User:Bzuk/Sandbox/Juno (film)

Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, a sharp-tongued teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy. Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman also star.

The film earned overwhelmingly positive reviews, making many critics' top ten lists for 2007. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and received three other Oscar nominations including Best Picture. A financial success, Juno made back its budget of $6.5 million in only 20 days, 19 of which the film was in limited release, and it has gone on to earn more than 30 times that amount.

Plot
Sixteen-year-old Minnesota high-schooler Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) discovers she is nine weeks pregnant with a child fathered by her friend and longtime admirer, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). Although she initially opts for an abortion, a last-minute change of heart leads her to decide to have the baby and make a plan for the child's adoption. With the help of her friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno searches the Pennysaver and finds a couple she feels will provide a suitable home. Along with her father, Mac (J. K. Simmons), Juno meets the couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), in their expensive home and finalizes the arrangements for a closed adoption.

As time passes, Juno forms a friendship with Mark, with whom she shares tastes in rock music, horror movies, and pop culture. Mark, a commercial jingle composer whose rock band youth is now confined to boxes of memorabilia and a single room of the house which his wife has allotted him, has set aside his dreams to lead a conservative life with Vanessa, who longs to be a mother. As a previous potential birth mother had "gotten cold feet," Vanessa is extremely anxious around Juno and their initial interactions are uneasy. However, Juno and Leah happen to see Vanessa in a shopping mall being totally at ease with a child, and Juno encourages Vanessa to talk to Juno's baby in the womb, where it obligingly kicks for her.

Months pass and Juno struggles with the emotions she feels for her baby's father, Paulie, who is clearly – although passively – in love with Juno. Juno maintains an outwardly indifferent attitude toward Paulie. However, when she learns he has asked another girl to the prom, she is hurt and angrily confronts him. Paulie reminds Juno that it is at her request they remain distant and tells her that she broke his heart. He also suggests that she has feelings for him she is unable to admit.

Not long before her baby is due, Juno is once again visiting with Mark when their friendship becomes flirtatious. Mark then confesses that he is leaving Vanessa. Vanessa arrives home and an argument ensues between her and Mark about whether or not it is "bad timing" for them to proceed with the adoption. As she watches their marriage fall apart, Juno leaves and cries on the side of the road before coming to a decision. Returning to the Lorings' home, she leaves a note for Vanessa.

After a heartfelt discussion with her father, Juno accepts that she loves Paulie and reveals her feelings to him. Later at his track event, when Paulie notices Juno is not in the stands and realizes she must be in labor, he rushes to the hospital to be with her after the delivery. He comforts Juno as she cries, and they both agree not to see the child, "who was never really theirs, anyway." Vanessa comes to the hospital where she alone joyfully claims the newborn boy as a now-single adoptive mother. On the wall in the baby's new nursery, Vanessa has framed Juno's note, which reads "Vanessa: If you're still in, I'm still in. -Juno." The film ends with Juno and Paulie playing guitar and singing together sometime later, followed by a kiss.

Themes
Along with Knocked Up and Waitress, two other 2007 films about women facing unplanned pregnancies, Juno was interpreted by some critics as having a pro-life theme. Ann Hulbert of Slate magazine believed that Juno "[undercut] both pro-life and pro-choice purism," while Jeff Dawson of The Sunday Times believed that the film was inevitably placed in the "unwanted pregnancy sub-genre" with Knocked Up and Waitress due to its subject matter, but thought that its interpretation as a pro-life film only "muddied the waters". Hadley Freeman of The Guardian criticized Juno for "complet[ing] a hat-trick of American comedies in the past 12 months that present abortion as unreasonable, or even unthinkable - a telling social sign," though she noted, "I don't believe any of these films is consciously designed to be anti-abortion propaganda." A. O. Scott, writing for The New York Times, agreed that Juno has "an underlying theme, a message that is not anti-abortion but rather pro-adulthood." Ellen Page commented, "What I get most frustrated at is when people call it a pro-life movie, which is just absurd... The most important thing is the choice is there and the film completely demonstrates that." Both Cody and Page have openly stated that they are pro-choice, while Jason Reitman thought that it was "fantastic" that both pro-life and pro-choice groups were embracing the film.

Other critics labeled Juno as feminist because of its portayal of Juno as an atypically confident and intelligent teenage girl. Antifeminist Phyllis Schlafly wrote that Juno ' s theme "isn't love, romance, or respect for life, but the triumph of feminist ideology, i.e., the irrelevancy of men, especially fathers." Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe noted that "Juno serves cool, intelligent girls something they rarely see in a movie: themselves." Cody said about writing the film, "Women are clever, women are funny, women are sharp, and I wanted to show that these girls were human and not the stereotypical teenage girls that we often see in the media" and "There was a lack of authentic teen girl characters.... I saw writing this screenplay as an opportunity to create an iconic female." Page praised the film for its positive depiction of teenage girls, describing Juno's character as "really refreshing and allow[ing] for new possibilities in what young women can be" and "honest but original, completely devoid of stereotype," while also highlighting that "Girls haven't had that sort of character before. We don't have our Catcher in the Rye." She criticized others' interpretation of the film as feminist, saying that if Juno were a male character, the role would not be described as particularly masculine. Reitman was interested in the personal/political conflict for Vanessa's character: "Feminism has paved the way for Vanessa’s career, but ultimately Vanessa wants to be a full time mother."

Still considering the theme of teenage pregnancy, another aspect was explored in depicting Juno as emblematic of a growing tendency to consider a baby as a fashion accessory for young teen mothers. Lumped in with other celebrity announcements of teen motherhood, the film was seen as part of a trend that was marked by a first time increase in teen birth rate that the National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.) noted broke a 15-year record of decreasing numbers. Cathy Gulli examined the statistics in both Canada and the United States as an element of femininity and "normalized" acceptance of teens both seeking to take on maturity and motherhood at the same time.

Casting
Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff: Director Jason Reitman said about casting Page, "When I looked at Hard Candy, I thought, 'Wow. This girl's really in control, she can turn on a dime. There is a cleverness to the way that she does anything. She is really sharp and wise beyond her years.' And when I met her, I found all that warmth, what makes her so sweet. This is Juno." Page contributed some key elements to the Juno character, such as conceiving of Juno's wardrobe of flannel shirts and sweater vests, her love of the Moldy Peaches, and her ironic use of "fo' shizz".

Michael Cera as Paulie Bleeker: Known for his teen roles on TV's Arrested Development and in Superbad, Cera joked about being drawn to the script due to its bizarre, almost book-like format: "I remember certain paragraphs were just broken up oddly. I was like, 'How real is this?' That made me want to do the movie. I thought that well, if it is written oddly -- if it is not written like a script -- it has got to be a good movie. And now I know that that is not the way to make a decision." Cera has said that what he really liked about playing Bleeker is "my character is just kind of immediately left out of the equation, like he did not have any sort of control in the matter. This is a movie that takes course over nine months or so, and I spend it all unaware of what is going on and with no control over it. I thought that would be fun to do."

Jennifer Garner as Vanessa Loring.

Jason Bateman as Mark Loring: A former child star who more recently starred in the sitcom Arrested Development, Bateman came onto Juno late but was drawn to the film's script and crew. To keep his character sympathetic, Bateman thought it would be more interesting to play his character as "a guy who's a little bit guilty about not growing the way everybody else in the story does. Everybody else seems to kind of emancipate themselves and/or take a big proactive step forward in life, and he doesn't... Mark doesn't really have the balls to do that or the work ethic to do that. You can empathize with a guy like that. It's a little pathetic, but I hope it's interesting to watch as opposed to being just sort of a one-dimensional prick."

Allison Janney as Brenda MacGuff: Well-known from the long-running TV series The West Wing, Janney was drawn to the project by the writing. "Diablo Cody’s script for Juno was very, very special. It struck me in the first two pages—her dialogue and rhythms. At first you wonder, is it believable? But then I met her and yes, that’s pretty much how she talks." The Times notes that the screenplay has "an egalitarian generosity" that gives "every character ... a share of the best gags. Janney’s obvious love of sharp-tongued wisecracks is rewarded with a handful of devastatingly funny putdowns. Her acidic tirade against a hapless ultrasound technician is one of the funniest moments of the film."

J.K. Simmons as Mac MacGuff: Known for playing Vernon Schillinger on HBO's Oz and J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man films, Simmons, who was featured in Jason Reitman's first film Thank You For Smoking, was given the script by the director without being told what role he was considered for: "Jason handed it to me and said, 'This is really great, you have got to read this.' And he didn't actually say, 'I want you to play Mac.' He just told me to read it. I read along, thinking, 'If he wanted me to play Mac, he would have said something. I'd rather play Mac, but this is so genius!' By the time I finished reading the script, I literally would have played the high school teacher that Olivia Thirlby flirts with [who has no lines in the film]. I had to be in this movie."

Olivia Thirlby as Leah.

Lucas McFadden (Cut Chemist) as the Chemistry Teacher: Renowned DJ/producer Cut Chemist (of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli) makes an cameo appearance at the beginning of the film. The musician was doing some scoring work for director Reitman when he received the Juno screenplay and asked McFadden to be in the film. McFadden explained, "He has a funny sense of humor and he thought it would be cool for insiders if I was the chemistry teacher."

Production
Screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote the script in a Crystal, Minnesota Target coffee shop, and set the story in Minnesota.

Though funded with American money, Juno was principally shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia with a Canadian crew, was helmed by Montreal-born director Jason Reitman, and stars Halifax, Nova Scotia's Ellen Page and Brampton, Ontario's Michael Cera. The Canada-as-America switch is common in cinema, but there were some noticeable lapses as West Coast mountain ranges appeared in the background of what is meant to be midwestern Minnesota. The majority of the suburban Minnesota feel was provided by British Columbia stand-in locations at the Coquitlam Centre Mall and Port, the Hanna Medical Clinic in Burnaby, the Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver and various sites in White Rock. The MacGuff home was in Surrey's Morgan Creek district near the Elgin Heritage Park.

Theatrical release
Juno premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.

Home media
The movie will be released on DVD and Blu-ray disc on April 15, 2008. It will be available in a single disc DVD edition, which includes the movie along with an audio commentary by director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody, 11 deleted scenes, a gag reel, a "Cast & Crew Jam", and screen tests. A two-disc DVD edition will also be released, which includes the same extra content and four additional featurettes ("Way Beyond 'Our' Maturity Level: Juno – Leah – Bleeker", "Diablo Cody Is Totally Boss", "Jason Reitman For Shizz", and "Honest To Blog! Creating Juno"). The Blu-ray version will include all the two-disc DVD edition extras and two additional featurettes: "Fox Movie Channel Presents: Juno World Premiere" and "Fox Movie Channel Presents: Casting Session".

Box office performance
In limited release and playing in only seven theaters in Los Angeles and New York City, Juno grossed US$420,113 over its debut weekend, averaging $60,016 per screen. When Juno became Fox Searchlight's first film to surpass $100 million at the box office, the company's president Peter Rice issued the statement: "This is an astonishing feat for us and the film has surpassed all our expectations. We knew this film had cross over potential and it has resonated with audiences all across the country." The film has grossed $142,151,890 in the United States and $70,917,544 in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $213,069,434 as of April 6, 2008. It was also the highest-grossing of the five Best Picture nominees for the 80th Academy Awards and is the highest-grossing platform release film ever.

Critical reaction
The movie benefited from an extremely positive critical reception; as of March 15 2008 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 164 reviews. On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 81 out of 100, based on 37 reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars and called it "just about the best movie of the year. [...] Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I don't think so."

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007:


 * 1st - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
 * 1st - Paste magazine staff
 * 1st - Best Comedy, Rotten Tomatoes
 * 1st - Dan Plazarin, ''Cincinnati Enquirer
 * 3rd - David Germain, Associated Press
 * 4th - James Berardinelli, ReelViews
 * 4th - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
 * 4th - Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times
 * 4th - Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times


 * 6th - Claudia Puig, USA Today
 * 6th - Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
 * 6th - Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
 * 6th - Liam Lacey and Rick Groen, The Globe and Mail
 * 6th - Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
 * 7th - Corina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
 * 7th - Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
 * 10th - A.O. Scott, The New York Times (tied with Knocked Up and Superbad)
 * 10th - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone (tied with Knocked Up)
 * 10th - Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Awards
The film received four 2008 Academy Awards nominations: Best Original Screenplay, which Diablo Cody won, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Ellen Page.

Reitman publicly expressed his disappointment that Juno did not garner any Canadian Genie Award nominations: "It's a Canadian director, Canadian stars, Canadian cast, Canadian crew, shot in Canada—how are we not eligible for a Genie when David Cronenberg's film about Russians living in London shot in England with a British crew and British cast is eligible? I'm sorry, but somebody is going to have to explain that to me; I don't get it." Sara Morton, the head of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, issued a statement explaining that the film had never been submitted for Genie Award consideration by its studio. The Hollywood Reporter explained that Genie rules define Canadian films as financed at least in part by Canadian sources, and because American companies Mandate Pictures and Fox Searchlight were the sole funders, Juno was ineligible. Nonetheless, Genie spokesman Chris McDowall said that while the film wasn't evaluated for eligibility since it wasn't submitted, "Financing is one of the [rules] criteria, but it's not everything."

Wins

 * 80th Academy Awards
 * Best Original Screenplay - Diablo Cody
 * BAFTAs
 * Best Original Screenplay
 * Critic's Choice Awards
 * Best Writer - Diablo Cody
 * Best Comedy
 * National Board of Review
 * Best Breakthrough Performance - Female (Ellen Page)
 * Best Original Screenplay (Diablo Cody)
 * Satellite Awards
 * Best Actress - Musical or Comedy (Ellen Page)
 * Best Film - Musical or Comedy
 * Rome Film Feast
 * Best Film
 * Writers Guild of America Awards
 * Best Original Screenplay (Diablo Cody)
 * Independent Spirit Awards 2007
 * Best Feature
 * Best Female Lead - Ellen Page
 * Best First Screenplay - Diablo Cody
 * Best First Screenplay - Diablo Cody

Nominations

 * 80th Academy Awards
 * Best Picture (Lost to Joel and Ethan Coen from No Country for Old Men)
 * Best Director - Jason Reitman (Lost to Joel and Ethan Coen from No Country for Old Men)
 * Best Actress - Ellen Page (Lost to Marion Cotillard from La Vie En Rose)
 * 65th Golden Globe Awards
 * Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Lost to Sweeney Todd)
 * Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Ellen Page) (Lost to Marion Cotillard)
 * Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Diablo Cody) (Lost to The Coen Brothers)
 * 61st British Academy Film Awards
 * Best Leading Actress - Ellen Page (Lost to Marion Cotillard)
 * Critic's Choice Awards
 * Best Actress - Ellen Page (Lost to Julie Christie)
 * Best Acting Ensemble - Ellen Page, Michael Cera, J. K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman (Lost to Hairspray)
 * 14th Screen Actors Guild Awards
 * Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Ellen Page (Lost to Julie Christie)
 * Independent Spirit Awards 2007
 * Best Director - Jason Reitman (Lost to Julian Schnabel)

Similarities to Jenny, Juno
Rumors arose about the movie's similarities to a Korean movie from 2005, Jenny, Juno, which also dealt with teen pregnancy. In the latter, "Juno" is the boy's name and the plot centers on his personal growth and increasing maturity with his decision to support his pregnant girlfriend any way he could. Nonetheless, this coincidence has been addressed by the screenwriter Diablo Cody in her blog:

Unbeknownst to me, we had another spiritual cousin out there, a Korean movie called "Jenny, Juno", This time, the cousinry goes one step further and the movie is about – seriously – a pregnant teenager and her cute, sweet boyfriend. (The guy character is named Juno, not the girl.) There's no adoption subplot and apparently the film is otherwise dissimilar to mine, but how fucked up is that? I bring this up because a journalist drilled me about it recently – awkward! – and also because I saw someone on our IMDb board wondering if Juno was a remake of the K-flick. So for the record, 1.) it isn't a remake 2.) I haven't seen 'Jenny, Juno,' though I want to now, and 3.) I don't think anyone would even bat an eye about this if my film was called Jenny. The name Juno is just so darned distinctive that confusion is inevitable.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack features songs by indie pop band Belle and Sebastian, Mott the Hoople, Barry Louis Polisar, anti-folk singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson, the Kinks, Cat Power, Dawson's former band The Moldy Peaches, and The Velvet Underground. In addition, the various rock music that Juno and Mark exchange throughout the movie are contained on the soundtrack, a fairly unusual practice for the genre.

The soundtrack has been generally well received by critics and moviegoers alike. It saw unexpectedly high sales, becoming the best-selling album on the United States iTunes music store upon release and remaining so for more than ten weeks thereafter. The soundtrack is also available on an orange-colored vinyl LP.