By Michele Foody

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 12/24/07 — On the eve of Christmas, when the anniversary of a virgin birth (by a young unmarried mother) shuts down the country, its fitting that another conception—far less immaculate—of 16 year old Ms. Jaime Lynn Spears is our top news story. But at the box office, the arrival of “Juno” has proven that teen pregnancy can make for more than just a cover story of the tabloids.

Though ostracized, Mary made it through her pregnancy with a little well-placed support from those who loved her. Both Britney’s sister, whose mother is behind her, and Juno, whose film family almost unrealistically supports her choice, seem to have that same spirit, in spite of the laws of man and religion.

A national debate has been sparked by reality show TV star Jamie-Lynn’s decision to go ahead and have the child, with subtext about teen sex, and “Juno” is getting awards nominations left and right.

Juno’s heroine is played to perfection by Ellen Page, an alarmingly eloquent young actress, both on screen and off. She is unexpectedly knocked-up by Bleeker (Michael Cera — fresh off of “Superbad” and equally lovable) and blessed with quite supportive parents, goes in search of adoptive replacements for her growing bump.

After entering the world in August at the Toronto Film Festival, Juno was met with a standing ovation. But its incubation period goes back farther—to its screenwriter, Diablo Cody, a sex industry worker who blogged about stripping, was discovered by a Hollywood manager/producer, and turned out this year’s most buzzed-about screenplay.

As director Jason Reitman (“Thank You for Smoking”) explained to Hollywood Today, “By the time I got the job, this was a beloved script. Everyone in Hollywood had read it. I got a lot of ‘You’re not going to screw it up, are you?’.

What Cody produced was something not only chock full of smart dialogue, but its central character is a female, and a strong one, to boot.

“Women are not treated well anywhere. And for awhile I felt it was weirdly anti-feminist to write female characters, because I worried people would think that’s all I could do,” Cody told Hollywood Today. “But now I’ve switched, and I feel a responsibility to write strong women”.

Ellen Page herself is one strong, well-spoken young lady. Caught in the maelstrom of awards season hullabaloo and suddenly on the top of everyone’s year-end lists, Page remains calm. And scandal-free.

“I definitely need time to breathe [in between roles] and connect my feet to the ground,” Page sagely explained to a collection of journalists twice her age. “If you don’t have your own individual life, you’re going to burn out.” Spears girls, are you listening?

Juno is no Jamie-Lynn though. The fictional character’s whip-smart dialogue and well-rounded fallibility make her more empathetic than those tabloid personas of “real” women currently clogging the media conscious.

“Whenever a character is whole and well-written, you kind of connect with them because we are all made up of the same stuff”, Page insisted.

We certainly haven’t seen the last of Page or Cody—who is writing a series for Steven Spielberg to run on Showtime. Not too shabby a follow-up. So, here’s hoping Cody’s next brainchild can give Juno a little sibling rivalry.