Ellen Page and Michael Cera in Juno Doane Gregory/Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

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VIEW PHOTOS: AFI premiere
READ MORE: Juno review
READ MORE: Q&A with Juno writer Diablo Cody
WATCH VIDEO: Diablo Cody and Ellen Page Q&A

Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is a singular Minnesota teenager who marches to her own drum. She says what she wants, when she wants, and how she wants. Not easily swayed by norms and conventions, she is making her own way on her own terms. She's also curious. And so, on a boring afternoon, she decides on a whim to seduce Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), her dorky but sincerely sweet classmate. Suddenly transformed into "Fertile Myrtle," Juno decides, along with best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), not only to have the baby, but to scan PennySaver ads in search of the ideal adoptive couple. With her dad, Mac (J.K. Simmons), in tow, Juno visits the Lorings (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) in nearby preppy suburbia. Looking like she stepped out of a Sears catalog, Vanessa Loring is all but consumed by the thought of having a child of her own. Husband Mark is a jingle-writer who secretly yearns to break free of the constraints of his stifling marriage and chase a dream to become a rock musician. But three trimesters and three seasons have yet to pass before Juno's bundle of joy enters her world.

Juno and her world is the brainchild of stripper-turned-blogger-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody, who garnered much attention with her 2006 memoir Candy Girl. When director Jason Reitman, best known for his wry analysis of the tobacco industry in Thank You for Smoking, took the helm, he brought Cody on board and immediately knew that Page was the only actor he could envision to embody Juno's unique voice. With the awards season just about to get underway, the film has already picked up two notable nods from the National Board of Review: Best Original Screenplay for Cody and Breakthrough Performance by an Actress for Page. And the soundtrack could yet become this year's Garden State.

Here the director and actors discuss pregnancy, the challenges of being a parent, and the Moldy Peaches.

ON THE SCRIPT

"I could, like, have this baby and give it to someone who totally needs it…a couple of nice lesbos." — Juno MacGuff

Ellen Page: It was one of the best scripts I have ever read, for sure. Now it is all just surreal because I am realizing that I got to be Juno. I just wanted to play the character so bad… I find that at least in my group of friends growing up, I actually did have all these weird inside jokes. My best friend in high school was a boy not unlike Bleeker. He was the fourth greatest in his age group in chess in Canada, and you can imagine what comes along with that in junior high school. We used to create amazing sports like tree bouncing — just wonderful things. It was a good time. But we had our own little language when I think back.