A rundown of Greta Gerwig profiles
Last Friday around 5 o'clock, a group of coworkers and I burst into excited chatter at the release of The New York Times' profile of filmmaker Greta Gerwig. As I rewatched the trailer for Little Women for the 10 millionth time, I started to search for similar profiles of her released over the last decade or so in search of something to quell my desire to watch Little Women right this very moment. Compiled for your reading pleasure, here are a series of Greta Gerwig profiles, articles and interviews.
We'll start with the most recent profile, which narrows in specifically on Gerwig's interpretation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Now that the first batch of critics have viewed the movie, we're getting whispers into Gerwig's take on the classic piece of literature. Her attention to detail as a director continues on this film, as it did in Lady Bird, as Gerwig discusses how her research into Alcott's personal letters helped craft the narrative she used in the movie. As I'm currently reading Little Women myself, I loved that Gerwig specifically calls out a line of dialogue from the book which stood out to me as well: "Reading the novel again as an adult, Gerwig, who is 36, was struck by how modern its dialogue felt once she brushed away the dusty surrounding material. 'Things were jumping out at me that I felt like I’d never heard before,' Gerwig said, like Marmee telling her daughter Jo: 'I am angry nearly every day of my life.' Gerwig said, 'That’s not something you think of as Marmee saying, except that it’s right there in the book. She says it.'" My one issue with the profile? It uses marriage as a way to frame the story -- from Jo's romance in the book to whether or not Louisa May Alcott actually wanted to book to end in a wedding (she did not.) -- which is interesting, but then the writer opts to end the article in a similar fashion. Instead of focusing on Gerwig's creative triumphs, the final sentences are focused on her romantic life with her creative and real-life partner Noah Baumbach. I have no interest in an award season that centers on any potential competition between these two creative minds (Baumbach's Marriage Story is also receiving rave reviews) and hope that future profiles don't go down the same path.
Next up, another article from The New York Times but this one is written by Gerwig herself. Despite my love of early films from her, I hadn't read this deep dive into the filming of one scene in Frances Ha (directed by Baumbach, and co-written by himself and Gerwig). I don't often think about the long process of shooting a film when I'm watching one. Gerwig sheds light on the monotonous and exhausting process by detailing each of the 42 takes they shot to get one scene in the movie.
Another one from Gerwig herself. Despite all her talk of Sacramento and the autobiographical elements of Lady Bird, I always picture Greta Gerwig as being a New Yorker. And it seems that others have made a similar mistake. In this piece, she writes about her experiences visiting NYC with her mom as a child. It's a beautiful examination of the subtle things you pick up on during trips with your parents and a compare/contrast study in her time spent on both coasts.
Here are some quick hits. A series of movies that inspired her and Noah Baumbach when they created Mistress America. An illustrated interview with Greta that doesn't give you very much information but still manages to be very charming. A New York Magazine piece about Greta's method actor approach to her role in Greenberg. And a weird joint interview with Aaron Sorkin and Greta. Why are these two being interview together? Unclear. Why are we asking two white people whether or not Emma Stone can play a character who’s part Asian? Also very unclear.
And finally, a fascinating profile in The New Yorker from 2013. Sadly, this piece focuses more on Baumbach with a side-appreciation for Greta (they didn't know what was to come!!), but it's a very interesting peek into their working relationship nonetheless. Is this our first whispering of Lady Bird?? "Gerwig has since written her own script, alone. When she showed an early version to Baumbach, he offered to direct it. He also asked if he could help her finish writing it. 'He wanted to absorb it,' she said, laughing. She thought for two weeks, and then declined, having decided to direct it herself. I asked if he had been gracious about her choice. 'Yes,' she said. 'Half-gracious.'" Back off, Baumbach!!
Now it's time for the holy grail! Lady Bird profiles!! There's this one in The New York Times Magazine. This one in Vulture. She talks about her roots, the male and female gaze and a lack of female coming-of-age stories, which she hopes to fix. And one on how the set and costume designers on the movie executed Gerwig's vision for the film to "look like a memory."
Required Reading
If you haven't seen the 1997 TV movie version of Disney's Cinderella, I'm going to need you to stop what you're doing and go watch it immediately. In case I haven't convinced you yet, Brandy, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Victor Garber and Whoopi Goldberg all star in it. We good? You all caught up? Great. I recently came across an oral history of the movie's creation published two years ago on the movie's 20th anniversary (thank you to the author for re-sharing over the weekend for the movie's 22nd anniversary!), and I sat mesmerized revisiting this magical TV movie I haven't seen since I was a kid. The history features interviews with the movie's creative team and almost the entire cast, which lead to tidbits about the film's color-blind approach to casting, a certain Disney executive who wanted Jewel to star in the movie instead of Brandy, Whitney Houston's jam-packed schedule (and her initial visions of playing Cinderella), borrowing from other Rogers and Hammerstein musicals that made it into the film and a mysterious soundtrack that was never released... guess we'll just have to re-watch the movie in the meantime.
