Juno is a monster.
The little independent comedy about a pregnant teenager was the second-highest-grossing movie in North America last weekend, ahead of such big-studio holiday hits as I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks. It's well past $50 million at the box office, and there's no end in sight.
The word-of-mouth smash is simultaneously gaining serious awards momentum, especially for its 20-year-old star, Ellen Page. The petite Canadian is charming everybody as the smart, tart-tongued expectant mother. And for the unpretentious Page, who still lives in her anywhere-but-Hollywood hometown of Halifax, it's all pretty unbelievable.
"Very much so," Page, soft-spoken and looking funky chic in a camel-colored suit jacket, jeans and red high-tops, says. "I come from Nova Scotia, so it's very surreal. But I'm very glad that people are responding so well to this film. I'm just excited that a character like Juno is getting out into the world."
As for her Oscar chances, the indie-minded Page, whose only big-time Hollywood experience was playing mutant heroine Kitty Pryde in the most recent X-Men movie, gives the expected shrug.
"It's crazy," she says with a mild laugh. "I try not to think about it. It's obviously not why I'm an actor. But it's all very exciting, though it's a hard thing to even wrap your head around."
The daughter of a graphic designer and a teacher, Page enjoyed acting in elementary-school plays but really didn't know what she was getting into when she auditioned for a locally produced television movie, Pit Pony, at age 10. That led to an award nomination and a regular role on a spinoff series of the telefilm.
Though she kept working steadily in Canadian film and TV from that point on, Page continued to nurture her nonshow-biz life, attending a Buddhist high school (though neither she nor her parents practice the faith), playing a wide variety of sports, and hiking and camping around both the Great North and Europe.
American critics got early looks at her riveting screen presence and daring intelligence in the independent films Mouth to Mouth and Hard Candy. Page made an indelible impression in the latter as an adolescent seductress who takes an Internet predator hostage.
Juno director Jason Reitman says he believes that Page's appeal rests in her ability to keep things real, no matter how bizarre or eccentric she's asked to act.
