Megan Fox's Lesbian Kiss: Artistic Or Gratuitous?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/16/megan-foxs-lesbian-kiss-a_n_289286.html

Megan Fox's Lesbian Kiss: Artistic Or Gratuitous?
09-16-09

Megan Fox may feel safer kissing girls, but Amanda Seyfried, her onscreen make out partner in 'Jennifer's Body,' assures us their sapphic scene is just a gimmick.

"We knew that it was going to play a really big role in publicizing the movie," Seyfried told WENN. "We kind of rolled our eyes at the idea of having to make out."

Not so!, said the film's screenwriter, 'Juno' scribe Diablo Cody. "If the two protagonists of the film were a guy and a girl and in a particularly tense moment, they shared a kiss, no one would say it was gratuitous. But the fact that they're women means it's some kind of stunt. It was intended to be something profound and meaningful," she told The Frisky.

Diablo & behold

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/diablo_behold_Vhse59eYWJPEeaao0J0XZO

Diablo & behold
‘Juno’ scribe returns with a hot new film — and a hot new look
By SARA STEWART
September 17, 2009

SHE burst onto the scene two years ago as an R-rated Cinderella story: Ex-stripper from Minnesota sells her first screenplay, “Juno,” which becomes the indie darling of the year and wins her both an Oscar and a reputation as the sharpest dialogue writer in Hollywood.

But Diablo Cody (real name Brook Busey) didn’t use the award — as many first-timers have — as a springboard to immediate overexposure. She’s maintained a fairly low profile, picking and choosing her projects judiciously: writing Showtime’s “United States of Tara,” now filming a second season; penning a pop-culture column for EW; and making a much-cherished cameo on “90210.”

Sporting a new platinum pixie, Cody’s back with her first feature since “Juno.”

“Jennifer’s Body,” both written and executive produced by Cody, deals with a subject in which she’s more well-versed than either teen pregnancy or the pole: high school demon spawn.

If you’ve ever been a teenage girl, you’ll probably know whereof she speaks.

How to spot the succubus from hell? She’s the glamorous friend with a near-supernatural hold on boys. She says she’s your BFF, then cuts you down with one perfectly timed insult. She scares the crap out of you, but you don’t want to get on her bad side: She knows how to eviscerate you, and if you cross her, she just might.

“A male bully will shove you against a locker,” Cody says, “but a female bully will tear your psyche apart.”

In “Jennifer’s Body,” Cody has gone substantially darker than her last movie, in which a clever-beyond-her-years teen gets knocked up, gives the baby to a really nice lady, and everything works out swell.

This time, the heroine is a possessed cheerleader (Megan Fox) — bitchy even before she’s kidnapped by a Satan-worshipping indie band — who’s putting a serious dent in the local boy population and, like, totally hurting the feelings of her best friend (Amanda Seyfried) in the process.

Cody, a straight talker, is not sure how “Jennifer” will go over.

“Neither the protagonist or the villain is socially sympathetic,” she says. “It’s not as upbeat or uplifting as ‘Juno.’ I think it’s definitely riskier. I hope people appreciate it.”

But even if “Jennifer” is a flop, Cody is in a rather unassailable position. She’s the first screenwriter in ages to have actually become a household name. (How many others can you think of?) She’s brought a touch of leopard-printy glamour to a profession that consists mostly of sitting in front of a laptop in sweatpants. And with multiple projects in production or development, she’s not going away anytime soon.

Cody’s looking a little more Hollywood insider these days, but her love of all things teen remains intact; she cites John Hughes as her patron saint of teen-film “emotional truth.”

"Jennifer's Body," while billing itself as a horror movie, inhabits terrain more similar to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" than actual slasher movies -- monsters and bloodshed are obvious metaphors for intangible adolescent terrors.

Cody especially steered away from the tropes of the horror genre when it came to the beast with two backs. "It was important to me that the good girl in the film have a sex scene that didn't necessarily culminate in her being murdered," she says.

"Jennifer" is shot through with smart-alecky lines that will feel familiar to anyone who's seen "Juno" ("It smells like Thai food in here. Have you two been f - - - ing?"), but Cody says she doesn't want to become irreversibly linked with that kind of dialogue tic.

"I don't know how much more I'm going to do that," she says. "I like the way it worked in this, but I think you can only make the sassy lingo go so far."

sara.stewart@nypost.com

Diablo Cody: Nude Stripper / Screenwriter

http://www.egotastic.com/entertainment/celebrities/diablo-cody/diablo-cody-nude-stripper-screenwriter-003292

Tuesday, 26 February, 2008
Diablo Cody: Nude Stripper / Screenwriter
Filed under: Home \ Celebrities \ Diablo Cody

Going from stripper to screenwriter isn't exactly the most ordinary career path, but then, Diablo Cody is no ordinary girl. The Oscar-winning screenwriter, and the mind behind the hit film Juno is the hottest new writer in Hollywood, and I don't just mean for her writing. Remember that thing about her being a stripper? Well, these Diablo Cody nude pictures prove she really has no problem taking her clothes off.

From completely nude to covered in whipped cream, riding the stripper pole to photoshopped topless boating, vibrators to nipple rings, these pics definitely show a different side of Diablo Cody than you may have seen on Oprah. My personal favourite: Diablo holding a Klingon Batleth! Also featured, the morning after her Oscar win.

It's not everyday you see an Oscar-winning screenwriter naked, which is probably a good thing.

Complete list of winners at the Academy Awards

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080224/OSCARS/996396657

Complete list of winners at the 80th annual Academy Awards, presented Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles:

Best Motion Picture: "No Country for Old Men."
Lead Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood."
Lead Actress: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose."
Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men."
Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."
Director: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men."

Foreign Language Film: "The Counterfeiters," Austria.
Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men."
Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, "Juno."
Animated Feature Film: "Ratatouille."
Art Direction: "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
Cinematography: "There Will Be Blood."
Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Original Score: "Atonement," Dario Marianelli.
Original Song: "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Costume: "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."
Documentary Feature: "Taxi to the Dark Side."
Documentary Short Subject: "Freeheld."
Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Makeup: "La Vie en Rose."
Animated Short Film: "Peter & the Wolf."
Live Action Short Film: "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (‘The Mozart of Pickpockets’)."
Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass."

Coens take the Oscar prize for words and picture

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080224/OSCARS/508085101

Coens take the Oscar prize for words and picture
February 24, 2008
by Jim Emerson, Editor

Everybody pretty much called it in advance, nothing was certain until the very end. Joel and Ethan Coen's crowning achievement, "No Country For Old Men," toted some heavy Oscars Sunday night (for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor), but the Academy spread the wealth.

"We, uh... thank you very much," said Ethan, accepting the Best Screenplay Adaptation Oscar, and it was a terrific speech. Six words. Maybe five-and-a-half. Funny. Pithy. Whether it was intentional or the shorter Coen brother just went up on his lines, he demonstrated that screenwriting is not just about crafting dialog. If you set the scene properly, the words themselves don't have to be memorable, just the moment.

It was. And, because of the sense of drama created by the structure of the show, that scene felt like the tipping point for "No Country for Old Men." You didn't know where the evening's storyline was headed, but once it got there, as always, it felt as if it had been inevitable. Kind of like the ending of "No Country" itself.

Later, of course, the Coens would collect Oscars for direction and picture -- and when they came back, Ethan said he didn't really have much to add to what he'd said before. It wasn't necessary.

The Coens clearly came out on top, but it didn't feel quite like a sweep without the editing, cinematography and sound awards, which went to other (also deserving) pictures -- "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "There Will Be Blood."

Most of the big Oscar nominees this year were uniquely American -- "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Michael Clayton," even "Juno." But it was the Europeans who conquered most of the evening: British actor Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"), French actress Marion Couttiard ("La Vie en Rose"), Spanish supporting actor Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men" -- first win ever for a Spanish actor), and British supporting actress Tilda Swinton ("Michael Clayton"). Day-Lewis's Great American Performance was obviously a descendant of Hollywood legends Walter and John Huston, but the ancestry went unacknowledged.

The supporting actors stole the show's first act. The last part of Bardem's speech, addressed to his mother in the audience and spoken in Spanish, was one of those eye-moistening highlights that we watch the Oscars for. Even if you didn't know what he was saying, it was moving -- and, even if Bardem knew what he was going to say in advance, it didn't feel like acting. He's that good. Swinton's effortlessly convincing joke about George Clooney wearing rubber Batman nipples under his suit in "Michael Clayton" was further evidence of just how good she is, too. One stumble, one premature nudge, and it would have fallen flat. This, ladies and gentlemen, is more than just acting -- it's grace under the pressure on live TV.

On the Regis Philbin pre-show, a TV interviewer told the eventual Best Actress winner Couttiard: "Edith Piaf... died." After a long pause, she added "... before you were born!" Um, yes. Couttiard had all but inhabited the skin of Piaf in a universally acclaimed performance. She probably knew both those things.

Hollywood "It Girl" Diablo Cody nabbed Best Original Screenplay, as expected. But that was the only win for box-office favorite "Juno."

The crowd's most enthusiastic response was probably for Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová for the song "Falling Slowly" from the Irish film "Once." Bravo to emcee Jon Stewart for bringing Irglová back on stage to give her speech, which was cut off before she could even begin.

Early in the evening (well, in the first half-hour or so), the year's big Oscar winners were "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "La Vie en Rose," and "The Golden Compass." Not until "Ratatouille" won for Best Animated Feature was there a title with which more than 27 people were familiar.

Two hours in, the leading Oscar winner was "The Bourne Ultimatum" with three (editing, sound mixing, and sound editing). As emcee Stewart accurately noted, somebody somewhere had just taken the lead in their Oscar pool based on a guess.

Sometimes the biggest surprise of the Oscars is who won last year. Like when Jennifer Hudson came out to announce Best Supporting Actor and you went... who's that again? Alan Arkin won last year? But the biggest question was: How did they leave out Roy Scheider from the In Memoriam montage? (Turns out, the segment's drop-dead date for dying is January 31, except for Heath Ledger. Brad Renfro died January 15, but wasn't included, either.)

A favorite moment: Veteran production designer and honorary Oscar recipient Robert Boyle ("North By Northwest," "The Birds") explaining in his filmed intro: "A production designer is responsible for that space within which the action and the meaning of the film is arrived at.... The basis of design is an architectural truth which becomes an emotional truth." In the clips we caught a glimpse of the dead-end street street where the title character of Alfred Hitchock's "Marnie" experienced an early trauma -- with a huge, patently artificial painted backdrop of a docked ship smack in the center of the image. And you know what? It absolutely works. Emotional truth. Movies at their best.

Grand Oscar night for 'No Country'

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/env-oscarpbp,1,4585549.story

Grand Oscar night for 'No Country'
The iconoclastic filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen won three Academy Awards, including best picture.
By Susan King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

It was a golden night for the Coen brothers.

The iconoclastic filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen won three Academy Awards -- and made history Sunday evening -- with their wins for best picture, director and adapted screenplay for their gritty contemporary Western, "No Country for Old Men."

It also won an Oscar for supporting actor for Javier Bardem, who plays the merciless paid assassin at the center of the film.

Though "No Country for Old Men" is a quintessentially American movie -- and based upon the novel by Cormac McCarthy -- the 80th annual Academy Awards had a distinctly international flavor: All four acting winners were from Europe.

As predicted, Brit Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his gripping performance as a greedy oilman in "There Will Be Blood." The actor had won practically every major accolade this awards season for his audacious turn.

Frenchwoman Marion Cotillard was something of an upset, winning lead actress for her transcendent performance as France's tragic Little Sparrow -- chanteuse Edith Piaf -- in "La Vie En Rose." Going into the evening, the betting money was on veteran British actress Julie Christie for "Away From Her." Cotillard -- who transforms throughout the film from a gorgeous young girl to a frail, ailing woman -- also made history of sorts. She's the first actress to win this award for a performance in a foreign-language film since Sophia Loren did it for 1961's "Two Women."

Cotillard was clearly overwhelmed as she held the statuette aloft: "You rocked my life, you truly rocked my life," she said as she thanked the film's director. "Well, I'm speechless now. Thank you, life; thank you, love. It is true there are some angels in this city. Thank you so much."

Until Cotillard, the show's biggest surprise was Tilda Swinton upsetting favorites Amy Ryan and Ruby Dee for supporting actress for "Michael Clayton."

The shock was clear on Swinton's face: "Oh, no," she said. Looking down at the Oscar, celebrating its 80th anniversary, she added, "Happy birthday, man."

The British actress said she would be giving her Academy Award to her American agent, who is the "spitting image" of the Oscar.

Bardem's was one of the evening's first major awards. "This is pretty amazing," the Spaniard exclaimed, adding that he wouldn't hold it against the Coens for putting "one of the most horrible haircuts in history on my head."

He then broke into rapid-fire Spanish to thank, among others, his mother, who was also his date.

Diablo Cody could do no wrong this awards season.

The 29-year-old former-stripper-turned-screenwriter capped off her fairy-tale awards season by winning the Oscar for original screenplay for her bittersweet coming-of-age comedy, "Juno."

It was almost a fait accompli after she won a slew of other awards this season, including the Writers Guild of America and the Film Independent Spirit Award.

"What is happening?" asked Cody, who strode onstage in a billowy animal print dress with a thigh-high slit that she had to hold closed as she walked up to the stage. (But to be fair, it did showcase nicely that tattoo of a girl in a bikini on her right shoulder.) "This is for the writers," she said.

It was also an enchanted evening for the little Irish drama-with-music "Once," which took home the Oscar for original song for "Falling Slowly."

The song was written and performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who star in the film about two lonely souls who meet by chance on the streets of Dublin and quite literally make beautiful music together.

It was the evening's little tune that could: It was pitted in this category against three songs from the Disney hit film "Enchanted" as well as a song from "August Rush."

"What are we doing here?" Hansard asked as he and Irglova accepted the award, noting that the film cost about $100,000 to make and was shot in three weeks. "It's been an amazing thing; thank you for taking this film seriously."

"Atonement," the sweeping romantic drama, had seven nominations, but it has received one Oscar: original score for Dario Marianelli.

"There Will Be Blood," an epic about greed, ambition and oil, went into the evening with eight nominations. It was passed over except for Robert Elswit, who won for cinematography, and Day-Lewis.

"The Bourne Ultimatum" also had a big night: The spy thriller won three Oscars. Granted, they came in technical categories of editing, sound mixing and sound editing. But still. Three Oscars.

Presenter Tom Hanks had help introducing the nominees in the documentary short category from members of the nation's armed forces in Iraq. Soldiers read out the names of the nominees and the winner, "Freeheld," about a dying police detective who is trying to get her benefits for her life partner. The statuette for feature documentary went to "Taxi to the Dark Side," about torture practices of the U.S. overseas.

Past Oscar winner Nicole Kidman presented veteran production designer Robert Boyle, 98, an honorary Academy Award for contributions to cinema, which include "North By Northwest," "Marnie" and "Mame."

Austria's Holocaust drama "The Counterfeiters" won in the foreign-language film category. It was that country's first film to win such an honor.

Earlier in the evening, the bloody musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" was honored with an Oscar for art direction. Italian production designer Dante Ferretti and his wife, set designer Francesca Lo Schiavo, shared the honor.

"The Golden Compass" also led to an Oscar for visual effects.

"Thank you!" whooped the winners, including Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood.

Moments earlier, a rat named Remy scurried off with the Oscar for animated feature.

Writer-director Brad Bird won his second Oscar in this category for the Disney-Pixar blockbuster "Ratatouille," about a French rodent who dreamed of becoming a Parisian chef.

The French theme continued into the evening as "Le Mozart des Pickpockets" won for live action short film, and the makeup award went to Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald won for "La Vie En Rose."

The Oscar for animated short film went to "Peter & the Wolf."

That gave way to Amy Adams, who starred in the Disney hit "Enchanted," performing one of the film's three Oscar-nominated tunes, "Happy Working Song." Without the birds, rats and other critters whirling around her as they were in the movie, her performance seemed rather flat.

The 80th Annual Academy Awards got underway beneath gray skies and drizzles at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood with a montage homage to Hollywood. There were scenes from such films as "North by Northwest," "Aliens," "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Terminator."

The first Oscar of the evening went to Alexandra Byrne for costume design for the historical epic "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."

"These past 3 1/2 months were very rough," host Jon Stewart began, referring to the bitter work stoppage caused by the Writers Guild strike. "The fight is over. So tonight, welcome to the makeup sex."

He then took aim at the slate of "psychopathic killer movies" nominated for Oscars, among them "No Country for Old Men," "Sweeney Todd" and "There Will Be Blood," and asked: "Does this town need a hug?"

"Thank God for teen pregnancy," he quipped, referring to "Juno."

Academy Awards ceremonies may have been postponed, but the show has gone on despite wars, assassinations and the fickleness of Mother Nature. This year, the writers strike threatened to cancel the show, but a settlement was reached and the show went on as scheduled.

susan.king@latimes.com