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Diablo Cody Goes to Sweet Valley High

Posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 by Peter Sciretta

Diablo Cody

Universal is in discussions to acquire the rights to 152-book series Sweet Valley High with Diablo Cody attached to adapt the franchise for the big screen. Cody apparently grew up on the series, and developed a take on the property. According to HeatVision, the package was taken around town last week and spawned a bidding war between Fox 2000, Mandate and Universal.

I’m one of the few people not on the Cody hate-wagon, and I actually quite enjoy her dialogue, but this isn’t really a project I care to ever see. That said, I think Cody is the perfect screenwriter to tackle this series. If Jennifer’s Body proved anything (other than that Megan Fox can’t open a movie on her own) it is that Cody is good at writing relationships between teenage girls. The strongest part of Body was the friendship between Fox and Seyfried’s characters.

The book series was created by Francine Pascal in 1983, and was written by many ghostwriters over the twenty year history. The books revolved around the lives of teenage twin sisters Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, who lived in the fictional town of Sweet Valley, California.

Comments

lelandbrungardt

Yay?

Gelman

This movie will cost little to make but will find a lot of success at the box office provided she creates it with young girls in mind. If she tries to trash it up with sex and drugs, it'll have no audience whatsoever.

Shannon

I can't imagine her target audience will be young girls. I'm thinking (hoping) she'll snark it up, make fun of the books and target twenty- and thirty-somethings who also grew up reading the series.

sex toys

she is beautiful

Jake

Talk about an irrelevant news week.

evanz

Sweet Valley, Sweet Valley, Sweet Valllllllleyyyyyyyy Highhhhhh

Indeed.

skatalite

This woman needs to stop.

Landfill

Must be opposite day.

whattheydontsay

152-book series? In 24 years? Holy hell, I can't imagine the overall story stayed intact through the years. Cody's a pop star though, I take her dialogue for what it is and have fun watching the films. So I dig it.

Sideshow Raheem

I'm starting to feel that Diablo Cody is the female equivalent of Kevin Smith. Like Smith she has a very specific way of writing dialog and some people just hate it so she will always be polarizing. I don't think she'll ever have another box office smash hit like "Juno" but like Smith I think she'll find a cult audience(if she doesn't already have one) that will always make her films financially viable in the long run. Best of luck to her.

P.S.

I also really liked "Jennifer’s Body"

darusame

I completely agree. That's actually the comparison I recently made when one of my friends (who love Kevin Smith movies) complained that her writing is too unnatural. People impose a narrative on her way of writing dialogue that doesn't exist.

GregoryV

You know, Diablo Cody scribe and Kevin Smith directing sounds like a collaboration waiting to happen. Of course, I predict a lot of creative clash.

Gelman

The movie could just be the two of them in the same room yelling at each other about a script.

september11th

i couldn't care less about her work, but I am always conflicted, trying to decide if I would hit that or not. Today I am leaning towards yes.

Landfill

Was it the image at the top of this article that did it for you?

jewjitsu

Haha same here man, same here.

And yes september11th, Im also leaning towards yes today and it was because of the image used for the article. Good pick! (mmm pun)

BamaJuice

She does look good....Real good....Either way, I'm a fan of her work.

starscream9289

I would tear that apart. Sexually.

Captain_Howdy

I wonder would Diablo be given license to modernize it (I'd imagine so) or keep it in the 80s, seeing as that period is kinda trendy right now. Lord knows why.

Mike

There was already a TV show on Sweet Valley High in the 90s staring Brittany Daniel and her sister is I recall?

evanz

Pretty sure every guy here of a certain age is thinking about that show.

jasonb26

happiness & taking pleasure in yer work are understandable, but whatever happened to professional integrity?

i get wanting to work on a project that is close to one's heart...but cody's heading into that cursed territory of people who win an oscar then proceed to commit career suicide by choosing projects that any idiot would deem a bad choice - see: halle barry & cuba gooding jr...on top of many others.

she's really giving her detractors every ounce of leverage in calling her a fluke/one 'hit' wonder.

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