Greta Gerwig, the Lady Bird helmer, became just the fifth woman to be recognized by the film Academy’s directors branch in its 90 year history.
She joined the company of: Lina Wertmüller (“Seven Beauties”), Jane Campion (“The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”) and Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) in the small and exclusive club.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has made Gerwig the ninth woman ever to receive a theatrical nomination.
Gerwig spoke about female filmmakers: “Between Patty Jenkins and Sofia Coppola and Maggie Betts and Kathryn Bigelow and Angelina Jolie, the number of women who are making really interesting films and the desire to shine a spotlight on them and us and women producers and directors and filmmakers and executives, that’s the thing I’m heartened by.”
Gerwig has noted the importance of female voices in developing her own: “It sparked something in me and led to me going, ‘I need to do this. I think women tend to focus on stories that men don’t have the privilege of seeing.”
Greta Gerwig: Double Nominee
“Lady Bird” was also nominated for best picture, best actress (Saoirse Ronan), best supporting actress (Laurie Metcalf) and best original screenplay, making Gerwig a double nominee this year.
The film is New York-based distributor A24’s most successful release to date, earning $40 million domestically thus far. It could make another $20 million in the next couple of months.
In Good Company:
The other best director nominees this year were Paul Thomas Anderson (“Phantom Thread”), Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”), Christopher Nolan (“Dunkirk”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”).