Diablo Cody Quits Directing

Diablo Cody is one of my favorite Hollywood badasses and a phenomenal talent, to boot. The writer, producer and director is behind some of the best movies and TV series of the past decade, including but not limited to The United States of Tara , Young Adult, and Juno . She's a clever and prolific artist whose work is smart and heartening in the best possible ways and I've rarely met anyone who disagrees with that assessment. That's why Cody's announcement that she'll no longer direct was so disappointing; she's really good at it, so why stop now? Was it because she'd found her true passion in another medium? She couldn't commit to directing because of time constraints? Turns out, the answer is neither of those and something a bit more complicated.

Talking to the Hollywood Reporter, Cody revealed that she's retiring from directing as she doesn't think her skills in that area are up to scratch. "I don't think I possess the leadership qualities required to be a director," she explained. While she didn't elaborate on that feeling, it's clear that her experience with directing 2013's Paradise , which received generally negative reviews from critics, did nothing to encourage her to further pursue such work. And while that's rather upsetting to hear, the good thing is that she has no plans to quit producing and screenwriting — two fields in which she's excelled and seems quite happy continuing with.

At the end of the day, Cody is but one person and she can't do everything, so while Cody's opinion that she's not capable of being a good director isn't necessarily true — after all, it takes more than one project to develop a proficiency and ease with a new venture, and I think most of us would happily have watched another Cody-directed movie if it happened — it does at least make sense from a career perspective. She's a wife and a mother of two young children, and being a writer, producer, and a director likely didn't give her much time with her family. If nothing else, crossing the director title off her list will give her even a little more time with those that mean the most to her.

As Cody explained, "I have a creative job and I'm very passionate about it, and it is time-consuming. Are my kids going to see that as something admirable or are they going to resent me for it? I don't know what the answer is, although I've talked to a lot of older parents who have told me that I should probably steel myself for disappointment." With that in mind, her decision to step down from the director's chair makes more logical sense than many of us would probably like to admit.

Whatever ventures Cody decides to pursue in the future, the most important thing is that she feels fulfilled artistically, and that we're lucky enough to witness her incredible ideas and talent manifest on our screens. I don't care what roles she plays within those projects, I just want her mark on them. Then I'll know they're going to be good.

Image: Getty Images; Giphy