Brook Busey better known by the
pen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Diablo Cody, is an American
screenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
,
writerA writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
,
blogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger,
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, and
authorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. She was first known for her candid chronicling of her year as a
stripperA stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
in her
Pussy Ranch blog and her 2006
memoirA memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
,
Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely StripperCandy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper is a memoir written by Diablo Cody, who later became known as an Academy Award-winning screenwriter...
. Cody achieved critical acclaim for the script of the 2007 film
JunoJuno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. She is also known for creating the television series
United States of Tara.
Early life and career
Cody and her older brother Marc were born and raised in
Lemont, IllinoisLemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is roughly southwest of Chicago. The population was 16,625 at the 2007 Special Census.-History:...
, a suburb of
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Cody was raised
CatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and attended
Benet AcademyBenet Academy is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Benedictine high school in Lisle, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Founded in 1887, the school was initially established in Chicago as the all-boys St. Procopius College and Academy by Benedictine monks, who also...
, a Roman Catholic school in
Lisle, IllinoisLisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,930 at the 2011 census, and estimated to be 23,135 as of 2008. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor...
. She took the pen name Diablo Cody (
diablo is
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for "devil") after repeatedly listening to the song
El Diablo by
ArcadiaArcadia were the pop group formed in 1985 by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran, during a break in that band's schedule. However, Roger Taylor appeared in only a few band photographs and in none of the music videos, and stated he was only to be involved in the recording side...
while passing through
Cody, WyomingCody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
. She graduated from the
University of IowaThe University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
with a
media studiesMedia studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
degree. While at the
University of IowaThe University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, Cody was a DJ at
KRUI 89.7 FMKRUI-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, the station is licensed to Student Broadcasters Inc. KRUI began at the University of Iowa in 1952 as KWAD, and in 1968 the station's call letters changed to KICR...
. She also worked in the acquisitions department in the main university library. Her first jobs were doing secretarial work at a Chicago law firm and later
proofreadingProofreading is the reading of a galley proof or computer monitor to detect and correct production-errors of text or art. Proofreaders are expected to be consistently accurate by default because they occupy the last stage of typographic production before publication.-Traditional method:A proof is...
copyCopy refers to written material, in contrast to photographs or other elements of layout, in a large number of contexts, including magazines, advertising, and book publishing....
for advertisements that played on
Twin Cities radio stations.
Cody began a
parodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of a weblog called
Red Secretary, detailing the (fictional) exploits of a secretary living in
BelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. The events were thinly-veiled allegories for events that happened in Cody's real life, but told from the perspective of a disgruntled, English-
idiomIdiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
-challenged
Eastern BlocThe term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
girl.
Cody's first
bona fide blog appeared under the nickname
Darling Girl after Cody had moved from Chicago to
Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
.
Stripping and journalism
On a whim, Cody signed up for amateur night at a Minneapolis strip club called the Skyway Lounge. Enjoying the experience, she eventually quit her day job and took up stripping full-time. Cody also spent time working peep shows at Sex World, a Minneapolis adult novelty and DVD store.
While still stripping, Cody began writing for
City PagesCity Pages is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It features news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews, and music criticism. It is printed in a tabloid format, and is available free every Wednesday...
, an alternative
Twin CitiesTwin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
weekly newspaper. She left
City Pages just before it changed editorial hands. Cody has since written for the now-defunct
Jane magazine. In December 2007, Cody began writing a column for the magazine
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
.
At the age of 24, Cody wrote her memoir
Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely StripperCandy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper is a memoir written by Diablo Cody, who later became known as an Academy Award-winning screenwriter...
. The memoir began after
Mason NovickMason Novick is a film producer and talent manager based in Los Angeles, California.-Career:His credits include Red Eye , Juno , Days of Summer and Jennifer's Body...
, who would soon become Cody's manager, showed interest in Cody's sharp and sarcastic voice. Based on the popularity
Pussy Ranch had received, he was able to secure her a publishing contract with Gotham Books.
Screenwriting
After completion of her book, Cody was encouraged by
Mason NovickMason Novick is a film producer and talent manager based in Los Angeles, California.-Career:His credits include Red Eye , Juno , Days of Summer and Jennifer's Body...
to write her first screenplay. Within months she wrote
JunoJuno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
, a coming-of-age story about a teenager's unplanned pregnancy. The
Jason ReitmanJason Reitman is a Canadian/American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking , Juno , and Up in the Air . As of February 2, 2010, he has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director...
-directed comedy stars
Ellen PageEllen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
and
Michael CeraMichael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
.
In July 2007, Showtime announced that it would be producing a pilot of Cody's
DreamworksDreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
television series,
United States of Tara. Based on an idea by
Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
,
Tara is a comedy about a mother with
dissociative identity disorderDissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
, starring
Toni ColletteAntonia "Toni" Collette is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish....
. The series began filming in Spring 2008, and premiered on January 18, 2009.
In October 2007, Cody sold a script titled
Girly Style to
Universal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, and a horror script called
Jennifer's BodyJennifer's Body is a 2009 black comedy horror film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody. Fox portrays a newly-possessed teenage serial killer specializing in killing her male classmates as her best friend...
to
Fox AtomicFox Atomic was a production label of film studio 20th Century Fox created in 2006 to generate comedy and genre films.In 2008, Fox Atomic scaled back its production operations and shut down all marketing divisions...
. Released on September 18, 2009,
Jennifer's Body starred
Megan FoxMegan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
as the title character. She revised writer-director Steven Antin's script for his musical film
BurlesqueBurlesque is a 2010 musical film directed and written by Steven Antin and starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. The film was released on November 24, 2010 in North America....
.
Cody is good friends with fellow screenwriters
Dana FoxDana Fox is an American screenwriter best known as the writer of the 2005 film The Wedding Date and the 2008 film What Happens in Vegas.-Career:...
(
What Happens in VegasWhat Happens in Vegas is a 2008 American romantic comedy film from 20th Century Fox starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. The title is based on the marketing catchphrase, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."-Plot:...
,
Couples RetreatCouples Retreat is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Peter Billingsley with contributions to the script by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox, Curtis Hanson, and Greg Beeman. Vaughn and Favreau star with Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Åkerman and...
) and
Lorene ScafariaLorene Scafaria is an American screenwriter, playwright, actor and singer best known for her work on the 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.-Early life:...
(
Nick and Norah's Infinite PlaylistNick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the story tells of teenagers Nick and Norah , who meet when...
) and they often write their screenplays while hanging out together, in order to get advice from one another.
Cody made a small cameo appearance as herself in the U.S. broadcast television series
9021090210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
(2008). She appeared in the same episode that marked the return of
Tori SpellingVictoria Davey "Tori" Spelling is an American actress. Spelling became known in the early 1990s for her role as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210. Spelling then had roles in a string of made-for-television films, such as A Friend to Die For and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?...
as Donna Martin, in which Cody needed Spelling's character to make a dress for a red carpet event.
In 2009, Cody signed on to script and produce a film adaptation of the
Sweet Valley HighSweet Valley High is a novel series created by Francine Pascal, who presided over a team of ghostwriters for the duration of the series' creation. The series began in 1983 and ceased publication twenty years later with over 152 books to its name...
young adult book series. In 2011, she was brought in to revise first-time feature director Fede Alvarez's script for a remake of
Sam RaimiSamuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
's 1980s horror film
The Evil DeadThe Evil Dead is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Betsy Baker. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area...
.
Personal life
In her book, she wrote fondly of her boyfriend "Jonny" (Jon Hunt). They were married 2004-2007.
On April 6, 2010, Cody announced that she was expecting her first child with her husband Dan Maurio, who works on
Chelsea LatelyChelsea Lately is an American late night comedy talk show hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler on E!. The show debuted on July 16, 2007, and is produced by Handler's production company, Borderline Amazing Productions...
. The couple married in the summer of 2009. Their son Marcello Daniel Maurio was born July 27, 2010. Cody also appears frequently as a "roundtable" guest on
Chelsea LatelyChelsea Lately is an American late night comedy talk show hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler on E!. The show debuted on July 16, 2007, and is produced by Handler's production company, Borderline Amazing Productions...
.
As of 2008, Cody resides in Los Angeles and aspires to become a director.
Nominations and awards
JunoJuno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
was runner-up for the
Toronto International Film FestivalThe Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
People's Choice Award, won second prize at the Rome Film Festival, and earned four Academy Award nominations, including one for
Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. Cody herself won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for her debut script, which also picked up a Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. She also won screenplay honors from BAFTA, the Writers Guild of America,
Broadcast Film Critics AssociationThe Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics....
, the National Board of Review, the
Satellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
, and the
Cinema for PeaceThe Cinema for Peace initiative aims to raise awareness for the social relevance of films and to make active use of the influence of movies and documentaries on the perception and resolution of global social, political and humanitarian challenges of our time...
Award 2008 for Most Valuable Work of Director, Producer & Screenwriter for
Juno.
Filmography
| Title | Media | Role | Year |
JunoJuno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
|
Film |
Writer |
2007 |
| United States of Tara |
TV Series |
Creator, Writer & Executive Producer |
2009–2011 |
| Jennifer's Body Jennifer's Body is a 2009 black comedy horror film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody. Fox portrays a newly-possessed teenage serial killer specializing in killing her male classmates as her best friend...
|
Film |
Writer & Executive Producer |
2009 |
| Burlesque Burlesque is a 2010 musical film directed and written by Steven Antin and starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. The film was released on November 24, 2010 in North America....
|
Film |
Script revision |
2010 |
| Childrens Hospital |
TV Series |
Writer |
2010 |
| Young Adult Young Adult is an upcoming 2011 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman. The screenplay is written by Diablo Cody. Reitman and Cody worked together previously on the 2007 film, Juno...
|
Film |
Writer & Producer |
2011 |
External links
- Her blogs:
- Diablo Cody at Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
- Interview with Diablo Cody about JUNO at the Telluride Film Festival, September 10, 2007
- Reitman and Cody, Consorting with 'Juno' - interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air, December 6, 2007
- Diablo Cody for Jennifer's Body, SuicideGirls
SuicideGirls is a website that features softcore pornography and text profiles of goth, punk and indie-styled young women who are known as the "Suicide Girls"...
interview, September 18, 2009
- City Pages interview with Diablo Cody, December 26, 2007
- Off the Stripper Pole and Into the Movies, The New York Times, December 2, 2007
- Overexposed - Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...