Despite a substantial effort to integrate gays into mainstream America, anti-homosexual violence continues for those who don’t conform to this country’s far too conservative mores. Though it’s hard to believe that it continues, bullying still spurs teen suicides in a country charged by Tea Party extremism.

So director Abe Sylvia used his experiences as a gay kid growing up in 1980s Norman, Oklahoma to fashion his debut feature, Dirty Girl, a comedic search for identity and freedom, to illustrate the effect of such abuse and how it stimulates a will to escape.

As the “dirty girl” of Norman High, Danielle (Juno Temple) sluts her way through school but her misbehavior gets her demoted to Special Ed. There she joins up with abused closet-case Clarke (Jeremy Dozier) and they go on an illicit road trip to flee the repression and discover themselves through their unexpected friendship.

After touring the festival circuit (including 2010′s Toronto International Film Festival), Dirty Girl has been released this month. The following Q&A is culled from a roundtable with the two leads.

Q: Much has changed since 1987; what did you learn about that period?

JT: We had to do a lot of research on the music and stuff.

JD: I really hadn’t listened to Melissa Manchester but she’s this icon for Clarke. So I did a lot of research and watched her on YouTube. I found it fascinating how powerful she was on stage.

I also did research on the time period, the clothes and everything, which was a lot of fun. It was a time when being gay wasn’t really talked about so I think that’s changed a lot since then, thank God.

We’d walk onto set and everything was decked out in ’80s gear. It was so much fun, this different world.

JT: It was like walking into a new world in a puff of smoke.

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By admin • October 29, 2011 • Interviews, News & Articles • Comments: 0

On Friday, Juno was a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, giving an adorable interview! Check it out in full below:

By admin • September 25, 2011 • Interviews, Videos • Comments: 0

Juno is the September cover girl for Dazed & Confused! She looks amazing on the cover, and I can’t wait to see the full photoshoot! Hopefully scans will be in the gallery asap. I also added the missing editorial from July’s edition of Vanity Fair – Juno rocks the pinup look!

Britain’s coolest young actress meets Dazed at Venice Beach in LA, to talk about transitioning from indie screen star to Hollywood siren.

By admin • August 11, 2011 • Gallery, Interviews • Comments: 0

A Silverlake, L.A. crowd is gnawing on their leafy greens and lovingly slaughtered steaks on a breezy St. Patrick’s Day afternoon. Our lady in question sneaks up, tiny but recognizable, and before words are exchanged, she reaches up on tippy-toes for a hug. And so it goes with Juno Violet Temple, the dehiscent and happy young actress, happy even to be doing an interview on a Friday afternoon—an incalculable rarity amongst actors. She’s wearing a Cranberries T-shirt in solidarity to the holiday, and a nod to her love of music. “I get teased by my friends,” she says, blushing through lily-white skin, “because I like to dress very ‘90s, and I like style from The Craft, and I’ve got a lot of rosaries and a lot of blood red and wine red lipstick.” Today, she is au natural, her oval face framed by a cluster of natty blonde hair.

Sometimes you catch an actress at a crossroads, ready to hoist themselves up to the next level. Temple is there, her films lately have been indie hits, and she’s just starting to stretch back into studio blockbusters. She keeps referring to this period as having reached acting “puberty.” She’s been cast as a teen for the most part, her 21-year-old face looking nearly as girlish as another Temple from cinema past. But the roles often remind us that teens are basically adults who make more mistakes.

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By admin • May 25, 2011 • Gallery, Interviews • Comments: 0

At 21, British actress Juno Temple is no newcomer; she first appeared alongside Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal” in her early teens. But 2011 is primed to be her year. With “Little Birds” and “Kaboom” at the Sundance Film Festival and three more awaiting release —including a 3D retelling of “The Three Musketeers” and “Dirty Girl,” which was nabbed by the Weinstein Co. at the last Toronto International Film Festival—Temple’s doll-like face is bound to become familiar.

The morning following the world premiere of “Little Birds,” indieWIRE sat down to chat with Temple in Park City. Arriving a bit late, Temple apologized for her lack of voice and swiftly tore into a round of questions. Among the topics covered: being compared to a famous rock star, what inspired her to get into acting and her passion for playing damaged teenagers.

Below are snippets from the conversation. To watch the full conversation, view the video beneath the cut.

At the world premiere of “Little Birds,” director/writer Elgin James referred to you as Mick Jagger. What do you make of that statement?

I think that me and him just have this incredible relationship together. He’s like my brother. My life’s a better place with him in it. I think him saying that means that I’m willing to take a risk for him. I’m willing to do what I need to do to make a movie rock. I think acting is being a rock star. It’s about having enough trust in somebody that you will go that extra mile to do whatever they need you to do. I think we’d both jump in front of trains for each other.

You’ve played a lot of troubled teenagers in the past and Lily is no exception.

Lilly is a time bomb waiting to explode who isn’t running toward anything. She doesn’t know where the fuck she’s going. She just wants out. She thinks she can do whatever she wants and the world fucking shows her she can’t.

There is a reason adulthood comes when it does and a reason why we have parents and why they take care of you. She makes a big mistake in that. She’s very naive about what the world can throw at you. That’s why I was so excited to play Lilly. She’s a complicated little bean because she’s so fragile, yet she’s so fucking feisty. If I knew her, I wouldn’t let her leave her my side. It’s kind of like that Angelina Jolie character in “Girl, Interrupted.” If you met her, all you would want to do is take care of her and make her feel better.

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By admin • January 26, 2011 • Interviews, Videos • Comments: 0

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By admin • January 26, 2011 • Interviews, Videos • Comments: 0