Juno (film)
Diablo Cody was first approached to write a screenplay by film producer Mason Novick, who had previously landed her a book deal for her memoir, "", after discovering her blog about stripping. He persuaded her to adapt the book for the screen, but suggested that she first write a screenwriting sample to show studios; that sample became "Juno". After deciding on an adoption storyline, Cody collected the stories of adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents, including that of her then-husband, an adoptee who reunited with his birth parents after she wrote the film. She also found inspiration in the story of a close friend who had become pregnant in high school and used some details from her friend's experience in the film, such as mistreatment from an ultrasound technician. Much of "Juno", however, was based on Cody's own high school experiences: She dated a tic-tac-loving boy similar to Paulie, she was best friends with a cheerleader like Leah, and she used a hamburger phone identical to the one that appears in the film. After writing the screenplay over seven weeks in the Starbucks section of a Target store in Crystal, Minnesota, Cody compared writing to breathing, seeing Juno as an extension of herself.
Magic Rock
Gallo wrote the film's screenplay while a psychology student at Pennsylvania State University. Gallo based parts of the "Magic Rock" on his own 15 Summers spent at Camp Cody For Boys in Freedom, New Hampshire when a boy, and filmed the project on locations in Lake Ossipee, New Hampshire. Prior to its screening at the Stony Brook Film Festival on July 18, 2001, "The New York Times" wrote that "The idea for "Magic Rock" was inspired by Mr. Gallo's own experiences at sleep-away camp. The fictitious Camp Kobie was based on Camp Cody, on the shores of Ossipee Lake in New Hampshire, where Mr. Gallo spent 12 summers."