73 Questions With Barbie's Greta Gerwig | Vogue

- [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.