Greta Gerwig talks about Barbie’s success and more films – The Hollywood Reporter

Greta Gerwig

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After the success of her monster movie at the box office BarbieGreta Gerwig says she doesn’t want to stop directing films.

“I want to do this in my 70s. I think it was (François) Truffaut who said: ‘Sometimes, quantity is impressive.’ I know what he means. I just want to be seen as, like: ‘It’s good,'” he said. Gerwig: “She can do it.” Vanity galleryin a magazine profile with the director published Monday.

Barbie Grossing more than $1.4 billion, making it the highest-grossing film of 2023, Warner Bros. Highest-grossing film of all time And Highest-grossing film by a solo female director. She is next attached to direct the feature film version of Chronicles of Narnia For Netflix.

This is after Gerwig moved from acting to standing behind the camera in critical hits such as Lady Bird And little Women. But Gerwig insisted that the secret to her success as a director was keeping busy.

“The really scary thing is to feel lethargic,” she admitted in the profile. “At some point, the terror of not making anything becomes much greater than the terror of making something bad.”

Despite her success in Hollywood, feelings of self-doubt caused Gerwig not to read any reviews Barbie, Until now. She also recounts the tremors she felt as she tackled the 64-year-old doll’s story.

“Honestly, there was just fear around it all from the beginning. You’re dealing with a topic that’s already full of opinions. But the trick is to say, well, instead of trying to wrap your head around it, what if we just got into it? And the whole project was definitely like: ‘Drive it As if you stole it.’ Go! Go! Go. Don’t tell them, don’t tell them where we’re going.’ She said.

The longtime partner of fellow director Noah Baumbach, with whom she has two sons, added that parenting is similar to directing films. “By the time you get to the end of the movie, you’ve figured out how to make this movie. You learn how to do it while you’re doing it, but then it’s over, and the moment is over. And kids are like movies. You’ve never had this,” Gerwig said. “Before, you don’t know what he has up his sleeve.”

Although it is in Barbie Bubble For much of the past year or two, Gerwig has kept his eye on the industry’s rapid changes as a writer, director and actor. She admitted that she’s “luckier than a lot of people in that really traumatic things haven’t happened” regarding sexual harassment in Hollywood amid #MeToo-era revelations.

She said that living in New York City, as opposed to Los Angeles, allowed her to be somewhat isolated from the industry. “I can use the studio system, but I don’t have to live in it. And I’m conscious of not wanting to get hung up on what Hollywood considers a good or bad idea, because I don’t want to know if my idea is ridiculous. And when you live in L.A., you know everyone. Everybody They know each other’s lawyers. Often times I don’t know who the powerful person in the room is.

She also added that she welcomed directors’ intimate input into film sets, which stemmed from that era: “They make perfect sense.” He’s like a fight choreographer. No one would ever say, “Just take these swords and see what happens. Just duel a little and see where the spirit takes you.” This is madness.”