The multi-talented Greta Gerwig is starring on the cover February cover of Elle UK where she spoke to the publication about her most recent acclaimed movie.
“Little Women”, which Gerwig both directed and wrote, hit theatres only a few weeks ago to rave reviews– a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. But while the film was like her baby when making it, Gerwig says it doesn’t feel anymore personal than her other projects.
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“It made me cry, both while I was writing it and then making it. Now I have no feelings left. ‘Little Women’ feels as personal as anything I’ll ever make,” she told the publication.
The movie stars multiple big names including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson and Saoirse Ronan, but more famous than all three combined was Meryl Streep.
“Oh, I was terrified as a director, because what am I going to say to her?” Gerwig said about directing Streep. “She’s so smart and she knows more about how films are made than anyone. There were a couple of lines I wrote to get a character from A to B, inelegantly, and you know when Meryl asks, ‘Now why do I say that?’ you’d better have a f*cking good answer. It’s intimidating, but it forces you to be better. Unfortunately, it’s uncomfortable to get better, because it means you have to look like an idiot in front of her. But she’s fabulous.”
Even though she might have felt like an “idiot” at times, Chalamet only had fantastic things to say about her.
“She has a way of talking with actors that is uniquely insightful. That’s perhaps because she’s an actress herself, but also because she has this intuitive way of speaking about movies, about acting and about the direction of a story,” he said to Elle.
And if creating one of the most talked about movies of the year wasn’t enough to have on one’s plate, Gerwig also became a new mom.
“There’s no way I could do it without that help [paid help], as well as my mother and my friends,” Gerwig said about balancing the two duties. “Whatever you were prepared for, none of it is how you think, as far as I can tell. There has to be a certain amount of denial that goes on.”
