AWARDS

Watch out for ... Ellen Page

The star of "Juno" on being girlie but, she hopes, not too corny.

By Mark Olsen, The Envelope

October 21, 2007

From its very first screenings, "Juno's" breezy blend of blog-age humor and old-fashioned emotion has garnered audience reactions verging on the ecstatic.

The film -- marking the debut of screenwriter Diablo Cody and a follow-up to "Thank You for Smoking" from director Jason Reitman -- tells the story of a pregnant 16-year-old with easygoing sass and a big heart. Much of the film's power comes from the performance in the title role of 20-year-old Canadian actress Ellen Page.

Although she was already something of a show-biz veteran, Page first came to the attention of broader audiences with her role in David Slade's 2005 revenge drama "Hard Candy," which led to a role in "X-Men 3: The Last Stand."

With her uncanny combination of world-weary cynicism and wide-open wistfulness, an unlikely mix of snark and innocence, Page's teenaged and pregnant Juno feels like a near-definitive portrait of contemporary youth in transition, as adolescent abandon gives way to a nascent maturity.

Page recently called in from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The siren song of such media towns as Toronto, New York or Los Angeles might seem like a natural next step, but for now, she says, she's staying put.

"As things progress, it actually gets easier for me to be here. It kind of allows me the distance," she remarked. With the unexpected awards buzz building for "Juno," she'll probably soon seem closer than ever.

Here, she opens up about a lack of authentic portrayals of girls in the media and turning from darker fare to something a little lighter.

So far audiences are having a really explosive response to "Juno." Why do you think people are reacting so strongly?

I think it's unique. I think it's extremely genuine and honest and devoid of any stereotype.

And it is, compared to other work I've done, a quote-unquote lighter film. Yet to me, I remember when I read it for the first time, it was just like a breath of fresh air.

It was so nice to read something that felt so sincere. And a character had been written for 16-year-old girls that was showing a lot more interesting aspects than what we're used to in popular media right now. That was very exciting.

I don't want to ask "Did you see yourself in the character of Juno," but did you feel the script portrayed a teenage experience that was perhaps more recognizable to you, not one of makeup and slumber parties and a "Princess Diaries"-style fantasy?

Yeah. And no judgment towards that -- that could be a lot of individuals' idea of their teenage years.

But I suppose it occurs so much, constantly, that we forget there's other aspects. So sometimes when there's a character like that, or even Haley in "Hard Candy," there's this, 'Oh, it's so unrealistic. That's not a teenage girl.' And that becomes so frustrating.

I was like Juno when I was younger in certain ways, as were my friends. Sixteen-year-old girls do wear sweater vests and flannel shirts, and that's OK.

It's so annoying when you're constantly being told what you're supposed to enjoy and what you're supposed to find sexy and how you're supposed to be, and so on and so forth.

I think a film like "Juno," when it steps away from what's so traditional in the media right now, I think it's just refreshing for people. And maybe they don't even know why -- it could be inexplicable, just this feeling of 'Oh, thank you.' At least it was for me when I read it.

There is a real specificity to the script, in particular, the nature of the language and the dialogue. That could have come off as overly stylized, and part of what's really remarkable about the film, and particularly your performance, is how that's made to seem so natural. How did the language strike you when you read the script?

I loved it. To me it completely worked. And it might not be exactly how I talked when I was 16, but I know that when I was in high school I did kind of have my own unique language with my friends. The way I communicated with my friends was not exactly the same as how I communicated with my parents or how I communicated in a work setting.

So, I think that's a pretty organic thing for young individuals -- hyper, young Junos.

For me, it was a challenge to absorb that and make it organic – not to force it but establish that tone. And hopefully that comes across.

Another thing is how the film doesn't sell out any of the characters; everyone gets considered in a really multidimensional way. Was that something else that struck you?

For me, when I'm approaching something, and this might sound selfish, but it's often more from the perspective of the character I'd be playing, trying not to get too analytical or judgmental.

I find you can kind of get blocked off in a way. She's definitely still extremely young and naive and doesn't yet really understand the whole picture. I think that's something we all go through.

Is it tough to have read the whole script, and you, Ellen Page, know that bigger picture, but you have to get yourself back into the headspace of Juno, who doesn't realize just how much she's in way over her head emotionally?

I don't think it's too hard. You can shoot films that are much more easy to judge, or play characters that are on a surface level completely unlike yourself or believe in things completely different.

I think one of the great things is when you put the analysis and the judgment aside, and it does unblock your heart and you're just there with that person.

That's one of the things I love the most about acting -- removing that blockage.

It's easy to assume that, as a younger person, you were perhaps just playing a variation on yourself. Can you talk to me a little about how you created the character of Juno?

First and foremost, Diablo wrote an incredible script. The words, when I first read it, did bounce off at me. I was lucky that I clearly connected to something and I just went along with that. Then I talked to Jason about Juno, elements of her personality we both thought she had, and it just formed itself.

What I need, at first, is I'm usually alone a lot with a script. I just make sure I can feel the person in my heart, as absolutely corny as that sounds. I just have to emotionally connect to the individual and then figure out how I think they should be portrayed, whether in their voice or their body or what have you.

And then there's the whole other obvious physical element of Juno being pregnant. I've obviously, well not obviously, but I've never been pregnant, and I had to make sure I knew what was going on there but still maintain the fact that she is a 16-year-old girl and has that youth.

As much as she wants to escape it, it's very much there. She's not going to escape the fact that she's still a girl.