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]
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