With just over a week to go until Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women hits cinemas, the director has responded to her Golden Globes snub.
The list of nominees was revealed last Monday (December 9), with the film up for Best Score, and Saoirse Ronan up for Best Actress in a Drama Film for her role as Jo. There’s a notable hole where Gerwig’s name should be in the Best Director category, though, which is dominated by men for the second year in a row.
Now, speaking on BBC Radio 4, the director discussed the lack of female nominees. “It’s a real bummer,” she said. “There’s so much beautiful work by women this year that you’d love to see it acknowledged by anyone who has trophies to give out. You hope that they give them to some ladies.”
Appearing on the show with cast members Ronan and Florence Pugh, the trio joked about throwing a Golden Globe at a wedding instead of a bouquet, with all female directors waiting to catch it.
Gerwig later added: “I don’t know what the solution is. The work is great.”
Discussing her own experience, Ronan reflected on a film where the director of photography talked over her and another female actor “the entire time”. She said: “I noticed that he wouldn’t stop talking, even though we were trying to discuss a shot we were doing. So much of Little Women and Jo’s journey in particular is this battle just to be heard.”
Last week, during an interview on US show TODAY, Ronan expressed her disappointment at Gerwig’s snub. “She has made one of the best movies of the year,” the actor said. “In a way, it’s sort of vital for something like this to happen because it reminds us of how far we still need to go. She’s a really brilliant filmmaker. We wouldn’t be here without her.”
Gerwig’s adaptation of the classic story recently got the approval of Gillian Armstrong, the filmmaker behind the much-loved 1994 version. She wrote on Twitter: “Plucked up courage and saw the new Little Women. And loved it. Very different. Brave new structure. Fantastic cast. And yes the message sadly needs to be stronger for this generation. Hopefully now men will see and vote #gretaforoscar.”
The upcoming film has already generated Oscar buzz, so here’s hoping Gerwig gets her deserved nomination. In the meantime, look back at Ronan in conversation with her Little Women mum, Laura Dern.
Little Women hits UK cinemas on December 26