FAQ

The Wizard of Gore (directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis)

Sixteen-year old high school junior Juno MacGuff (Elliot Page) discovers that she is pregnant after a one-time sexual encounter with her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). She first decides to have an abortion but cannot go through with it, so she begins, in her offbeat way, to locate a prospective couple willing to adopt her bundle of joy.

Juno is based on an original screenplay by American writer Brook Busey (writing under the pen name Diablo Cody).

No. The screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote in her blog: Unbeknownst to me, we had another spiritual cousin out there, a Korean movie called Juno Jenny. [The actual title is Jenny, Juno (2005) (2005).] 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 *beep* 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 Juno Jenny, 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.

The fictional town of Dancing Elk, Minnesota. (The runners' shirts say "Dancing Elk Condors.") This may be a western suburb of Minneapolis, as the characters mention Ridgedale Mall, which is in the western suburb of Minnetonka, and talk about driving "an hour" to Saint Cloud. St Cloud is about an hour west and north of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

The living room set that had been thrown away included a recliner chair. Juno's pregnancy "started with a chair" (first line in the movie). Juno then took the chair from the lawn and recreated the room in which she and Paulie had sex. The chair's significance was to bring Bleeker back to that day when they had sex and then to tell him she was pregnant with his child. The movie also "ends with a chair" -- albeit a different one.

In the trailer, there's a shot of Rollo (Rainn Wilson) handing two shopping bags to two off-screen customers. This is not in the film, but included on the DVD. It's from a montage towards the end of the film. He gives Juno and Leah (Olivia Thirlby) two bags filled with TicTacs for Bleeker.

"Hey Bleeker! Spank off to this with motion lotion. Just kidding (kind of.) Your best friend, Juno." (From the Juno script, page 24.)

Bleeker, Bleek, Bleeks

Junebug. Some viewers think he is calling her "Wizard," but he only means that as an exclamation, like "cool" or "great" (The same way young Anakin Skywalker uses the word in Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace.)

Juno's water breaks, and her dad and stepmom race her to the hospital. She goes into labor and delivers a son. Bleeker comes to visit, but they choose not to see the baby and lie in bed cuddling each other instead, Bleeker comforting Juno, who's crying quietly because of her mixed feelings. When Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) gets word, she comes to the hospital alone and stands outside of the nursery. "Would you like to meet your son?", the nurse asks, and Vanessa takes him tenderly into her arms as Bren (Allison Janney) looks on at the new mother. The screen cuts to the baby's nursery at home, first showing a rocking chair. In a voiceover, Juno says, "It ended with a chair." On the wall hangs a framed note from Juno to Vanessa saying, "If you're still in, I'm still in." The following summer, things have returned to normal. The track team is still running, Bren has a Weimariner puppy, and Juno is still seeing Bleeker. "I know people are supposed to fall in love before they reproduce," she says, "but I guess normalcy isn't really our style." In the final scene, Juno and Bleeker sit on the steps in front of Bleeker's house, playing their guitars and singing. Juno kisses Bleeker as the track team runs by.

Juno is referring to the rocking chair in the nursery Vanessa decorated. It is the perfect symbol to another part of motherhood—the nurturing part. It all started with her and Bleeker having sex in a chair and ended with the rocking chair in the baby's nursery.

Bleeker: "You're a part time lover and a full time friend. The monkey on your back is the latest trend. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you."

Juno: "Here is the church and here is the steeple. We sure are cute for two ugly people. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you."

Bleeker: "We both have shiny, happy fits of rage. I want more fans, you want more stage. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you."

Juno: "You're always trying to keep it real and I'm in love with how you feel. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you."

Bleeker: "I kiss you on the brain in the shadow of a train. I kiss you all starry eyed, my body's swinging from side to side. I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you."

Juno: "The pebbles forgive me, the trees forgive me, So why can't you forgive me? I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else...but you."

In the trailer, the song with the lyrics "You're a part-time lover and full-time friend..." is the Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You". It may be available for listening on movie's MySpace page here. It's followed in the trailer by the classic Mott the Hoople song, "All the Young Dudes", written by David Bowie.

Another TV spot (and the European trailer) features the Hoosiers' "Goodbye Mr. A", which does not appear in the film.

Yet another TV spot features "Be Gentle With Me" by The Boy Least Likely To, which also does not appear in the film.

Rhino Records released the soundtrack digitally on December 11th, 2007, and physically on January 8th, 2008.

The songs on the soundtrack are:

01 Barry Louis Polisar: "All I Want Is You" 02 Kimya Dawson: "Rollercoaster (Juno Film Version)" 03 The Kinks: "A Well Respected Man" 04 Buddy Holly: "Dearest" 05 Mateo Messina: "Up the Spout" 06 Kimya Dawson: "Tire Swing" 07 Belle & Sebastian: "Piazza, New York Catcher" 08 Kimya Dawson: "Loose Lips" 09 Sonic Youth: "Superstar" 10 Kimya Dawson: "Sleep (Instrumental)" 11 Belle & Sebastian: "Expectations" 12 Mott the Hoople: "All the Young Dudes" 13 Kimya Dawson: "So Nice So Smart" 14 Cat Power: "Sea of Love" 15 Kimya Dawson and Antsy Pants: "Tree Hugger" 16 Velvet Underground: "I'm Sticking With You" 17 The Moldy Peaches: "Anyone Else but You" 18 Antsy Pants: "Vampire" 19 Ellen Page and Michael Cera: "Anyone Else but You"

Sources include Pitchfork News.

Yes. It was Diablo Cody's first screenplay. However, it was not her first writing work. A few years ago Diablo Cody opened her first blog, Pussy Ranch, which was a success with thousands of readers. Cody then began writing for City Pages, a small magazine/newspaper. She left the magazine just before it changed editorial hands. Cody then wrote for a now-defunct women's magazine called Jane. Through her blog Cody was introduced to Mason Novick, who became her manager. He recognized her wit and sarcasm, and managed to secure her a publishing deal for a novel. Cody then wrote her memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper which was released on Gotham Books. After writing her memoir, and before it was released, Cody was encouraged by Novick to write her first screenplay...the result being the script for Juno.

A movie poster and five different t-shirts were distributed. The shirts were:

1. A white shirt with "JUNO" written on the front in small letters. On the back is an Etch-a-Sketch with Rollo's line: "This is one doodle that can't be undid, Homeskillet." See the shirt here:

2. An orange shirt that says "Paulie Bleeker is Totally Boss" and has silhouettes of the running guys. See the front of the shirt here: here.

3. A maroon shirt with the high school logo (Dancing Elk - Condors) on it. See a photograph of it here.

4. A gray shirt picturing the Most Fruitful Yuki as featured on the cover of her comic. Underneath is a quotation: "Lead with the Belly ... Follow with the Sword." See a photograph here.

5. An orange shirt with a name tag that says "My Name Is Juno" on the front. The back reads: "What other kind of shenanigans could I get into?" Here's a photograph.