Major studio notes on JUNO

Ken Levine (not Ken Levine) is a television writer (MASH, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons, and a bunch of others). More specifically, he is a television comedy writer.

At his blog, by Ken Levine, he ruminates on the business of Hollywood and film and television (and baseball, but he's an American, and that's the sport you follow down there). He's very funny.

In November, in his annual Holiday Movie Preview, this is what he wrote of Juno: "Teenager puts her baby up for adoption. Great buzz on the script. Written by a former stripper. If the strike drags on forever she at least has something to fall back on."

Told you. He's a funny guy.

Yesterday, he wrote the notes that he imagines a major movie studio would have given on Diablo Cody's script for Juno.

For those of you who may not know, notes are the suggested changes that are passed on to a writer or producer. Sometimes calling them "suggestions" is just being nice. They are suggestions in the same way that a military draft is a volunteer effort.

When Juno says “it all started with a chair”, we’re missing an opportunity for a block comedy scene and a trailer moment by not seeing the actual sex act between Juno and her boyfriend. Make it funny and not explicit of course. We’re missing a bet for physical comedy – two horny teenagers, a chair – imagine young versions of Jim Carrey and Carol Burnett. Wow!

In this current draft the parents react to Juno’s pregnancy announcement by accepting it. This seems false. We’ve certainly never seen a scene like this. We believe they should be furious. Unless they really scream at Juno we don’t believe they love her.

The very notion of an abortion clinic is a downer. Not to mention controversial. Do we even have to raise this issue? How ever they handled it in KNOCKED UP, just do that.

Read the rest of the notes over here.