Greta Gerwig and Spike Jonze sat down recently following a screening of Gerwig’s directorial debut film “Lady Bird” to talk about the film, the road to getting it made and what themes in her own life helped to inspire the film. Jonze, former music video director turned filmmaker has received widespread acclaim for his films including “Her“, “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation.” Jonze and Gerwig discussed what makes “Lady Bird” relatable to teenagers and adults alike as well as what it took to get this film to the big screen.
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In preparing for her first endeavor as director, Gerwig spoke to many of the industry’s most respected directors for insights and tips, including Jonze himself. “I spoke to Mike Mills, Rebecca Miller, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Todd Solonds and Whit Stilman,” Gerwig said to which Jonze replied, “wow… I want to see this list [of tips].” Naturally, a list like this would be hugely beneficial to any first time filmmaker, and Gerwig definitely made use of it. She did note however that Jonze was the one who gave her one piece of advice that was useful to her during the shoot. “You said, ‘if you don’t like a shot, just start turning off lights. If that works great, but if not it actually gives you a chance to figure out what it was about the shot you didn’t like’ and that was very useful to me.”
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Jonze saw the film himself twice saying its relatable to both teens and adults alike noting that,”you have this feeling of not knowing everything but also feeling everything so its very much what being a teenager is like.” He went on to ask Gerwig how much of the film was autobiographical, she replied, “the story is certainly close to my heart but I would say it rhymes with the truth rather than it actually being true.”
For more on the powerful themes “Lady Bird” unravels, as well as Gerwig’s adventures in first-time directing, listen below: