As you can see from my last couple of blogs, I was on a mission to meet and snap a picture with Diablo Cody. Diablo personifies everything I dream to be...besides a stripper. The name, Diablo Cody, is a pen name for her given name Brook Busey. Her career spans from working as a clerk/secretary, to proofreading copy for advertisements, to stripping, to blogging, to writing for a local newspaper, to writing her memoir at age 24...and then most importantly she was asked by a high-level Hollywood Exec, who discovered and appreciated Diablo's blog, to write a screenplay. She agreed and wrote the script for the movie, Juno. Then (as we all know) “this” happened next...
Since her Oscar win, Diablo has been writing for a TV series about a woman who struggles to find a balance between her dissociative identity disorder (DID) and raising a dysfunctional family. Check it out at: United States of Tara on Showtime. Diablo has also been a recurring columnist for Entertainment Weekly and has a short acting scene in an upcoming episode of Beverly Hills 90210. In the future expect to see a new feature film, she wrote, titled Jennifer's Body, which will be in Theaters this Fall.
All I can say is...WOW! All this from a blog. It's no wonder I wanted to meet her 
!So when I discovered Diablo would be in town to accept the Maverick Spirit Award at Cinequest (San Jose Film Festival), I set out a plan to meet her and “hopefully” get our picture taken together.
Because I've been volunteering as a Theater Manager for Cinequest for the past five years, I know quite a few of the other volunteers/employees and figured it couldn't hurt to ask if anyone could help out a dear friend and fellow volunteer...namely me. To begin, I requested the day off work to plot my strategy. My husband, Dave, planned to go with me, but when he received an expedite call from his boss, he had no choice but to cancel our plans. As Dave knew how much it meant to me to meet Diablo, he agreed to meet me in Downtown San Jose before going into work. I arrived at the San Jose Repertory Theatre (a few minutes behind), snuck in a side door and began my backstage route. I stopped in the lobby area to say hello to friends and happened to notice there was no line outside and people were lounging around the lobby area. Shocked by the lack of people awaiting her arrival, I looked around and happened to notice a sign which read, “Due to the overwhelming response to the Diablo Cody Maverick Spirit Event, the venue is moving to The California Theatre” and it was scheduled a half an hour later. As I knew Dave was right behind me, I gave him a call and asked him to pick me up and drive me over to the California Theatre...he obliged. The lines in front of the Theatre were long, but I walked right into the Theatre and sat down in the front row. After the show, I quickly ran to the back of the Theatre to speak with the Ushers about getting me and a couple of friends, I met up with after the Event, backstage, but the Ushers told me I needed to confirm with Cinequest staff beforehand. One of the Ushers agreed to let me go through the backdoor to see if I could catch a glimpse of her, but I had to go by myself. So I apologized to my friends and quietly opened the backstage door to find my friend and Cinequest staff member standing nearby. She walked over to me and told me the media was interviewing her and she was unable to let me move in any further. Discouraged I turned around and walked back into the crowd. My friends were waiting for me and I recalled a backdoor area outside the back entrance of the Theatre, which may give us access to her. We ran around the back of the Theatre and patiently waited for her to walk out. Here is the interview she was giving while we were waiting outside:
After about 15 minutes a photographer walked out the back door and I promptly jumped to ask him if Diablo was on her way out. He said she'd just left through the front door. So obviously we walked (very quickly) back around the front side of the Theatre only to discover she'd already left. Don't worry, it wasn't over yet...I'd heard about a Cinequest VIP party at a nearby bar and began questioning Cinequest staff to see if she may show up there with her new fiance. I received a different answer from everyone I spoke with, but thought it couldn't hurt to try and see if she was there.
Problem was I didn't have the pass needed to get into the VIP Party, so I asked to borrow a friend's pass until she arrived, she nicely obliged to my determination to meet Diablo Cody. Next stop, the VIP Party! I arrived by myself and met up with a few friends, who at this point all knew I was determined to meet Diablo and wasn't giving up. There were free drinks, and I figured a couple of drinks would help to calm me down, so I decided to indulge in a little wine. I wandered around aimlessly searching for Diablo and after about 15 minutes I'd given up my search (for the time being) and began mingling. At one point, I was talking to one of Cinequest's photographers and he was showing me pictures of the Diablo Cody event on his camera, when I noticed a picture of Diablo which looked like it was taken at the very bar we were in. I said, "wait a minute, was this taken here?" He said, "yes about 5 minutes ago downstairs" and immediately I looked over at my friends and we all simultaneously knew our adventure was about to begin. We quickly ran downstairs searching everywhere for a glimpse of Diablo, but at the same time we did our best to remain inconspicuous. After we'd scoured downstairs in search of Diablo, we were about to give up again, when a good friend approached me and said, "okay, don't freak out" (of course, I knew right then), but Diablo Cody is upstairs and promise me you will not make a scene". "Oh, I promise", I said and cautiously began walking upstairs with my friends. I approached the top of the staircase, looked to my left and THERE SHE WAS, sitting at a table with several people surrounding her. I stopped to breathe and thought, "I'll need another drink for this one". So without losing sight of her, I walked over to the nearby bar and ordered a drink. With drink in hand, I slowly moved in closer and closer to her and again tried to act as inconspicuous as I possibly could. Soon thereafter Diablo moved out from behind the table and young girls approached her to ask for pictures. I patiently waited for the right moment. After what seemed like forever, she appeared to be done taking pictures with fans and she was being beckoned back to the table to partake in a round of shots. At that moment, I knew if I didn't jump now, I may lose my opportunity. So with some coaxing from my friends, I handed my friend my camera and asked Diablo if she wouldn't mind a joining in a picture with me? She very nicely said, "Yes, of course". As my friend was setting up "the perfect picture", I reached into my purse and handed her my Blog card. She smiled and at the same time, my friend said to her, "Cheri considers you to be her Idol". She said, "that's great! Very happy to hear it!". So after much perservarence and determination, the moment happened and here it is:
LOOK!!! She's holding my Blog card in her hand. Her first comment was, "Nice, I like the title, "Blogger Extraordinaire!" Here's an example of my business card:
Needless to say, this was one of the best days of my life! This is also proof perseverance, friendship and determination can go a long way...
Check out the video I shot of Diablo at the Maverick Spirit Event at cherithomas.com and also see other Movie trailers from Cinequest 19.
Here are a few more pictures from Cinequest 19th's Closing Gala:
Rochelle, Cheri, Carolyn and Melanie
Filmmakers on stage at Closing Gala - Me and Kathleen Powell (co-founder of Cinequest)
Roger Nygard (Producer of movie Nature of Existence) - Religious debate after movie
Good times :)
