Diablo Cody

Brook Maurio (née Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody,[1] is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper (2005). Cody received critical acclaim for her screenwriting debut film, Juno (2007), winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Diablo Cody
Born
Brook Busey

(1978-06-14) June 14, 1978
Lemont, Illinois, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Iowa
Occupation
  • Writer
  • producer
Years active2003–present
Spouse(s)
Jon Hunt
​
​
(m. 2004; div. 2007)​

Dan Maurio
​
(m. 2009)​
Children3

Cody created, wrote, and produced the Showtime comedy drama series United States of Tara (2009–2011). She wrote, produced, and made her directorial debut with the comedy drama film Paradise (2013).[2][3][4] Cody also wrote and produced the horror comedy film Jennifer's Body (2009), the comedy drama film Young Adult (2011), which earned her a second nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay,[5] the musical comedy film Ricki and the Flash (2015), and the comedy drama film Tully (2018).

In October of 2020, Cody was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Jagged Little Pill, her first musical-theater undertaking. [6] She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Writer's Branch since 2008. [7]

Early life

Diablo Cody was born Brook Busey on July 14, 1978 in Lemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where she and her older brother Marc were also raised. She is the daughter of Pam and Greg Busey.[8] Her mother is of Italian descent and her father is of German ancestry.[9] Cody was raised Apostolic Christian[10] and attended Benet Academy, a Roman Catholic school in Lisle, Illinois. At this time, she went by her birth name Brook.[11]

In 2000, she graduated from the University of Iowa with a media studies degree.[12] While at the University of Iowa, she worked in the acquisitions department in the main university library.[13] Her first jobs were doing secretarial work at a Chicago law firm and later proofreading copy for advertisements that played on Twin Cities radio stations.

Career

2001–2004: Blogging and stripping

Cody began a parody blog called Red Secretary, detailing the (fictional) exploits of a secretary living in Belarus.[14] The events were thinly-veiled allegories for events that happened in Cody's real life, but told from the perspective of a disgruntled, English-idiom-challenged Eastern Bloc girl.

Cody's first bona fide blog appeared under the nickname Darling Girl after she had moved from Chicago to Minneapolis, Minnesota.[14]

In March 2003, Cody started an adult blog called The Pussy Ranch, using a pen name invented while speeding through Cody, Wyoming[15] listening to the song "El Diablo" by Arcadia.[16] On a whim, Cody signed up for amateur night at a Minneapolis strip club called the Skyway Lounge.[12][17] Having enjoyed the experience, and seeing reader interest, she eventually quit her day job to become a full-time stripper.[18] 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 Pages, an alternative Twin Cities weekly newspaper.[12] She left City Pages just before it changed editorial hands, and has since written for the now-defunct Jane magazine. In December 2007,[19] Cody began writing a column for the magazine Entertainment Weekly.

2005–2010: Juno, Jennifer's Body, and acclaim

At the age of 27, Cody wrote her memoir Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper. The memoir began after Mason Novick, who would soon become Cody's manager, showed interest in her sharp and sarcastic voice. Based on the popularity of her blog, Novick was able to secure her a publishing contract with Gotham Books.

After completion of her book, Cody was encouraged by Mason Novick to try writing a screenplay.[11] Within months she wrote Juno, a coming-of-age story about a teenager's unplanned pregnancy. The script was completed in February 2005, and was optioned by a producer by that summer.[20] The Jason Reitman-directed comedy stars Elliot Page and Michael Cera.[21]

Juno was runner-up for the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award, won second prize at the Rome Film Festival, and earned four Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture. 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 First Screenplay. She also won screenplay honors from BAFTA, the Writers Guild of America, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review, the Satellite Awards, and the 2008 Cinema for Peace Award for Most Valuable Work of Director, Producer & Screenwriter (shared with Jason Reitman, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russel Smith and Lianne Halfon).[22]

Cody in January 2008

The Juno script was read by many in Hollywood before the film was released, bringing Cody more opportunities. In July 2007, Showtime announced that it would be producing a pilot of Cody's DreamWorks television series, United States of Tara. Based on an idea by Steven Spielberg, Tara is a comedy about a mother with dissociative identity disorder, starring Toni Collette.[23] 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 Studios, and a horror script called Jennifer's Body to Fox Atomic.[24] Released on September 18, 2009, Jennifer's Body starred Megan Fox as the title character and Amanda Seyfried as the supporting character.[25] She revised writer-director Steven Antin's script for his musical film Burlesque.[26]

Cody made a small cameo appearance as herself in a 2008 episode of the television series 90210. She appeared in the same episode that marked the return of Tori Spelling 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 High young adult book series. Diablo Cody is co-writing that the untold true story.[27]

2011–present: Young Adult, Tully, and other works

In 2011, she was brought in to revise first-time feature director Fede Alvarez's script for the remake of Sam Raimi's 1980s horror film The Evil Dead.[28] In October 2011, Cody began hosting an online celebrity interview program called "Red Band Trailer," on the broadband channel, L-studio.[29] She originally launched the series privately on YouTube in summer 2010, and the Lexus channel picked it up the following year.

In 2011, Cody wrote and produced the comedy-drama film Young Adult. Cody was nominated by awards associations such as the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Writers Guild of America. With Jason Reitman, Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt, she shared the Chairman's Vanguard Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 2012, the Fempire, the collaboration of writers Cody, Dana Fox, Liz Meriwether, and Lorene Scafaria received the Creativity and Sisterhood Award from the Athena Film Festival for their support for one another in the competitive film industry.[30]

On the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, on February 24, 2012, she said her next project would be directing her first film, which is about a young woman who abandons religion after surviving a plane crash. In February 2013, she announced that the film was called Paradise (firstly known as Lamb of God). Julianne Hough, Holly Hunter, Octavia Spencer, and Russell Brand starred in the cast. Mandate Pictures produced the film, which was released in October 2013.[31][32]

In May 2013, it was announced that Cody would host her own talk show, Me Time with Diablo Cody, on TBS. The program would tailor "around Diablo’s unique perspective on all things pop culture and told in her very own tongue-in-cheek way," and "reveal a side of Hollywood and celebs that the public very rarely gets to see." Steve Agee was to be presenting and writing with her. Cody was a producer, alongside Mark Cronin and Courtland Cox. The series never materialized or made it to air.[33][34]

Cody had numerous projects that were cancelled or stuck in development hell, including Time and a Half, which was to star Julianne Hough with Ol Parker directing.[35] She also developed a teen drama series with Josh Schwartz for Fox called Prodigy.[36] According to The Hollywood Reporter, it focused on "a 16-year-old genius who through home schooling has been isolated from her peers. Hoping to experience a "normal" teen social life before she enters the adult world of academia, she enrolls in her local high school. Her experiment goes off the rails when she finds herself adopted by a wild crowd, getting caught up in a whirlwind of romance and crime."[37][38] Cody also created and wrote Warner Bros. Television's romantic comedy series pilot Alex+Amy.[39]

Cody is the spokesperson of Barnard College's Athena Film Festival.[40]

Cody wrote and produced the musical comedy film Ricki and the Flash (2015), starring Meryl Streep and directed by Jonathan Demme in his last feature film. She also wrote and produced the comedy drama film Tully (2018), reuniting her with Young Adult star Charlize Theron. The film was directed by Jason Reitman, who previously directed Cody's scripts for Juno and Young Adult.

She wrote the script for the Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill, based on the Alanis Morissette album of the same name. The musical premiered in November 2019.[41]

In August 2020, Cody began working with Madonna on a screenplay of the singer's life.[42]

Personal life

In her memoir, Cody wrote fondly of her boyfriend "Jonny" (Jon Hunt). They were married from 2004 until 2007, during which time she was known in personal life as Brook Busey-Hunt.[12]

On April 6, 2010, Cody announced that she was expecting her first child with her husband Dan Maurio, who worked on Chelsea Lately, on which Cody also appeared frequently as a "roundtable" guest. The couple married in the summer of 2009.[43] Their son was born in 2010.[44] Cody had her second child in 2012.[45] As of 2018, Cody and Maurio have three children.[46]

As of 2008, Cody resides in Los Angeles.[23]

Cody is a friend of screenwriters Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas, Couples Retreat) and Lorene Scafaria (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) and they often write their screenplays together in order to get advice from one another.[47]

In light of Georgia’s anti-abortion law, she has stated that she has regretted writing Juno as it has been perceived as an "anti-choice" film.[48]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Credited as Notes Ref.
Director Writer Producer
2007 Juno No Yes No [22]
2009 Jennifer's Body No Yes Executive [49]
2010 Tight No Yes No Short film [50]
Burlesque No Uncredited No Script revisions [51]
2011 Young Adult No Yes Yes [52]
2013 The Magic Bracelet No Yes No Short film [53]
Evil Dead No Uncredited No Script revisions [54]
Paradise Yes Yes Executive [55]
2015 Ricki and the Flash No Yes Yes [56]
2018 Tully No Yes Yes [57]
TBA Untitled Madonna biopic No Yes No [58]

Television
Year Title Credited as Network Notes Ref.
Creator Writer Producer
2009–2011 United States of Tara Yes Yes Executive Showtime 36 episodes [59]
2010 Childrens Hospital No Yes No Adult Swim Episode: "Show Me on Montana" [60]
2015–2017 One Mississippi Yes Yes Executive Prime Video 12 episodes [61]
TBA The Powerpuff Girls Yes Yes Executive The CW In development [62]

Acting roles
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2008 Sunday Morning Shootout Herself Episode: "#5.13" [63]
2009 90210 Episode: "Okaeri, Donna!" [64]
2011 Robot Chicken Various voices Episode: "Catch Me If You Kangaroo Jack" [65]

Podcasts
Date Title Episode
April 12, 2016 Straight Talk with Ross Mathews "Diablo Cody"
August 13, 2018 The Boo Crew Podcast "Diablo Cody (Jennifer's Body/Juno)"
May 12, 2019 Eli Roth's History of Horror: Uncut "Diablo Cody"
May 14, 2019 Keep It! "The Mystery Files of Constance Wu (with Diablo Cody)"
August 19, 2019 The Margaret Cho "Diablo Cody, Durk Dehner, & S.R. Sharp"

Awards and nominations
Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
2007 Austin Film Critics Association Awards Best Original Screenplay Juno Won [66][67]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Best Screenplay Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Screenplay Won
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Satellite Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
2008 Academy Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
BAFTA Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Christopher Awards Best Feature Film Won
Cinema for Peace Award Most Valuable Work of Director, Producer & Screenwriter Won
Critics' Choice Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Golden Globe Awards Best Screenplay Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival Awards Breakthrough Screenwriter of the Year Won
Humanitas Prize Feature Film Category Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay Won
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best Screenplay Won
National Board of Review Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Won
2011 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards Best Woman Screenwriter Young Adult Nominated [68]
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Georgia Film Critics Association Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Hollywood Film Festival Awards Screenwriter of the Year Won
IndieWire Critics Poll Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Chairman's Vanguard Award Won
2012 Critics' Choice Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2017 Writers Guild of America Awards Television: Episodic Comedy One Mississippi Nominated [69]
2019 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards Best Woman Screenwriter Tully Nominated [70]
International Online Cinema Awards Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Leo Awards Best Motion Picture Nominated
Women's Image Awards Best Film Written By a Woman Nominated
Best Film Produced By a Woman Nominated
2020 Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Book of a Musical Jagged Little Pill Won [71]
Tony Awards Best Book of a Musical Pending [72]

References
  1. "Diablo Cody Jagged Little Pill Musical". New York Magazine.
  2. Calfas, Jennifer (7 August 2013). "Diablo Cody Celebrates 'Paradise,' Her Directorial Debut, With Hollywood Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (5 October 2011). "Diablo Cody Re-Launches Her 'Red Band Trailer'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  4. Kira Cochrane (2013-01-08). "2013 preview: the cultural year ahead for women | Life and style". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  5. "WGA Awards Nominations Announced". Deadline.com. 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  6. "Tony Awards: 'Jagged Little Pill,' 'Slave Play' Lead Nominations". Hollywoodreporter.com. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  7. https://emanuellevy.com/oscar/oscar-2008-academy-invites-105-new-members-8/
  8. Schaults, Janine (9 December 2007). "From Lemont to Hollywood, with a pole dance in between". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G23CRWNF3IU; stated at 19:55
  10. "Diablo Cody Says No". (interview), Inked. September 2009. Archived from the original on March 16, 2010.
  11. "Ex-stripper in movie spotlight". CNN. 2008-01-23. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  12. Desson, Thomson (2007-12-15). "Hollywood takes a shine to 'Juno' writer's body of work". The Washington Post via Boston.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on February 7, 2010. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  13. "Former Student Assistant Wins Oscar". University of Iowa Libraries. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.
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  21. "First Look". Entertainment Weekly (1034): 7. February 13, 2009.
  22. Michael Jones (2008-02-12). "Berlin's Peace Awards bring in celebs". Variety. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
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  25. Covert, Colin (2007-12-07). "In Defense Of 'Jennifer's Body'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
  26. Fleming, Michael (October 15, 2007). "Screen Gems enlists Antin for 'Burlesque'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  27. McNary, Dave (23 September 2009). "Diablo Cody takes on 'Sweet Valley'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  28. McIntyre, Gina (July 13, 2011). "'Evil Dead' remake: Diablo Cody polishing script for first-time director". Los Angeles Times.
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  38. Goldberg, Lesley (2013-10-04). "Diablo Cody Teams With Fake Empire for Fox Teen Drama 'Prodigy'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  39. Goldberg, Lesley (2011-11-17). "Diablo Cody Developing Romantic Comedy at ABC". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
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  42. Lattanzio, Ryan (August 9, 2020). "Madonna and Diablo Cody Are Working on a Screenplay in Quarantine". IndieWire. IndieWire. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
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  44. "@diablocody". Twitter. 2010-07-27.
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  46. Stewart, Sara (2018-05-04). "Diablo Cody's Kids Have No Idea She's Famous". Retrieved 4 May 2018.
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  48. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/diablo-cody-juno-abortion_n_5cdd9ab6e4b09648227cc2e2
  49. Jennifer's Body at IMDb
  50. Tight (Video 2010) at IMDb
  51. "Burlesque". IMDb. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  52. Lovece, Frank (November 30, 2011). "High School Disunion: Charlize Theron, Diablo Cody & Jason Reitman on 'Young Adult'". Film Journal International. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  53. "The Magic Bracelet". IMDb. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  54. McIntyre, Gina (July 13, 2011). "'Evil Dead' remake: Diablo Cody polishing script for first-time director". Los Angeles Times.
  55. Calfas, Jennifer (August 7, 2013). "Diablo Cody Celebrates 'Paradise,' Her Directorial Debut, With Hollywood Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter.
  56. Ricki and the Flash at IMDb
  57. D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 21, 2018). "Charlize Theron, Jason Reitman & Diablo Cody Reteam 'Tully' Is Sundance Secret Screening". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  58. Panama, Candy (September 15, 2020). "Universal Pictures announces film based on the untold true story of Madonna". Madonna. Madonna. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  59. Cody, Diablo (May 25, 2011). "Diablo Cody on United States of Tara's Cancellation: 'If I Do TV Again, I Would Do It Differently'". Vulture (Interview). Interviewed by Patti Greco. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  60. "Show Me on Montana" at IMDb
  61. Schwindt, Oriana (November 14, 2016). "Diablo Cody-Tig Notaro Comedy 'One Mississippi' Renewed at Amazon". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
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  63. "Episode #5.13" at IMDb
  64. "Okaeri, Donna!" at IMDb
  65. "Catch Me If You Kangaroo Jack" at IMDb
  66. Awards for Juno at IMDb
  67. Awards for Diablo Cody at IMDb
  68. "Young Adult" – via www.imdb.com.
  69. "One Mississippi" – via www.imdb.com.
  70. "Tully" – via www.imdb.com.
  71. "Moulin Rouge! Tops 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award Honors". May 11, 2020.
  72. "2020 Tony Award Nominations: Jagged Little Pill, Moulin Rouge!, Slave Play Lead the Pack". October 15, 2020.

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