Fun stuff about screenwriters — of the female persuasion — in this New York Times article:
“When you read a screenplay, it doesn’t come with a picture on the cover,” said Adam Siegel, president of Marc Platt Productions, a producer who is friends with all four women and has worked with all except Ms. Cody. “I know a few beautiful women, but none of them write like Dana, Liz, Lorene or Diablo.”
That would be Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas), Liz Meriwether(playwright turned screenwriter), Lorene Scafaria (Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist), and Diablo Cody (Juno).
You can find them at work in their Laurel Canyon homes in their pajamas, or sitting next to one another at laptop-friendly restaurants. To see them gathered amid the dinosaur topiary around Ms. Fox’s swimming pool with their dogs (they all have dogs) is to see four distinct styles of glamour that bear little resemblance to traditional images of behind-the-scenes talent. Whenever one of them has a movie opening, they all rent a white limousine and go from theater to theater to watch the first audiences react.
“We’re usually drunk by the third theater,” Ms. Cody said. “It’s super porno and tacky, and we love doing it.”
We already covered the emergence of The Fempire, as they are called, here and even made reference to the infamous Pad O’ Guys, a house filled with budding screenwriters in the 80s. But those were, well, guys… and these are, well… girls. And let’s face it… girls are just more interesting:
CROSS-LEGGED in one director’s chair was Lorene Scafaria — black pants, brown high heels, amused gaze — leaning in to ask the next question. Waiting to answer, cross-legged in another, was Diablo Cody, struggling to keep her short blue dress from riding up.
The two women, both 30, both screenwriters at the top of their game, both gorgeous, looked as if they were about to crack up. Ms. Scafaria turned to the audience.
“This is weird because we hang out a lot,” she said. “We’ve seen each other naked.”
I know a lot of male screenwriters. I’ve never once seen any of them naked. Proof that female screenwriters are more interesting!
In addition to testing out dialogue and story structure with one another, the four women say they plan to produce one another’s work and would even like to form a production company. Ms. Fox has already signed on to produce Ms. Meriwether’s next project, “Bailout,” a comedy for Universal about a family dealing with the economic crisis.
“There are so few slots for us in Hollywood,” Ms. Cody said. “Sometimes you hear the lobsters-in-a-pot metaphor — if the lobsters cooperated, they could get each other out. We’re cooperating. We refuse to just lie there and boil.”
Okay, here’s the deal. You can read this article and be jealous. Or use it to inspire you. Remember: Until 4 years ago, Diablo Cody was a former stripper, biding her time providing potty-mouth commentary on a couple of blogs. Hollywood manager Mason Novick ‘discovered’ Cody, liked her writer’s voice, and eventually encouraging Cody to write a screenplay. She penned Juno. The rest, as they say, is her-story.
So write. Then get your writing out there. Why not create a writing group? Read each other’s material with a critical eye. Push each other. Support each other.
But always… write!
Here’s an interview with Mason Novick discussing Juno, a movie he produced.
I saw Fox & Scafaria interview one another at a WGA event several months ago and they were terrific. In addition to their obvious and declared support for one another, I was taken by the many differences between them – from how they handle notes to how they write the script to their backgrounds. I was so impressed with their respect and affection for one another.
I am, however, dying to know what's on the necklace. Anyone?
I’m working on getting my “Fempire” together. And I’m writing, lots!
Mason Novick summed up Diablo Cody’s talent in this sentence, “Diablo’s voice is so current. She really has a good tap into what kids, how kids talk and how grownups talk. And I think she’s just so good at nailing specific characters in their own worlds without it feeling phony.”
Realistic dialogue. I suspect she does a lot of eves dropping. What a great way to learn to write contemporary dialogue!
That is what first drew him to her writing (other than perhaps the name of her blog – Pussy Ranch?). Based on the number of hits her blog received, he was able to get her a contract with Gotham Books for Candy Girl: a Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper. He then encouraged her to write a screenplay, which she did in (I think) seven months.
This is a great interview with Diablo on National Public Radio from about a year ago. In it she talks about her beginnings, blogging, and how to get your work out there (self publish on the internet). She also answers the question about how to make the leap from blogging to being a successful screenwriter, “luck and timing.”
Tom, thanks for that link to the Diablo Cody NPR interview.
I like the idea of a fempire, but I feel that the way the article was written didn’t do the writers any favors. It comes off as if females that can write is novelty and keeps referring again and again to their attractiveness.I like Diablo Cody’s writing but I feel like the more people focus on her wildchild aspects, the less people actually give her credit as a writer.
how many times have you read an article where they describe a male screenwriter's attractiveness and wardrobe in that much detail? it's about time we started getting treated and written about, as writers, not female writers or male writers.