Meet the dude behind one of the most celebrated on-screen heroines of all time.
When he walks into a room, Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman gives off good vibes. When I met him at the press junket for the film Juno a few months back, it was obvious that he was a genuine guy—so much so that when a reporter brought up speculation that Ellen Page could receive an Oscar nod, Reitman enthusiastically blurted out, “I think she should win the damn thing! She’s fantastic. She’s created a teenage character for the ages that’s up there with Ferris Bueller.”
So how did our generation’s answer to John Hughes end up directing this little indie that could—the highest-grossing nominee in the Best Picture category?
“I spent the last ten years making shorts that played festivals, so I feel like I know and understand that audience better than any other. They are the first people who I think about when I’m making a movie. They’re like me. I’m a guy who loves going to film festivals. I grew up thinking I was more of a film fan, not a filmmaker, until I saw some of the films that came out of Sundance in the mid-90s. Stuff like Bottle Rocket, Clerks, Slacker and Citizen Ruth. Films that let me know that there was a different way of making a comedy. It didn’t have to be a big studio comedy, but rather it could be whatever you wanted.
At that point I knew I wanted to try making short films, and I started to get a feel for what festival audiences laughed at, what tended to move them, and what films would stand apart. My first short was a comedy about kidney stealing, and I remember thinking that it was really unique and edgy. When it premiered at Sundance, I got there and there were a whole bunch of edgy shorts. Everything was pretty tough. It made me realize that I wanted to do something with more warmth to it. I felt like if I saw one more movie about child abuse...
So in 2000, I made a short called In God We Trust, which was a charming film. It played really strong, and it kind of started my career. I started directing commercials. It got me my agent and it landed me the gig to do Thank You For Smoking. It’s an ongoing education. When I first read the screenplay for Juno, I fell head over heels for it. I put something I was working on myself on hold, because I knew if I didn’t, I would regret it for the rest of my life.”
Look for Reitman next on the small screen in Showtime’s The United States of Tara, a collaboration with Juno scribe (and Oscar winner!) Diablo Cody that will star Toni Collette.
By Caroline Stanley
