november11–24, 2019 | newyork 105could write anything I wanted and just
shoot it out there, and that was a thrill, you
know? Now it’s something everybody takes
for granted.
You had amazing luck with timing, when
you could actually become a famous
screenwriter from blogging. That does
not seem like a path to success right now.
I don’t even think I would have been
any kind of exceptional voice in today’s
landscape of online writing. Juno was
probably the last moment you could write
an indie movie starring an unknown
Canadian teenager and do thatkind of
business. I was able to have that classic
Hollywood experience at the last possible
moment it was possible to have that.
A lot of the original coverageof Juno
was framed as “Climbing the Stripper
Pole to Hollywood Stardom.” That nar-
rativedidnotagewell.
No,it didn’t.Someofthestuffthat was
writtenthen—canyouimagineif thecover-
age wasthesamenow?It wouldn’t bedone.
Somuchofthecriticismofyoubackin
2007 orsojustfeltso, so, sosexistwhen
I wasreadingit.IfyouhadwonanOscar
now,there’snowaypeoplewouldhave
shitonwhatyouwore totheawards.
I thinkpeoplewouldprobablystillshit
onme,butnowtheanglewouldbesome-
thingabout“tone-deafprivilege”and
“whitestripper.” It wouldjust bea differ-
entbacklash.I wouldhavedeservedit,by
theway. It’sa validcriticism,forsure.
Tome, itfeelslike thestrippernarra-
tivewasthisTrojanhorseyouusedto
sneaka nerdymidwesterngirlobsessed
with herhometownintoHollywood.
You’ve made 15 yearsofgenerallypretty
wholesomemovies.
I’mproudofthat because,whenI first
cametotown,everybodyassumedI was
goingtobeexclusivelypushingstripping
projects.I wenttoHBOtopitchUnited
StatesofTara,andthiswasbeforeJuno
hadcomeout.I pitchedthewholething,
andtheysaid,“Well,wewerepreparedto
buy ashow from you today, butwe
thoughtyouwerebringingusa stripping
show.We don’t wantthis.”
YoubasicallycreatedDiabloCodyasa
separatepersonfromBrooktoconHol-
lywood.WhoisDiablotoyounow?
I don’t havemuchofa relationship
withDiabloCodyanymore.Oneofmy
proudestmomentsasa parentwaswhen
myoldest sonlearnedtoread.He picked
upmyOscarandsaid,“Who’sDiablo
Cody?”becausehehadneverevenheard
thenameinourhouse.I guessnowit’ s
reallyjustkindofa S e si
tion,whereI havean can
uponwhenI needto.I havethistheory thateveryonehas
atinyformerthemintheirheadthat
theycheckinwithformoral-compass
purposes.Doyouhavealittle, young
Brookwho’smakingsureyou’restay-
ingthecourse?
No.Grown-upmeis makingsureI stay
thecourse.LittleBrookis a meanmachine
thatjust wantstoindulge herself. I’m
keepingLittleBrookincheck.If anything,
I wouldsayI’vedevelopeda compassin
adulthoodthatI didn’t havewhenI was
young.I justwaslike a self-indulgent,self-
centeredartist. I don’t knowa lotofkin-
dergartnerswitha superiority complex,
butI cantellyouthatI wasone.
Soyouhada feelingyouwere meant
forbetterthings.
Ohhellyeah.I wouldsaywhenI found
success,I canassureyounooneinmy
hometownwasrootingforme.Instead,
I’msurethereactionwaslike,“Ohno.
That bitchwasright.”
Alanishasalsofacedsomebacklash.
Didyoutwoevertalkaboutit?
Shegota littlebit,butshealsosolda
gazillionrecords,whichI thinkwould
havesalvedmy wounds.Thereisa price
onmydignity. ButforAlanis,I thinkthe
mostpainfulthingwasjust losingher
anonymity completely.I nevergottoa
levelwhereI wasbeingpaparazziedor
anythinglike that, whereasshewasoneof
thebiggeststarsintheworldandisstill
veryrecognizable.I thinkthat wasa lot
forherbecauseshewantedtobefamous,
andshethoughtit wasgoingtosolveher
Th e gotitandhadthis
r th y celebritiesseemto
have,whichisthat it solvesnothingandinfactkindofexacerbatesyourpersonal
paintobefamous.
You’restillthelastwomantohave
wonanoriginalscreenwritingOscar.
Is that true? Wow.I dolookat thenom-
ineesevery yeartoseehowmany women
areincluded,andI’malwaysupset.
Itdoesfeellikenowwe’requickto cel-
ebratewomen’s successinHollywood, yet
I wonderhowmuchhasactuallychanged.
Everythinghaschanged.I remember
beingtoldbyUPN,if youwanttotake it
wayback,that I couldn’t havea gay char-
acterina pilotI waswriting.Nowno one
woulddaretosaythat. It wastremen-
douslydifficult toconvincepeople to
investinunlikablefemaleprotagonists
whenI started.I can’t imaginea show like
Fleabagsucceedinga decadeago the way
it hasnow.It’sfascinatinghowmuch I’ve
watchedthingschange injust 15years. So
that’sgreat. Thatmakesmehappy.
You’vesaidpartofthereason you
starteddoingmoreTVisbecauseitkeeps
youinL.A.I appreciatehowrealistic and
candidyou’ve beenabouthowyou navi-
gatea careerandalsohaveafamily
insteadofthisideaof“Ofcourse. I’m a
superwoman,andI justdoit.”
No.Hellno.I wake upeveryday and I
havetopickone.I havetosay, “AmI going
toprioritizemycareertoday ormy kids?”
Youcan’t doboth.I canhavedaysof the
weekwhenmychildrenarethepriority,
andthentherearedayswhenthey’re not.
I wishI couldsay, “Oh,they’realways the
priority,”butrightnowI’minNew York
andthey’reinLosAngeles.I ama bad
mother right now. And that’sokay,
PHOTOGRAPH: becauseI’mprovidingforthem. ■
JENNY
ANDERSON
Alanis Morissette and Diablo Cody.