Monday, December 31, 2007

Diablo Made Me Do It



That's me with "Juno" director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, who has become something of a sensation since her screenplay made it to the big screen.

I finally got to see "Juno" over the weekend, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait.

Juno (Ellen Page) is a rather precocious 16-year-old high school girl who discovers she has become pregnant by her sweet, sometimes-boyfriend (Michael Cera). After deciding not to have an abortion, she wants to give the child up for adoption, and meets the seemingly perfect couple (Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner).

Cody's sharp dialogue has helped make the movie such a hit among both viewers and critics.

It's been a double Diablo Cody week for me, since I finished her book "Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper" last week. The book, which details Cody's life from a girl who grew up in a "normal" middle class environment to spend a year working as stripper/phone sex operator, is both hilarious and insightful, and it's obvious that Cody has a knack for communicating.

Anyway, it took seemingly forever for "Juno" to make it to Atlanta (and it probably won't make it to Macon), but I have to say, it was worth the wait and worth the trip if you decide to go. You'll find few comedies with so much heart to go with it.

WGA UPDATE: What could be a major break in the stalemate between the writers' union and the studios took place over the weekend when David Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants, struck a separate deal with the WGA.

The deal allows for writers to return to work immediately for "The Late Show With David Letterman" and "The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson," both of which are produced by Worldwide Pants.

Should these shows start scoring better ratings than the other late-night talk shows, which still don't have their writers back, it could force the networks to separately deal with the WGA and make their own deals, which would take the legs out of the studios trying to break the union. It may also lead other production companies to make their own deals.

Either way, it's a small step in the right direction of hopefully ending the labor dispute.

MONDAY & TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: I'm going to be taking a day or two off for the holiday, but fortunately, there is very little to miss.

I always ring in the New Year with Dick Clark, so check out his annual special tonight beginning at beginning at 10 p.m.

Area football fans can catch Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State in The Humanitarian Bowl (ESPN2, 2 p.m.), while the true national championship, The Sugar Bowl, takes place Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on Fox when Georgia faces Hawaii.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Phillip, first off, a Happy New Year's.

I agree 100%, of course - tomorrow night's game on Fox between our beloved Georgia Bulldogs and Hawaii is the real national title. Go Dawgs.

I am happy that someone has writers, I just wish it was someone I liked since I am not at all a fan of Letterman's humor. Oh well. If it HELPS end the strike, then go Letterman.

Finally, I saw "National Treasure" last week which was a lot of fun, but the movie my wife and I also really want to see is "Juno" so I am glad to hear it lived up to the hype. I also hear from many people that "Charlie Wilson's War" was excellent and Oscar-worthy.

Phillip Ramati said...

Happy New Year to you and all of the other loyal dozens.

Juno is definitely worth all the hype; the other great film I saw in the last couple of weeks is Walk Hard, directed by Jake Kasdan. Kasdan and Reitman are two second-generation wunderkinds in Hollywood, and pretty much anything they do is worth seeing.

Anonymous said...

i lik her