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  • - [Joe] This is the right studio,

  • but I can't see...

  • [gasping] Greta Gerwig!

  • - Hi!

  • - [Joe] I'm here for you 73 question interview.

  • And the first question is, how did I end

  • up on a studio lot?

  • - Well, I find myself here at Sony a lot, doing

  • marketing meetings and saying hi to people,

  • and today, I'm here for a screening.

  • - [Joe] When was the last time you actually shot

  • on a sound stage?

  • - I shot on a sound stage last in Massachusetts

  • while I was making my movie Little Women.

  • - [Joe] Cool.

  • And why did you decide to shoot on location

  • for Little Women?

  • - Well, for me, Little Women is a sacred

  • text, and I wanted to treat the place

  • where it was written as sacrosanct.

  • - [Joe] Yeah, no totally.

  • Well I loved the movie.

  • And there have been so many different versions

  • of Little Women over the years.

  • What did you wanna avoid in your retelling?

  • - I wanted to avoid any hoop skirts or corsets,

  • because I find both

  • of those unappealing garments.

  • - [Joe] That completely adds up.

  • And if you could speak to Louisa May

  • Alcott today, what do you think

  • you would ask her?

  • - Well, I think I would say, "what are those

  • "crossed out sections of your journal?

  • "What are in the crossed

  • "out sections, what happened?"

  • 'Cause something did.

  • - [Joe] Well I didn't read the crossed

  • out sections, but I'm gonna take

  • your word for that.

  • - I have to make this screening.

  • Can we walk?

  • - [Joe] I love to walk.

  • Now, I know it's tricky, because this

  • is something very close to you,

  • but what would you say was your favorite

  • scene to shoot from Little Women?

  • - My favorite scene was definitely shooting

  • the dancing with Saoirse and Timmy

  • on the porch, outside of the party.

  • Just because it was so joyful and wonderful,

  • and it was actually three in the morning,

  • in the cold, in Massachusetts.

  • - [Joe] [chuckling] I love Saoirse.

  • And I'm gonna get back to her later, but who

  • is someone in history that you've found

  • to be really inspiring?

  • - Someone is, that I, Virginia Woolf.

  • Virginia Woolf.

  • - [Joe] Virginia Woolf, tell me more.

  • - She was, I mean, what I love about her,

  • so many things, I love her writing,

  • but also, she was included in the canon

  • because she was just better than everyone.

  • And I feel like they thought, "oh, well, that

  • "lady, she's a lady, but she's really great."

  • - [Joe] Is there a story out there that you long

  • to see a retelling of?

  • - The bible, but from the point of view

  • of all the women. [chuckling]

  • - [Joe] Now, you've received immense praise

  • for your writing, along with an Oscar

  • nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay,

  • congratulations for that.

  • - Thank you.

  • - [Joe] Can you describe your perfect

  • setting and setup for writing?

  • - My perfect setup for writing is a place

  • with a bed, a single bed, a bed

  • for just me, because I like to take

  • naps a lot, while I'm writing.

  • It would have a slanted ceiling,

  • it would be very small, it would be like

  • a secret door situation, so no one would know

  • when I was in there.

  • It'd be lots of space where I can put

  • stuff up on the wall, lots of books.

  • But, cozy and secret.

  • - [Joe] I wasn't expecting that

  • to be so elaborate, but--

  • - I have it planned, in a notebook. [chuckling]

  • - [Joe] [chuckling] Writing original, or adaptive?

  • Which do you prefer?

  • - Well original, but I treat

  • it all like it's original,

  • even if I'm adapting something.

  • - [Joe] Now let me in on a secret,

  • are you trying to get Saoirse

  • and Timothee to date?

  • - Who wouldn't want them to date?

  • They're so good looking.

  • - [Joe] True.

  • Would you direct another period piece?

  • - Yes.

  • - [Joe] In what borough would Jo March

  • live in today?

  • - Manhattan.

  • - [Joe] What was your first apartment

  • in New York like?

  • [machinery buzzing]

  • - My generator just went on.

  • - [Joe] It's the one take interview, Greta.

  • - I lived in the dorms, up at Barnard College,

  • Columbia, and then I was on 113th Street,

  • in a studio apartment.

  • With a friend.

  • - [Joe] Oh, and what's your favorite

  • thing to do in New York City on a rare day off?

  • - Walking.

  • Just tons of walking.

  • Walking from my apartment all the way

  • to the Met, walk around the Met, walk back.

  • - [Joe] And what about Los Angeles?

  • - I go to a place where I can walk.

  • - [Joe] You've been living in New York

  • for a while now.

  • How do you know when a home is a home?

  • - A home is a home when you have books

  • you've actually read in it.

  • - [Joe] What's a reference only people

  • from Sacramento would understand?

  • - The fabulous '40s.

  • No one knows what that is outside of Sacramento.

  • - [Joe] What did six year old Greta

  • think she would be when she grew up?

  • - A nun, because I liked the outfits.

  • - [Joe] [chuckling] what's the role

  • you never got to play, but always dreamed of?

  • [chuckling] Come on.

  • - Hamlet! [laughing]

  • - [Joe] Ah!

  • - I mean, I still can. [chuckling]

  • - [Joe] Not gonna do a to be or not to be

  • reference there, but anyway, you dance

  • a bunch in your films.

  • Do you mind showing me your favorite

  • move that you've ever done on camera?

  • In any movie.

  • - Yeah, but I can't really do it in heels.

  • I mean it was sort of like, you know,

  • like that new wave dance.

  • - [Joe] Oh, you got it.

  • - Like that kind of, do you know

  • what I'm talking about?

  • - [Joe] No, it's good, yes I do.

  • - That thing.

  • Can you dance too?

  • - [Joe] No I can't.

  • All right, you got me.

  • You got me, I'm doing it.

  • Let's keep walking.

  • Now, in your career, what's something

  • you initially thought was negative,

  • but eventually turned out to be a positive?

  • - Well, I was meant to do a sitcom

  • called How I Met Your Dad, and it didn't work,

  • nobody wanted it.

  • So, that seemed bad, but now it's okay.

  • But, who knows?

  • It could've been great, and I would've had

  • a better alternate life.

  • - [Joe] What's one movie you've watched

  • over 1000 times?

  • - Singing in the Rain.

  • - [Joe] Why did you watch that 1000 times?

  • - Because it's the most joyful thing

  • I've ever really seen on camera.

  • - [Joe] In three words, what's the vibe

  • you try to achieve on a Greta set?

  • - Communal, spontaneous, concentrated, humor.

  • - [Joe] That's so you.

  • What's the best of advice you received

  • as you are starting on a film?

  • - You only get to know what you're not doing

  • once, so don't miss it.

  • - [Joe] Mm, wise words.

  • - Do you wanna steal this golf cart?

  • - [Joe] They let you drive golf carts around here?

  • - All right.

  • - [Joe] Okay, you only get to know

  • what you're not doing once, so you don't miss it.

  • Do you still believe in that advice?

  • - Definitely.

  • I think, I mean, luckily, you get to not know

  • what you're doing on any new film you're doing.

  • So you can be a beginner forever.

  • But yeah, yeah, once you do

  • the first one, that's it.

  • Do you wanna get in?

  • - [Joe] You're so hospitable.

  • Absolutely.

  • What book most positively shaped

  • your idea of romance?

  • - Well, I don't know about

  • positively, but, definitely, I was shaped

  • by Jane Austen, because she's Jane Austen,

  • and it was what made me think that every guy

  • who's a jerk, was actually a super nice

  • guy, who wanted to marry me.

  • - [Joe] Very insightful.

  • What book most positively shaped your idea

  • of the world?

  • - Positively shaped my idea of the world.

  • - [Joe] Positively shaped.

  • - Oh my gosh.

  • I think, I don't know if this counts

  • as positive, but Joan Didion's writing

  • made me think that perhaps the life

  • I was living was worth writing about.

  • - [Joe] Now why is maintaining your fashion

  • style so important now you're a director?

  • - To communicate all of my power. [chuckling]

  • - [Joe] And, do you have a lot of power?

  • - I have so [chuckling] much power,

  • and you can tell by the breadth

  • of my shoulders.

  • - [Joe] [chuckling] I can see.

  • Who's your fashion icon?

  • - My friend Sarah's sister, Leah.

  • - [Joe] What's your favorite piece

  • of vintage clothing in your wardrobe?

  • - I have a pair of Converse sneakers

  • that are Converse before it was bought

  • by Nike, and they're the Jack Purcells,

  • and they changed the way they looked.

  • They tried to lie to me and say

  • that they didn't change them, but they did.

  • - [Joe] Oof.

  • Jumpsuit or pantsuit?

  • - Jumpsuit.

  • - [Joe] Floral or plaid?

  • - Plaid.

  • - [Joe] Motorcycle jacket or blazer?

  • - Blazer.

  • - [Joe] What's the first thing you notice

  • about someone's outfit?

  • Like mine.

  • - The shoes.

  • - [Joe] Oh, interesting.

  • What is the sexiest thing a man can wear?

  • - Just a tiny hat. [chuckling]

  • - [Joe] That's not true.

  • That's not true.

  • - Just imagine it.

  • Wouldn't you be intrigued?

  • [laughing] Sexually?

  • - [Joe] Maybe, just a little bit.

  • What's the sexiest thing a woman can wear?

  • - [laughing] I don't know.

  • For my money, an oversized shirt.

  • Like a man's shirt.

  • - [Joe] What was your favorite meal, growing up?

  • - Well, I had two, and still the same.

  • Number one, cereal.

  • Number two, macaroni and cheese.

  • - [Joe] Favorite non fiction writer?

  • - Robert Sapolsky.

  • - [Joe] Good driving, by the way.

  • What was the last TV show that you binge watched?

  • - I'm in the process of binging Love Island UK.

  • - [Joe] Where's one place in the world

  • that you are dying to visit?

  • - Oh, I'm dying to visit.

  • Ireland!

  • Because of Saoirse.

  • She told me I'd love it, I've never been.

  • - [Joe] Ah, you're gonna love it there.

  • It is good.

  • If you could share the dance floor with anyone

  • in history, who would it be?

  • - Gene Kelly.

  • - [Joe] Oh, good dancer!

  • - [Man] Hi Greta!

  • - Hi, how are you?

  • - [Joe] Gene Kelly, that is a good one.

  • What would you dance with him?

  • What do you imagine, what song

  • do you imagine dancing with him?

  • - We would dance to Moonage Daydream.

  • But tap.

  • - [Joe] Nice.

  • So, you're doing a lot of interviews these days.

  • What question are you hoping to get asked more?

  • - I would hope to get asked more, I mean,

  • it would have to also correspond with my life.

  • I hope somebody asks me, "what does it feel

  • "like to win so many Oscars?" [laughing]

  • - [Joe] [chuckling] Hey, hey, this may happen.

  • This may likely be the case.

  • - We're here.

  • - [Joe] Okay.

  • What's your favorite look that you've ever worn

  • on the red carpet?

  • - Actually, Rodarte, at the Oscars,

  • two years ago.

  • It was a yellow dress.

  • It was the color of California poppies,

  • and I loved it.

  • - [Joe] Ah, that's beautiful.

  • And what would you say

  • is your favorite plot twist?

  • Books or movies.

  • - Favorite plot, it was at the end of Arrival,

  • when you realize the timelines are wrong.

  • - [Joe] And what film have you seen in the past

  • six months that has left

  • the biggest impact on you?

  • - Pain and Glory.

  • - [Joe] Why Pain and Glory?

  • - Because, it was so vulnerable,

  • both on the part of Pedro Almodovar,

  • and Antonio Banderas.

  • I felt both of their beating hearts in it.

  • - [Joe] Feel those corazones.

  • - Wanna sit down?

  • - [Joe] Yeah.

  • So Greta, you gotta let me in on a secret.

  • I heard a rumor that you really do music

  • supervise your own films.

  • - I have music supervisors,

  • but I am very tightly controlled

  • about what the music is.

  • - [Joe] Okay.

  • And what's one of your favorite lines

  • from your films?

  • - Before Meg gets married, Jo says,

  • "you will be bored of him in two years,

  • "but we will be interesting forever."

  • - [Joe] That's a good one.

  • And what emotion is hardest to capture on camera?

  • In your opinion.

  • - Ambivalence.

  • I think actors are very good at communicating

  • intention, and sometimes if you don't know,

  • that can be hard to come across.

  • - [Joe] That's interesting.

  • Do you read your reviews?

  • - I read them after.

  • I read them long after.

  • Because I like smart reviews, and I like

  • film criticism, but it's too painful

  • to read them when it first comes out.

  • - [Joe] Yeah, it has to be tough.

  • - Yes.

  • - [Joe] And, when do you feel most comfortable?

  • - When I'm directing.

  • - [Joe] Why?

  • - Because I think the more chaotic

  • and high pressure an environment

  • is, the more relaxed and at ease I get.

  • I find that I, in a wonderful

  • way, become invisible.

  • And I feel very good.

  • - [Joe] That's well said.

  • And what have you observed

  • in your first year of motherhood?

  • - That babies are pattern seeking machines.

  • We come into this world looking for patterns.

  • You think they're just unaware, they're not.

  • They're always looking for what happened

  • before, and will it happen again.

  • - [Joe] And do you remember a time

  • when you cried, while directing?

  • - Yes, I cry while directing

  • almost every single day.

  • - [Joe] Now, talking about directing,

  • we asked your 73 Questions alum, Saoirse Ronan,

  • what draws her to a script,

  • and she said, "good pacing."

  • Was that something you are thinking

  • about when you're writing?

  • - Yes, I always think, I don't know

  • that I would call it pacing, but I do think

  • about the rhythm of the words.

  • That's a big deal for me as a writer.

  • And I think, maybe it's more particular

  • to me than for other screenwriters.

  • But, the way that sounds almost musically, is how

  • I know a thing is done.

  • - [Joe] I also asked her what song,

  • without question, makes her cry.

  • And what song is that for you?

  • - The musical Passing Strange.

  • There's a whole section after his mother

  • dies that I can't listen to without crying.

  • - [Joe] You said you love to capture

  • moments when people truly are alone.

  • And, what draws you to that?

  • - Well, in movies, being alone

  • with a character is very special,

  • and it's very unique to cinema.

  • And, I think I'm always interested

  • in who are we when we think no one is watching?

  • - [Joe] Huh.

  • And you wrote Little Women and Lady Bird alone.

  • How does that feel versus

  • when you're collaborating with a partner?

  • - Writing with a partner is more fun

  • than writing alone, because you can make

  • each other laugh.

  • But, writing alone, it can give

  • you a very deep sense of satisfaction,

  • and lonely victory.

  • - [Joe] Never thought about it like that.

  • But who do you normally allow to read

  • your scripts first?

  • Who's that person with that privilege?

  • - Noah Baumbach reads my scripts first.

  • - [Joe] Oh, of course it's Noah.

  • - I have to go to the screening.

  • Can we walk?

  • - [Joe] Yeah, let's go.

  • So, I was wondering, is procrastination

  • ever an issue for you?

  • - Yes, I am such a terrible procrastinator.

  • I mean, I'm a good procrastinator.

  • I'm really good at it.

  • I do it constantly.

  • - [Joe] And what do you do to kinda snap

  • out of your procrastination?

  • - It's all about fear.

  • It's when the fear of not doing

  • something gets bigger than the fear

  • of doing it.

  • And then I do it.

  • - [Joe] And what's time that you laughed

  • the most on set?

  • - When Bob Odenkirk was there.

  • He's very funny, and he was making

  • everyone laugh at the dinner table,

  • because I needed real laughter,

  • and then I was just, I was crying

  • with laughter, sitting in the monitor.

  • - [Joe] I was not expecting him at all,

  • when he showed up on camera.

  • - I know because, but, wouldn't you be so happy,

  • if he was your dad, and came home

  • from the Civil War?

  • You'd be like, "Dad's home, it's Bob Odenkirk!"

  • [both laughing]

  • - [Joe] Greta, you find yourself

  • in a cinematic crisis.

  • Who's the first person that you call?

  • - Noah, probably, first.

  • But after that, Wes Anderson, who's good

  • friends of Noah.

  • But he always has good advice,

  • and he always has a way of kind of making

  • the obstacle the solution.

  • He says, "well maybe that's not a problem,

  • "maybe that's what you should base

  • "that whole section around."

  • - [Joe] Now, your work

  • is really, really hard to describe.

  • But, what do you want people to feel

  • when they watch your work?

  • - I hope they say it makes them live

  • more vividly when they leave the movie theater.

  • - [Joe] What word always makes you laugh?

  • - Befuddled.

  • - [Joe] Oh, that's a good one.

  • Greta, last question for you.

  • Question number 73, what's next for you?

  • - I'm going to be acting in Three Sisters,

  • by Chekhov, in New York,

  • and then I will be writing

  • a picture about Barbie.

  • A Barbie picture.

  • - [Joe] Ooh, that sounds good.

  • Greta, good luck to you. - Thank you.

  • - [Joe] Can't wait to see you winning that Oscar.

  • - Thank you.

  • - [Joe] You got it.

  • Bye bye.

- [Joe] This is the right studio,

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