Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and Academy Award Winner Diablo Cody to Produce “Death of a Pop Star” Adaptation with Writer Isa Mazzei
The live-action film will be based on the WEBTOON webcomic with 33 million views
LOS ANGELES AND TORONTO – May 28, 2024 – Oscar winner Diablo Cody and Oscar nominee Mason Novick, with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven studio and IP business from WEBTOON Entertainment, are adapting the popular WEBTOON webcomic “Death of a Pop Star” as a film. The script will be written by buzzy screenwriter and producer Isa Mazzei (“Cam,” “Faces of Death,” “How to Blow Up A Pipeline”).
Written by creator Violet Karim and with 33 million global views online, “Death of a Pop Star” will bring to life the supernatural story of Sophie, a beloved pop star at the top of her game -- until she takes a tumble from the top of the stairs and wakes up in Hell. But lucky for her, the Grim Reaper is her number one fan and, in a desperate attempt to save his idol, secretly gives Sophie a second chance at life back on Earth. But with Sophie’s resurrection comes a deadly target on her back when she’s threatened with being dragged back to Hell.
Diablo Cody’s debut film, “Juno,” won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, and the Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay. She has since written a number of critically acclaimed films including “Young Adult,” “Tully,” and the now cult-classic “Jennifer’s Body.” Cody also created the Emmy Award-winning series “United States of Tara” with Steven Spielberg, and she won a Tony Award for her hit Broadway musical, “Jagged Little Pill.”
Named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Mazzei is the writer and producer behind Blumhouse’s psychological horror film “Cam,” as well as producer of NEON’s 2022 eco-thriller “How to Blow Up A Pipeline.” Her first book, “Camgirl,” was selected as one of NPR’s favorite books, and her writing has also been featured in New York Magazine’s The Cut, Glamour Magazine, and Het HEM’s The Couch. She is currently in post-production on an adaptation of “Faces of Death” that she wrote and produced for Legendary Pictures.
Cody will produce the film alongside Oscar-nominated producer Mason Novick (“Juno,” “Red Eye,” “500 Days of Summer,” “Lisa Frankenstein”). Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ Aron Levitz, David Madden and Jason Goldberg will serve as executive producers.
“‘Death of a Pop Star’ is one of those titles that just lends itself so perfectly to a live-action adaptation,” said Aron Levitz, President of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. “Violet created such a mesmerizing, must-read story, and when it came to choosing a partner to help us bridge the gap between the living and the dead, who else does that better than Diablo Cody?”
"As a huge fan of both pop music and the undead, I am so excited to help bring this offbeat story to the screen,” said Cody.
Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’s growing slate of film and TV projects includes Rachel Smythe’s WEBTOON sensation “Lore Olympus" with The Jim Henson Company; “Chasing Red'' with Stampede Ventures and writer Jessika Borsiczky (“Sex/Life,” “UnREAL”); “Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell” with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment; “Freaking Romance” with Skybound Entertainment; A. Rasen’s nightmare-filled WEBTOON hit “Gremoryland; and many other upcoming projects.