For writer, director, and actress Greta Gerwig, the excitement of a project comes in taking on a film with an “element of adventure.”
“A great thrill that I get is figuring out how to build my wings on the way down, just kind of leaping from the tallest thing I can find,” Gerwig said during an interview with TIME senior editor Lucy Feldman at the 2024 TIME Women of the Year gala in West Hollywood on Tuesday. Gerwig is one of 12 women recognized this year for their contributions to building a more equal world.
“A great thrill that I get is figuring out how to build my wings on the way down, just kind of leaping from the tallest thing I can find,” Gerwig said during an interview with TIME senior editor Lucy Feldman at the 2024 TIME Women of the Year gala in West Hollywood on Tuesday. Gerwig is one of 12 women recognized this year for their contributions to building a more equal world.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I am in awe of the extraordinary women that we have gathered here tonight.
00:05 And really I can think of no better way to start than with the one and only Greta Gerwig.
00:10 [applause]
00:14 You might have heard of a little film she made. It was called Barbie.
00:19 [applause]
00:20 Barbie wasn't just a movie, it was a cultural phenomenon.
00:24 It broke box office records and helped keep movie theaters alive.
00:28 Why don't you come on out? I'm creeping up on you.
00:32 Do you want a seat? I'll just finish my intro with you.
00:37 Hi.
00:38 Um, yeah. This is going well already.
00:43 [laughter]
00:46 But you know, it's fine. It's good.
00:49 Everybody should know, with this year's Academy Awards,
00:53 Greta has made history as the first director to have their first three solo films
00:59 nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
01:02 [applause]
01:06 Which is truly incredible.
01:08 And as she discussed with my colleague, Sabalansky, who is here tonight in her Women of the Year profile,
01:14 Greta is already taking on another massive project, an adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia.
01:21 [applause]
01:23 Please welcome Greta Gerwig.
01:25 [applause]
01:28 I'm so sorry. I feel like I messed up your timing.
01:32 I'm sorry.
01:33 [laughter]
01:34 We are all just so happy that you're here, in whatever timing works for you.
01:41 [laughter]
01:42 So, thank you.
01:45 Let's start with that incredible Oscars history-making feat.
01:50 First director to have their first three solo movies nominated for Best Picture.
01:56 What do you make of that? What does that mean to you?
01:59 I mean, it's extraordinary.
02:03 I'm incredibly grateful that the Academy has recognized the films I've made.
02:11 And I think, I was actually just talking about this with Sam at the table,
02:15 I think one of the things about the Guilds, the Writers Guild, the Directors Guild, the Actors Guild,
02:22 and the Academy and the different branches in the Academy,
02:25 is that filmmaking is such a, it's a craft that's passed from person to person.
02:33 And there's a community that springs up around being part of a union
02:39 and also being recognized by your peers.
02:42 And it's like an opportunity to talk to your heroes and have them be there to guide you
02:50 to whatever the next step is you want to do.
02:52 And I've found that the greatest part of being recognized by the Academy
02:57 is that community of filmmakers.
03:01 I love that community, and I wanted to ask you, in terms of paying it forward,
03:06 we're here celebrating women who have achieved amazing things, women who are on the rise.
03:11 Are there any women in filmmaking who you are particularly excited about,
03:16 whose work you want us all to pay attention to and help amplify?
03:20 Oh, yes. I mean, well, I actually, again, I just said this tonight,
03:25 but there's a, just the person, the filmmaker that I love right now is an Italian filmmaker,
03:33 Alicia E. Rohrwacher, who's made many wonderful movies, and she's just great,
03:41 and her movies are great, and you'll love them. Go watch them.
03:45 Like, it made me so happy when I saw her film, I think it's coming out next year,
03:50 but it was "Ike and La Camara," and I was euphorically happy.
03:55 It was a movie that could have only been made by her, and she's just terrific.
04:02 And, you know, I think I go to the movies all the time,
04:06 and I always hope that the thing I see is like, "Ah, that's it."
04:12 A film that only she could make, what is a Greta Gerwig film?
04:17 Because it feels like every movie that you've made has been bigger and more ambitious than the last one.
04:23 Should we expect you to keep getting more ambitious, bigger swings?
04:29 Well, I think I find that I'm--I think the great thrill that I get is kind of figuring out
04:42 how to build my wings on the way down, just kind of leaping from the tallest thing I can find.
04:50 I believe that I will build the skills that I need as I go,
04:57 and I hope to make all different kinds of movies in my career, big and small.
05:02 But I think they always have to have that element of adventure,
05:07 because it's the way I get my kicks.
05:13 [laughter]
05:15 Well, "Narnia" seems like the perfect project then for you to be working on next.
05:19 Yes, kicks with a line.
05:22 [laughter]
05:24 And magic.
05:26 It's all of the things.
05:28 You know, it's definitely--I can't--I--sometimes I--because I write and I direct,
05:33 and I'll write things that I genuinely sit back and I think,
05:37 "I have no idea how I'm actually going to accomplish that."
05:41 And that's actually the most exciting feeling, because then you kind of gather people,
05:45 and you gather your designers and your heads of departments,
05:49 and everybody kind of figures out something that's never been done before, and that's thrilling.
05:55 When you're adapting something that has already been made, like "Little Women" or like "Narnia,"
06:01 do you study those existing films? Do you ignore them completely?
06:05 No, I think--well, "Little Women" in particular, because it's, you know,
06:11 obviously a book that meant so much to me,
06:14 and then it also had been realized in films so beautifully so many different times,
06:20 that in a way with "Little Women" I felt like I wasn't just adapting the text,
06:26 I was sort of adapting the ur-text of all of the movies.
06:31 And I felt that also I was trying to take into account who Louisa May Alcott was,
06:36 and the thing that I kept coming back to--and this is also true of Barbie,
06:41 and it's true of Lady Bird or Frances Ha or Narnia--is I think as a writer,
06:48 it's always helpful for me to continually remind myself of the thing that I'm deeply interested in.
06:54 And for example, with "Little Women," the thing I kept telling people,
06:57 the thing I kept saying, that I was like, "Oh, you've got to know this," which was true,
07:03 is Louisa May Alcott kept her copyright, which was so smart,
07:11 and no one was doing that, and she made so much money.
07:16 And she also didn't want to end her book with Joe getting married,
07:22 but her publisher said, "Well, it'll sell better."
07:25 And so she said, "All right, I'll do it, but I'll keep the copyright."
07:28 And I was like, "That's great!"
07:30 And I think I just kept repeating that over and over again, and I'm like,
07:33 "That's your story! That's your story. That's what you're interested in."
07:37 And I think I always try to keep a North Star--my North Star is,
07:41 what do I deeply love? What do I really care about?
07:44 What's the story underneath this story?
07:47 And I think with Barbie, the story underneath this story was,
07:51 I loved Barbie. I remember going to Toys R Us and looking at the Barbies,
07:57 and I loved their hair, and I loved everything about them.
08:01 My mom was not sure about it, and I thought, "That's the story.
08:09 That's the generational story. I want it," and then being suspicious of it.
08:15 And I think I'm always trying to find those undertoes.
08:22 Would you care to tell us what that story is for Narnia?
08:27 [laughter]
08:29 No, no, that's just for me, right?
08:31 [laughter]
08:33 I do have--I have it, but it's--well, you'll see.
08:39 [laughter]
08:42 Greta, zero to 100%, what is the likelihood that we get a Barbie sequel?
08:49 Zero to 100%?
08:51 Oh, I--
08:55 [laughter]
08:58 I don't know. I mean, I suppose--I think it depends on--
09:04 [laughter]
09:05 I think it depends on--yeah, if I find the undertow, then we get it.
09:10 If I don't find an undertow, then there's no more.
09:15 [laughter]
09:17 Zero to 100%. What is the likelihood we find the undertow?
09:22 [laughter]
09:25 I mean, if I--yeah, I think it's something that I loved making so much,
09:32 and I loved the world that we built so much, and all of the actors,
09:36 and the idea of getting to be with that group of people again is very exciting.
09:42 Yeah, I can imagine that.
09:44 It is a movie that brought so many of us so much joy,
09:48 like, of course, in the theater, the experience of it,
09:51 but also the jokes, like, they live on, they take on a life of their own.
09:55 We have the hoodies, we have, you know, Halloween was like Barbie all over again.
10:00 Where do you go when you need a little bit of joy and levity?
10:05 Oh, well, I--well, I have to say, I just--I agree.
10:11 I--this sounds so egotistical, but when I was--I just arrived in LA today,
10:16 and I was driving through Century City, and I laughed at my own joke.
10:21 [laughter]
10:22 When Ken says, like, when you get out of your car at Century City,
10:26 "I can't believe how great this place is."
10:29 [laughter]
10:30 And it tickles me so much still.
10:33 I think it's such a funny line, and I can't believe it's in that movie.
10:37 Because it's so specific, and no one's ever said that.
10:41 [laughter]
10:42 But, yeah, I think the joy--joy and levity--I mean, I have a five-year-old son,
10:51 so it's very easy to find joy and levity if I just ask him any question
10:58 and just watch his brain go.
11:01 It's very joyful and sweet.
11:04 [applause]
11:10 We're all living in this world where we're constantly looking for what comes next.
11:16 I think it's hard for a lot of us to pause and kind of appreciate
11:20 what we've already achieved and what we already have.
11:23 Especially if somebody's asking you from zero to 100 how much is it going to happen.
11:27 [laughter]
11:28 But yes, yes.
11:29 It's my job to push you, Grandma.
11:32 But what's something that you want your future self to remember
11:36 about this moment in your life and career?
11:40 Gosh, I think so much of--I hope that the thing I remember is how amazing and fun it is.
11:57 And this sounds totally superficial, but you know when you go to these events
12:03 and you put on clothes and part of you is like, "I don't know."
12:06 It's that I looked great.
12:09 I looked great.
12:11 [applause]
12:15 That's the sort of hard thing to feel all the time.
12:17 And I think when I'm 80 I'll be like, "Look at you! You're 40! You look wonderful!"
12:23 [laughter]
12:25 Well, you do, and so does everyone.
12:28 Thank you so much, Grena. It's just been wonderful.
12:30 [applause]