Diablo Cody on Madonna Biopic: ‘Can’t Believe I Got to Spend a Summer Hanging Out with’ Her (Exclusive)

Diablo Cody has had more than one pinch-me moment working with Madonna.

Back in 2020, Madonna confirmed that she was working on a screenplay for a movie about her life with Oscar- and Tony-winning writer Cody Juno and Jennifer’s body. After Ozark star Julia Garner was cast to play the pop singer in the film, in January 2023 it was announced that the project had been put on hold indefinitely.

Cody, 45, tells PEOPLE that he “can’t talk” about the script and doesn’t know much about where it is currently in the development process.

“I don’t know. And I feel bad because people keep asking me. They wonder, ‘Is it going to come out?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know, but I want it,'” Cody says.

Still, the writer is thrilled to have spent time working intimately with Madonna, 65.

“I’m obsessed with Madonna,” she says. “I’m still Madonna’s #1 fan and I still can’t believe I got to spend the summer hanging out with Madonna. Who can do that? Especially an 80s kid, are you kidding me?”

Julia Garner hopes Madonna biopic could still happen despite film being put on hold: ‘Fingers crossed’

Diablo Cody.

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Did anything about the “Crazy for You” singer surprise Cody? She says no: “That’s the thing, because Madonna, unlike a lot of celebrities where you see behind the mask and go, ‘Oh, okay. They’re whatever.’ Madonna is Madonna. She’s a superstar. You want to talk about superhumans? That’s one.”

In 2020, when the biopic was first announced, Madonna said in a statement: “I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being trying to make her way in this world. The focus of this film will always be music. Music kept me going and art kept me alive.”

There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell them than me,” she added at the time.

“It’s important to share the roller coaster ride of your life with your voice and vision,” she added at the time.

With a new teenage comedy Lisa FrankensteinCody goes back to 1989 for the set, complete with costumes and props from that era — some of which she’d love to see come back.

“I was definitely able to pull my teenage years and my ’80s childhood out of it,” she tells PEOPLE. “I vividly remember the hair, the colors, the vibe, the music. I have an emotional connection to that time.”

Diablo Cody teases a Jennifer’s body Reboot or Sequel: ‘I Think Something’s Gonna Happen’ (Exclusive)

Kathryn Newton in “Lisa Frankenstein”.

Michele K. Short / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Cody teases that there’s “some rare ’80s aesthetic in this movie,” adding, “The ’80s were great. Everything was bigger. It was a really ridiculous, over-the-top, over-the-top time that I remember well.”

“Here’s what needs to come back: If you watch ’80s movies, there are so many gorgeous bombshell women with big, curly hair. Where did this go? I feel like they’re all keratin straightened now. I want to see the big, curly hair of the early Nicole type- Kidman in the zeitgeist.”

Lisa Frankenstein is in theaters on Friday.

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Source: HIS Education