Q&A with Diablo Cody

Now you’re writing a TV series. So what TV clichés are you constantly trying to avoid? How do you think, now that you’re on the other side?
Actually avoiding clichés and avoiding bad choices is not really the challenge anymore. Because there’s so much amazing stuff on television. The challenge is coming up with fresh ideas and competing with awesome shows.

Which shows are awesome?
[My series is] on Showtime. And if you look at the recent cable dramas and dramadies in recent years, like Big Love and The Sopranos, and Weeds, that’s good stuff. So to me, that’s the challenge. That’s what’s daunting about it—as an inexperienced writer, sitting down and trying to write something on that level. I’ve seen enough bad television to know that spit takes are not funny.

How does your day flow?
Well, lately, I’ve had very little time to focus on work. Which is frustrating because of this impending [writer’s] strike. I have been doing a ridiculous amount of promotion for Juno. It’s gotten to the point where sometimes I’m doing four or five interviews a day. And generally, those involve going somewhere. And Los Angeles is no easy shake. And the last couple of weeks, if I’m not at a film festival, I’m in my car, or I’m talking to somebody about Juno.

Will it end on December 14, or will there be Oscar talk?
God willing. But that would be amazing. And I don’t take any of this stuff for granted. I might grumble about doing a lot of promotion. But at the same token, I’m thrilled that [FOX] Searchlight is so supportive of the film. Plus, it’s fun, you know, it’s fun to go out and talk about your movie. And I tell ya, like, it’s an exhausting process, I don’t know how people do it when their film is getting bad reviews. I don’t know how they do it. Because the only thing that is fueling me at this point is I know it’s going to be a pleasant conversation and I know they gave us a good review.

The press loves you, Diablo Cody. 
I’m doing my best to undo all that goodwill right now.

You crush during press conferences or as a guest on a talk show; are you tempted to shift into performance?
I am absolutely a terrible actor. I really like to speak candidly in front of crowds. I enjoy that. I have to admit I bandied the idea of writing some stand-up last year.

What about a one-woman show, that way, you don’t even have to call it stand up.
Yeah, I know. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility. But let’s put it this way: I don’t have a head shot.

You were an average-looking stripper, and now you’re an above average screenwriter, but you had a shot at being a truly hot alternative weekly writer.
Oh, come on, there’s some stiff competition. Really, I’m not concerned about aging. Because you know, that’s the one freeing thing—as a writer, you can hit the craft service table all you want. And nobody expects you to be hot.

So what does going Hollywood mean to Brooke, your inner Catholic schoolgirl from the Midwest?
It has enlightened me in so many ways and made me a much more optimistic human being. Because I really thought life was going to suck. It’s thrown me for a loop.

And what does optimism do for you on a daily basis?
It frees me creatively; it’s made me a more outgoing person. It’s made me unafraid to squelch certain tendencies I used to be ashamed of. Now I kind of celebrate my weirdness a little more. Which anybody can do in Los Angeles. I was a dark person. There have been times in the past where I thought about ending my life. And I guess, at the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy, it’s just life affirming. I feel like I did something that made a difference. And I want to continue to do that. And I certainly never thought that would happen.

Here’s the thing, nobody can ever take Juno away from me. That film, I’m so incredibly proud of it. No matter what people say, no matter what people do, no matter what happens with my career in the future, the experience is carved in stone and I can carry that it me forever. That’s really all the comfort I need.

Is there a small part of you worried that it’s going to take an Academy Award to keep you off the pole?
I don’t even know that an Academy Award could keep me off the pole.