May 24th, 2013 
James Shotwell 
Since bursting onto the national stage in 2006, Greta Gerwig has quickly carved a unique niche for herself in Hollywood that is equal parts elegance and fun. Her roles to date have found her foraying into relatively every genre imaginable, and in each instance she has delivered a performance worthy of praise. Her latest effort, Frances Ha, is no different. I had the chance to speak with Ms. Gerwig about her work on the film, as well as her plans for the future, earlier this week. Click below to read the highlights of our conversation.
Frances Ha is making its way across America in arthouses and as an indie feature in several major chains. If you have a chance to see it and love movies that let you escape reality without the use of gratuitous sex or violence, I highly recommend seeking it out.
UTG: Let’s take a step back and start at the beginning. You’re credited with writing ‘Frances Ha’ along with Noah Baumbach, whom you’ve been dating since 2011. Where did you initially find inspiration for this story and when did you begin writing it?
Greta: Originally Noah contacted me and asked if I would be interested in writing with him. He said we could collaborate on the script, that he would direct, and that there may even be a part in it for me. It was great because I loved his writing, and working with him on Greenberg, and I had written a lot of plays in and out of college. I had also collaborated on a bunch of structures and screenplays in the beginning, but I felt like I had lost sight of writing as something that I did regularly. That made me really sad because I love it and it’s something I always wanted to do, but acting was taking precedent. So since I had been thwarted and sort of backed up as a writer I had a bunch of ideas for scenes and characters compiled. I sent them to Noah and he responded by saying he thought we had a movie. He added some ideas, and we kept pushing on it. We spent about a year writing it, and when we had the script in a place where we thought it was good we went about figuring out how to shoot it.
UTG: You mentioned your love of writing before, so what was it about Noah’s initial approach that made you realize it was time to buckle down and create something more full?
Greta: I responded so well to the script of Greenberg, and it was exactly the kind of writing I love because it sounds natural and colloquial, but it’s not. It’s just enough off and has just enough rhythm to be seriously crafted, but it feels effortless, and there is something about that I have always loved. It’s exactly the kind of thing I want to write. And so for me (pause), I also have this thing as an actor where I feel like I do be when I understand the writing on a deep level. Sometimes I can’t understand the writing, and I can’t hear it rhythmically, which makes it hard because that is how I get into things. It’s almost like a dance or playing an instrument, you have to allow the script to carry you in a way, and that is only possible when I can hear it. When he asked if I wanted to write something with him it almost felt like being able to really go to school with someone I want to emulate. It was an incredible challenge, but also so gratifying. There were also things about the way I wrote that were unfamiliar with Noah, and I think he really enjoyed having this other voice in his work as well. It was just…it didn’t take any thought at all to do it. It was almost the push I needed to do something I was proud of.
UTG: Speaking of Greenberg, you’ve spoken in past about how people often confuse you with the character you played in that film. With Frances Ha you were included in the creation of the character. So do you think she more accurately represents a part of you that people can take away from the film?
Greta: I think there are things about Frances that are close to me, but I also think of Frances as an almost full bodied comedic character. I looked at it almost like a Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, the sorta full bodied persona, and the way that Noah shot [the film] allowed me to create a character from head to foot. It felt like an almost vaudevillian type of thing, so though there are things about Frances that are like me, it’s heightened in a way. We found these external markers that express who she is, then emphasized it.
UTG: Something that I noticed is how technology plays an interesting role in the story. Frances doesn’t seem to be interested in it, and every time it comes up in the phone Frances appears negative towards it. Was it an intentional move to paint a character who seems so opposed to technology?
Greta: No, it was never something we totally talked about as something we were conscious of. I find that is not that interesting to watch technology on film [laughs]. It’s inherently non-interactive, and I’m not opposed to technology or anything, but we didn’t want to make a piece that felt…well I think when you include a lot of technology it says “I’m making a film about kids today” instead of “I’m making a film about what the moment of 27 has felt like for probably all of time.” That’s why the black and white look, and the music, and the way it’s shot is how it is – we wanted to kind of create a sense of instant nostalgia and a feeling of more than just “now,” even though it is such a contemporary story.
UTG: That makes sense. Even when you watch the most classic films, it’s hard to stay engaged in the story when they pull out their bulky cell phones.
Greta: Like in Lethal Weapon when Mel Gibson is carrying a box with a phone in it?
UTG: Exactly.
Greta: It’s pretty awesome. It’s like “What does that box do? I’ve never even seen that! It’s the strangest thing.
UTG: A personal favorite of our staff is your work in House Of The Devil, but outside of that you have done very little in the world of horror. Do you have any desire to work in that area more?
Greta: Yea, I would do more horror. I think I prefer more Rosemary’s Baby type stuff than Hostel, but yea, I would totally do it. I love a good scary movie. I really enjoy it, but it’s just that I’m not into torture porn, or cutting women up in bikinis, or anything like that.
UTG: So you want something with an actual story. Not just buckets of blood thrown at the screen.
Greta: Yea, I’m not too into that. I am into scary movies and suspense, I just don’t like gore for gore’s sake.
UTG: Alright, so Frances Ha is rolling out into theaters now, and you and Noah have talked about a number of additional projects in the works. Do you have any final thoughts to share with our readers?
Greta: [Noah and I] have a bunch of pokers in the fire, as a team and individuals. In the next year or two you can expect more Gerwig/Baumbach joints, more just Baumbach joints, and more Gerwig joints. I cannot really talk about things that are not greenlit or together yet because I don’t want to jinx them.
Interview written & conducted by: James Shotwell (Twitter)
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