unpleasantness as a person. I think that “Rushmore” and “Ghost World” recognise that their protagonists are fairly dumb/unlikeable and that they have a sense of distance which make this easier to digest, “Juno” doesn’t. Juno’s decision to go to term and to give her baby up for adoption bears absolutely no examination whatsoever, AFAIC. Based on the movie, I was only able to come to one of two conclusions, one- that she was a poorly rendered character or two- that she was a capricious idiot. But Juno lives in a world where everyone is 100% supportive of her and every stupid thing she says or does. Why did it only occur to her that Jennifer Garner might be a good parent 2/3rds of the way into the movie when that’s the thing that *should* have occurred to her, um, *before* she agreed to give her child to the woman in the first 30 minutes of the film? The movie’s late breaking streak of sincerity made me want to puke. The point I’m trying to make is that this movie is so much about the eponymous character, and her perspective, that the actual events themselves are pretty irrelevant.

    Okay, so I’m going off the topic which is about whether this film could have been made if Juno had had an abortion. Pretty much, yes. Considering the way the reality of being pregnant is glossed over in the film (almost entirely, IMO), considering that to the main character it’s just another wheeze or wacky thing (like furniture on the lawn! Like a pipe! Like a hamburger phone!), considering the fact that movie is called “Juno” not “Up The Duff”… This movie is about a snarky alt.chick who has sex, gets pregnant, goes to a family planning clinic, worms her way into the life of a frustrated yuppie couple, bonds with the guy, realises he is bad and his wife is good, realises her stepmom isn’t all that bad, realises she loves her dorky f*ckbuddy and gets him. It’s not about pregnancy or childbirth or children or what having a child does to you (unlike “Knocked Up”). During the scenes where Juno is supposedly in crisis because the yuppie couple are having problems she honestly seems less concerned about, you know, the baby and it’s future than she does the couple and theirs. I think that the pregnancy is a borderline* random USP and tantamount to a MacGuffin in that it’s only a catalyst and as a specific thing, seems very replaceable. It doesn’t surprise me that Diablo Cody has no biological kids, I don’t mean that as a slur, just an observation.

    Cody certainly has potential but I think that it will probably be stifled by “Juno”’s being more successful than it should have been. I honestly think she’s getting patronised here *because* she is a woman. And that she’s getting patted on the head for a half-arsed job. Like I said, “Lost in Translation” was a good movie but that doesn’t mean I think that Coppola deserved a screenwriting award, there wasn’t much of the story and I suspect that the effecting characterization was down to a lot of Bill Murray improv. Similarly, many “Juno” fans rave about its ‘heart’ and how it got better once the dialogue toned down. Well. The way I see it, the grating dialogue *is* The Diablo Cody. That is what her thing is, that’s what she brings to the table and that’s what she needs to work on. I don’t think that a lovable Michael Cera or a flawed Jason Batemen or a charismatic J. K. Simmons are really her achievements, you know? If this new project is another attempt at quasi-realistic, slice-of-life then it will be completely awful, genre flicks are the right way for her to go, IMO.

    (*) But even an poor film (and I’m not saying “Juno” is poor) knows it can induce otherwise unearned emotional with a childbirth scene.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 8:06:43 AM CDT

    Maybe we'll all enjoy movies more...

    by knuckleduster

    ... if we avoid the marketing and hype that goes along with it. Too bad we're all hooked on it. I still come to this site every day. Fuck, I could actually be watching a movie right now.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 1:56:03 PM CDT

    I really hope you guys bashing Juno

    by spandau belly

    aren't the same guys calling Wes Anderson some sort of genius. I'll admit that he frames his shots a bit better than Jason Reitman did in Juno, but it takes more than an extra helping of symmetry to really set these two apart.I'm not saying you can't like one and not the other, but acting like one is crap and the other gold must require some amazing appreciation for tiny discrepancies in the fine art of creating goofy-named characters around behaviour quarks, surrounding them with precious novelty objects, and running them through a bunch of montages set to that brand of cutsie folk-rock music that record store employees listen to instead of having feelings.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 2:29:25 PM CDT

    Black Crippler

    by thelordofhell

    What's a matter baby, not a fan of Diablo Cody and Bobcat Goldthwaite? Jesus dude, did I hit a soft spot on your inner psyche? Look pal, if it was just someONE I could understand. But whenever there is even a MENTION of Diablo on this site, the whack-a-moles go absolutely bat-shit insane on the talkback. It's getting so bad I'm expecting the new catchline "DAMN YOU DIABLO CODY!!". Why don't you just go back to tossing one off to your secret "Diablo Cody naked" pic file on your computer. Until I see a motion picture writer credit of "Black Crippler", you (and everyone else on this board, including me) are even a worse "worthless hack" than Diablo can ever be. Now go back under your bridge troll, it's over.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 17, 2008 3:02:49 PM CDT

    Spandau Belly- Well said, sir.

    by samsquanch

    Well said.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 18, 2008 2:20:44 AM CDT

    Wow...

    by therealmoriarty

    ... hilarious. You guys really got worked up, eh?

    Here's the thing... if any of you are going to try to convince me that fandom is not rife with both misogyny and racism, you'll fail. I've been reading your talkbacks now for the past 12 years, and trust me... I've seen fandom up close and personal, and it gets amazingly ugly. Often.

    Did I say anywhere that EVERY SINGLE FANBOY or person reading this site is the same way? Nope. I said nothing of the sort.

    But those of you who immediately leap to "That fucking bitch" or who spend post after post talking about pooping on ScriptGirl or who showed up in talkback after talkback about DEATH PROOF complaining about having to listen to "bitches talk" before you got to see them die... well, you people repulse me. Period. And nothing you type back at me is going to change that.

    As I said, if you didn't like JUNO because of the film, that's perfectly valid. No one said you had to love her work.

    And as far as dragging in the whole thing about her persona... well, I've been on record since the start of this site that it's about the art, and not the artist for me. So I don't care if someone was a boxer or a stripper or a cab driver or even a fucking talkbacker before they made films. It doesn't matter to me. All that matters is the two hours in the dark.

    Now I'm sure you'll try to spin this again as an attack on ALL talkbackers, but it never was. Just those of you who think that your dick makes you somehow more qualified to discuss film.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 18, 2008 4:32:11 PM CDT

    BlackCrippler...

    by therealmoriarty

    ... if you insist on repeating things that aren't true like a moron, I'll talk to you like a fucking moron. If you don't like her work, that's fine. Did you understand that sentence? You don't have to like her work. You can criticize it all day long. But when those criticisms are couched, AS MANY FANBOY CRITICISMS OF ANYTHING INVOLVING WOMEN ARE, in terms like "bitch" and "slut" and "skank" instead of being about the work, then you are a woman-hating dickhead.

    Now tell me again what I really mean, since I didn't just state it clearly for the third time.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 18, 2008 6:14:27 PM CDT

    Looks Like The Haters Have Moved

    by thelordofhell

    All the Diablo Cody haters are starting to hit the Diablo film fest post. Oh well.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 21, 2008 12:34:20 AM CDT

    Anti-Diablo?

    by onyx390

    Well, I just came back to this thread, and I'm not sure if Moriarty was talking to me or the asshats that keep referring to her as a stripper or a whore. So, let me just say, yea, you were grossly misunderstood with your first post, but they are not solely to blame. You did refer to the fanboys culture rather than state, as you did so eloquently in your second post,

    "Now I'm sure you'll try to spin this again as an attack on ALL talkbackers, but it never was. Just those of you who think that your dick makes you somehow more qualified to discuss film."

    I'm gonna assume that it was out of anger at the very much blatant misogyny of these people. Fuck 'em. I think talking to them directly was a dumb move. It put them on the same level as you. Just look, sigh, and walk away. I'm surprised that you'd waste your time after, as you said, 12 years of the same bullshit.

    PS: I think I was seventeen when I saw Juno, and I can vouch that the dialogue in the movie was so ridiculously out of touch with teenage sub-culture that I became disgusted by the immense acclaim that was given to her. I will concede that it was damn good for a first screenplay, but that's all that I will concede to. I do not believe for a second that the screenplay deserved an Oscar.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 21, 2008 6:05:20 PM CDT

    SPIELBERG LOVES HAPPY ENDINGS!

    by tacom

    Even though I agree with Mori about the mysogeny regarding Cody but I just had to get that post heading up! Sorry!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Jul 24, 2008 8:07:28 AM CDT

    I understand this misogyny/racism thing

    by infinite_probability

    Definitely. Because in addition to being a woman (TM), I am also black. And sometimes the attitude coming off the Talkbacks makes me want to puke. But... The line about going 5 posts without mentioning gender was addressed to everyone, not just glib, sexist fanboys and I think it was unfair... especially since, from my perspective, Cody has been patronised because she is a woman (and a reasonably attractive one) and some of her Fail (flippant dismal of abortion as an option) is also particularly egregious *because* she is a woman. and like, this freewheelin', riot grrl type. Same goes for Scriptgirl who, let's be honest, could just as easily deliver her news in written form but doesn't...?

    There must be other female screenwriters out there but I have no clue what they look and like and no idea what their backstories are and I'm saying, Cody has held herself out for this, in some ways, and I'm sure she can take it. And like Kevin Smith she is herself a snarky nerd and like Harry she's on the internet and opinionated and like Troy Duffy she's the subject of a load of hype. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's *fair* that anyone's weight, or wife's appearance, sexual orientation or past employment should make them a target (and I'm pretty sure that Tarantino's past as a video store clerk has been creatively worked into slurs against his movies, you know?) but why step in to defend Cody when all Talkbacks are like this?

    I think Cody's background is relevant to my criticism of her not because I am a conservative or a misogynist prick but for *precisely* the opposite reason. Why was "Juno" so reactionary? Why did why did the plot reject even the slightest edginess (i.e. the Winter-Spring Romance... you know Alan Ball would have went there!)? No condoms. No drugs. No cellphones. No casual sex (get this, the kids were *in love* all along and will probably end up married. BIG SIGH OF RELIEF. So that 'Casual Sex'? Retrospectively *okay*). I didn't want to have to get so involved but I felt I had too. For me, "Juno" was like a Bait-And-Switch. And again, this kind of stuff doesn't just happen to Cody, I'm guess it might have been hard to tell on here, what with only 0.03% posters being female, but Judd Apatow came in for some stick when "Knocked Up" was released and his most vociferous critics, after the people who objected to the profanity and drug talk, were women. The soi-dissant feminists at that. His gender came up-- believe that it did...

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