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.
Jim Mendiola
During Mendiola's Artpace residency in 2001, he collaborated with artist Ruben Ortiz Torres to create “Ozzy Goes to the Alamo,” which the duo claims to be “the world’s first Chicano 3-D movie.” Mendiola wrote and directed the one-hour movie "Come and Take It Day" (PBS national broadcast, 2002) starring Jacob Vargas and Jesse Borrego. Mendiola's first feature film, a rock and roll digital movie called "Speeder Kills" (2003) starring Amalia Ortiz and Xelina Flores, has screened at various film festivals across the country and was nationally broadcast on SíTV in the Spring of 2005. His script, “All the Young Dudes,” was chosen for participation in the 2004 IFP Screenwriter’s Lab and is currently in development. In addition, Mendiola is writing a screen adaptation of the Sandra Cisneros short story, "Bien Pretty."