Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

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  • #91
    Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

    Originally posted by sarajb View Post
    Also, do you realize if you are anything "to a fault", it's not considered beneficial? Senseless tattling is not a virtue ...
    Yes, mommy.

    I promise I won't do it again.
    Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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    • #92
      Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

      That's a good girl.
      Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

        Diablo's success is a result of her abilities as a writer and a hustler. She and her people accentuated the interesting, the unique and the salacious.
        "It's like the story about the emperor's new clothes," Manager says. "One person in power decided you'd written the greatest movie ever. Then another guy jumped on the bandwagon. Next thing you know, you have the most talked-about script in Hollywood and two studios are fighting over you."
        I didn't read the script, not interested in her "story" nor her blog, her "voice", book, or this movie.

        Is there really a talent associated with being approached by a producer surfing the net for porn? That's a heck a way to catch a break!

        I guess what bothers me about this is that it's been well established that without the stripper back-story this script would have been passed like a kidney stone. Is it a big achievement that a first time script (is THAT even true?) came out just "okay"? How many here have written an "okay" script in a month? When are we seeing your movie?

        The reality of all this seems to be the marketing. It doesn't matter if you wrote a good story, as long as we can make one up about you and you can give us something "okay" - we'll sell it.

        Dust off the "okay" stuff and get to work on your own personal mythology and let the press releases begin!

        Maybe a name like Eva Destruction or Rex Havoc won't hurt either.

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        • #94
          Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

          Scott you say:

          The reality of all this seems to be the marketing. It doesn't matter if you wrote a good story, as long as we can make one up about you and you can give us something "okay" - we'll sell it. Dust off the "okay" stuff and get to work on your own personal mythology and let the press releases begin!

          Thank. You. So much.

          That's the heart of what bugs me about all this.

          I'm thinking about starting a blog titled T*I*T*S as an acronym for something cool but I haven't figured it out yet.

          It has to be SEO-viable for subjects most likely googled by producers.
          Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

            Originally posted by sc111 View Post
            You're still not understanding my point. Others in this thread have.

            I don't want to get snarky with you, but your question is moot.
            My question isn't moot, you just won't answer it. You're framing this as some heroic search for truth and I'm calling BS. For the third time, would you have gone to all this trouble if she had not sold a script, i.e. made money doing what you wish you were doing?
            "Witticism"
            -Some Guy

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            • #96
              Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

              Originally posted by Scott M View Post
              I didn't read the script, not interested in her "story" nor her blog, her "voice", book, or this movie.

              I guess what bothers me about this is that it's been well established that without the stripper back-story this script would have been passed like a kidney stone. Is it a big achievement that a first time script (is THAT even true?) came out just "okay"? How many here have written an "okay" script in a month? When are we seeing your movie?

              The reality of all this seems to be the marketing. It doesn't matter if you wrote a good story, as long as we can make one up about you and you can give us something "okay" - we'll sell it.
              Well established by who? By you, who haven't even read the script? Do you really think if a stripper sent in a lousy script, it would have sold? Did it help her out? Maybe. Does that make her unworthy of any of her accomplishments? Absolutely not.
              "Witticism"
              -Some Guy

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                Well established by who?
                Sorry I must have remembered wrong. It's a long thread. I thought I read that more than a few people called the script "okay" and that the whole stripper thing helped get it noticed.

                And I never said lousy, I said okay.

                And I never said she was unworthy. I was simply commenting on the aspects of how she came to be the topic of this thread.

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                • #98
                  Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                  Saying it's well established that the script wouldn't have sold without the writer's backstory is like saying Kurt Cobain would have produced his best music if he hadn't killed himself. It's conjecture, and impossible to know or not.
                  "Witticism"
                  -Some Guy

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                    I think you've got it right, writely. Make it about you! Maybe if you throw some stuff in there about being a Fonzie groupie and something dastardly you did with his leather jacket you might be on the right track.

                    You might try making "Pet the Fonzie" a new euphemism, too.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                      Originally posted by cynicide View Post
                      Saying it's well established that the script wouldn't have sold without the writer's backstory is like saying Kurt Cobain would have produced his best music if he hadn't killed himself. It's conjecture, and impossible to know or not.
                      I'm a nobody writing on a message board and my post will certainly not be picked up by the AP or Drudge. It was conjecture and impossible to know. That wasn't my point anyway.

                      Allow me to rephrase: "It's been said by some that the script may not have sold without the stripper back-story."

                      Please insert that where necessary.

                      Comment


                      • Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                        The only two things that have been proven is:

                        1. Diablo sold a script.

                        2. Many here are jealous of Diablo's success.

                        Everything else is opinion or speculation.

                        I think it's fair to assume that because the script sold, someone thought it was good enough to spend their money and risk their reputation on.

                        I have read the script. In my opinion, it's well written. The story isn't my cup of tea but the same could be said for Lars and the Real Girls, Things We Lost in the Fire and many other scripts that sell from writers who are not strippers.

                        The legend is that Diablo got her script read by someone because she wrote an entertaining blog that demonstrated a flair for snappy story telling.

                        Don't the folks here have blogs and websites hawking their scripts?

                        If they sell a script, can they expect the same colonoscopy-like investigation and Witch hunt tactics used by SC111?

                        The facts are that Diablo wrote a script that was good enough to make people risk their money, time and reputation on. That makes her far more talented than any of those who are attacking her on this site.

                        I thought this site was to support writers with their struggles and celebrate their successes. Apparently I was mistaken.

                        Comment


                        • Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                          Someone should post a link to this thread on Diablo Cody's blog.
                          Ralphy's Fvcking Blog

                          "
                          Ever notice how 'monogamy' rhymes with 'monotony'?" -- Christian Troy

                          Comment


                          • Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                            Originally posted by writerly
                            I think between her meetings with Spielberg and the gazillion other 'web citizens' out there talking about her, this would rank about as high on her list as playing b-ball with Spike Lee.
                            I was gonna say the same.....(not the Spike Lee thing, but something similar)

                            Regardless of the "how" (which is the chestnut we are ALL trying to open -oops more conjecture) she is there now, and has 3 scripts to write. Get crackin'!

                            Comment


                            • Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                              Originally posted by cynicide View Post
                              My question isn't moot, you just won't answer it. You're framing this as some heroic search for truth and I'm calling BS. For the third time, would you have gone to all this trouble if she had not sold a script, i.e. made money doing what you wish you were doing?
                              This is not what you originally asked. You've reframed the question. This is what you originally asked:

                              You don't care that she fabricated a memoir. You care that she sold a script and got publicity. If she hadn't gotten all this publicity as a screenwriter, would you have taken all the time to do this research? Do you do this amount of research on every memoirist?

                              Beyond deciding you know my thoughts better than I do, your original question sets up a scenario where Cody's memoir is published yet she sells no screenplay.

                              Ultimately you ask if I would have researched her memoir, and other memoirs, as exhaustively (actually, it really didn't take that much time at all) if she never got publicity for selling Juno.

                              I say the question is moot because publicity-wise the book and the script sale are Siamese twins, mutual life support systems.

                              The Stripper Memoir was created with the intention of adapting it to screenplay. Instead she wrote Juno, her manager ran with it along with the stripper-turned-screenwriter PR.

                              I've shown direct quotes by both Cody and her manager to support this.

                              I'll repost it again. Please read it before you decide you know what I'm thinking (I underlined portions that support my point):

                              ----------------
                              Begin experpt

                              Two years ago, when I was working as a peep show girl and blogging daily about the pitfalls of masturbating in a booth for a living, I met Manager via a brief and professional e-mail. He'd discovered my blog, the *****Ranch, while surfing online. He told me he worked in Hollywood and wanted to know if I'd ever considered writing a screenplay. I hadn't, but I had
                              written a slender, cynical memoir about my tenure in the sex industry.

                              Though I anticipated an anticlimactic end to my correspondence with Manager, I mailed him my manuscript. This powerful stranger in California pulled strings accordingly, and before my eyes could even adjust to the blinding light of salvation, I had a six-figure book advance, an agent, an attorney, and, of course, Manager.

                              (toward end of article)

                              "When I used to call you, it always seemed like you didn't believe the things
                              I was saying," Manager says, alluding to the early days of our business
                              relationship.

                              "I didn't," I say, attacking a pile of French fries. I refuse to do as the Romans do, cuisine-wise. Salads are for pussies and Best Supporting Actresses. "What reason did I have to believe you? I'd never written a screenplay before. Everyone I've ever met who's tried to write a screenplay has languished in obscurity. It didn't seem possible to succeed at it."

                              "Obviously, it was," Manager says smugly.

                              "I just think this whole thing is insane," I say.

                              "It's like the story about the emperor's new clothes," Manager says. "One person in power decided you'd written the greatest movie ever. Then another guy jumped on the bandwagon. Next thing you know, you have the most talked-about script in Hollywood and two studios are fighting over you."

                              "The emperor's new clothes, huh?" I say.

                              http://citypages.com/databank/26/1289/article13597.asp

                              End of exerpt.

                              -------------------------------

                              She says it herself -- he pulled strings to get her book published. The book drew attention to the script.

                              Emperor's new clothes -- is that a compliment about the quality of Juno?

                              When he says "one person in power" he clearly refers to himself.

                              And may I add this "stripper-turned-screenwriter" backstory leaves out the fact that she was a paid freelance feature writer with a newspaper byline during the entire period of time. The article above is from that very same newspaper.

                              Clearly stripping was not her only income.

                              You reamed Scott but he was correct. This was carefully crafted public relations all hinging on the titillation of her memoir about her year working as a full-time stripper to call attention to her script.

                              And if you don't think the studio marketing department loved this you're naive. Jeeze, nowadays the marketing department looks at scripts before they're purchased.

                              Without the stripper back story, her logline would've been a pass.
                              And my manager essentially said the same thing when he sent me the script two years ago.

                              All I've done is call into question the validity of the "one year" claim in a "true" memoir for which a Hollywood producer/manager "pulled strings" to get published .

                              Because I don't think her story would have been as interesting if she had spent only a month or two working at a peep show part time. If she's exaggerated her time in the sex industry, then her career was launched from a lie that was misrepresented as a "true memoir."

                              And yes -- I do have a problem with writers who publish "true life" memoirs or journalists who write "news stories" that are less than true.

                              Her entire career hinges on the book, every interview she does she's asked about her year as a stripper. In more recent articles I've read she's clearly annoyed by these questions. She wants to talk about her upcoming screenplays, they want to talk about the reasons why a good Catholic girl became a stripper.

                              I actually feel bad for her when I read this -- she will always be linked to her days "masturbating in a booth," as she says. It will be difficult to put this part of her life story behind her.

                              But when you call yourself Diablo you may find yourself making metaphoric deals with the devil.

                              Please know I reposted the article exerpts above for those who have obviously skimmed this thread coming to the conclusion I'm just a "jealous hag" "tattling" on her.

                              I want to thank the posters who were astute in understanding my points.

                              This is my last post in this thread.
                              Last edited by sc111; 12-06-2007, 05:36 PM. Reason: typos
                              Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                              Comment


                              • Re: Did Diablo Cody Really Spend A Year Stripping?

                                Originally posted by writerly

                                btw, LA Times did an interview with her today. I'm starting to think she's a freakin genius.
                                that's her?

                                i'd hit that.

                                thank you

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