LOS ANGELES - Montreal-born director Jason Reitman accepted a Grammy Award on Sunday for the soundtrack to his teen pregnancy movie, "Juno," saying music had always been "a character in the film."
The prize was the first handed out at an afternoon ceremony where the bulk of Grammy winners were announced before the televised gala.
Reitman said he didn't see the win coming because "Juno" was such a small movie - even though it's racked up a slew of honours since its 2007 release, including an Academy Award for best original screenplay.
"I think we stole Abba and Jay-Z's award," he joked, referring to co-nominees "Mamma Mia!" and "American Gangster."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they beat us up on the way out."
Two of the film's stars - Michael Cera of Brampton, Ont., and Halifax's Ellen Page - contributed a duet to the record, a cover of Kimya Dawson's "Anyone Else But You."
The pretty song closed the movie and the soundtrack.
"It's a scary thing when you ask your actors to suddenly close a movie in song, and fortunately I had Ellen and Michael who are terrific musicians and singers," said Reitman. "They learned the song immediately."
He said at one point during production, he caught Cera sitting on a bed on the set, noodling on an acoustic guitar. He rolled on it, and the scene made the final cut of the movie.
"It was just so lovely," Reitman said. "That's one of my favourite moments in the movie."
