Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody says she “still can’t believe” she worked with Madonna, telling ABC Audio it was “a dream come true” to co-write her idol’s biopic.
The Queen of Pop announced in September 2020 that she would be directing her own biopic, and tapped Cody to co-write the script with her. According to Madge, the movie is a “happy, sad, mad, crazy, good, bad and ugly” story of her rise to stardom.
“I still can’t believe that’s how I was able to spend my summer,” Cody said of the experience. “She’s incredible! I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody with a work ethic like that before.”
“Madonna is just on another level,” the Juno writer continued. “I can’t really say that much about [the movie] but I can say that I’m profoundly grateful for the experience.”
Cody also said the collaboration was a bucket-list experience, explaining, “If you had told me when I was in the fifth grade that some day I would get to hang out with Madonna and breathe the same air as Madonna and sit at her knee as she shared the stories of her life? I would never have believed you.”
Madonna isn’t the only pop star the screenwriter’s worked with recently. Cody teamed with Alanis Morissette to transform her breakthrough Jagged Little Pill album into a two-time Tony Award-winning musical, which has been adapted into a young adult novel.
As for which star Cody hopes to work with next, she tells ABC Audio that Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson is her “favorite,” adding, “Brian Wilson is my hero…To collaborate creatively with him would be the dream.”
And while she admits she doesn’t “know if I’ll ever get the chance” to work with Wilson, Cody says there’s no harm in putting that energy “out there.”
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