“Young Adult,” the drama written by former Twin Citian Diablo Cody and starring Charlize Theron, doesn’t open until December but an audience in Edina got a look at it Wednesday night. The Oscar-winning pair teamed up on the tale of a writer who now lives in Minneapolis but returns to her small town to pursue the high school guy (Patrick Wilson) she may still have a crush in. Complication? He’s married and a new dad. Other complication? She doesn’t care.
Cody and director Jason Reitman (who also made her “Juno”) introduced the sneak preview screening of “Young Adult” _- which includes a few snappy images of the Stone Arch Bridge and Theron in a skyway — at the Edina Theatre and took questions afterward. Cody said her screenplay was partially inspired by nasty former classmates and partially by the desire to create “a female antihero, which I haven’t seen much” in the movies. Asked why she keeps setting her screenplays in Minnesota even though she only lived four of her 33 years here, Cody said, “Clearly, I have some kind of Minnesotan complex…This continues to be the most inspiring place I’ve ever lived.” She also promised she’s not done writing Minnesota-set movies. However, her next film — also her directing debut, it’s tentatively titled “Lamb of God” and it will star Julianne Hough — is set in Vegas.