We've been raving about Juno lately, praising both its star, Ellen Page, and its writer, Diablo Cody. If you haven't heard much about Cody, here's the short version: Cody (née Brook Busey) is a former stripper who was "discovered" when a talent manager stumbled upon her blog. It's the kind of story that makes you suspicious — you wonder whether she really deserves it, or just got lucky because some schlub was Googling "stripper" one evening. But even if she never pens another screenplay as good as Juno, that one alone makes her a star in my book.

For some people, though, that might have to be all she wrote, at least for a while. Cody's next film is a horror movie, and it sounds pretty gory. Titled Jennifer's Body, it's the tale of a homecoming queen who is possessed by satanic forces and starts to actually devour the boys she dates. "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" meets Freeway, maybe, plus a dash of Sweeney Todd? Early word is that the tone will be more like Heathers — but with more blood. I'm already looking forward to it.

This week, Jennifer's Body got a director, Karyn Kusama. Cody expressed her excitement on her MySpace blog:

I'm stoked as hell. More than anyone, she gets it. She gets it. I'm feeling an early-stage mind-meld, and it is excellent.

Megan Fox (Transformers) will play Jennifer. … continue reading