Greta Gerwig - Lady Bird

0:00 Has your mother ever made you want to jump out of a movie car? I'm gonna say no, but I'm sure. I'm sure that some of my behavior in the car has made her want to jump out of the movie car that she was driving. I have not only wanted to jump out of a car, but my mother. There were three of us, and we would get to squabbling, and she would tell us if we weren't going to stop that she was either a just going to drive around the two seventy five loop until we stopped fighting. We would just drive all day long, however logotech, or she would pull over and make us run alongside the car. Wow.

0:43 And I don't know why. I think we really believed her. I don't know why because she would never have done either of those things. But it definitely got us to pull ourselves together very quickly, I imagine. So so On that note, let's dive into a film by Greta Gerwigg twenty seventeen's coming of age story Ladybird. Hello everybody, I'm Jeff Johnson, I'm Amber Lewis, and this is a film by a podcast Amber. Always a pleasure to have you back. It's becoming more and more common and I'm happy about that. I know, I'm just gonna take a set of keys and bring myself at home. Yeah, well, we have to get the lawyers here and right up and drop some contracts. I think. No. Happy to have you back. I'm absolutely stoked to talk about today's movie at A Gerwig's Ladybird. I'm gonna be honest with you. I had never seen this.

2:07 You I could tell we're a big fan when when we talked about this one. So for for listeners like me who maybe didn't catch this in twenty seventeen, can you can you let us know what is Ladybird all about? Quite simply in the vein of you know, the eighties coming of age stories like you know, Pretty and Pink and sixteen Candles, or you know, from the nineties, like movies like Clueless, it's about a seventeen year old girl coming of age in Sacramento, California, and very loosely semi autobiographical of what Greta Gerwig's life. She wrote and directed it, and it's just this absolutely delightful, artistic young woman named who has christened herself Ladybird, and that senior year of high school and all the changes that you go through. I love coming of age movies. A lot of times we see them from the male perspective. You know, it's always a group of friends. And I don't care whether it's something as poigned as stand by Me in nineteen eighty six or something as lewd as you know, American Pie. You know, there's always there's always like that. We always see these coming of age stories from the male perspective, and every so now and again we're treated to one where it's the female perspective. I gotta tell you, I absolutely love this film, and I'm surprised to know this is this is Greta Gerwig's solo directing debut.

3:42 I think it was two thousand and eight. She worked with Joe Swanberg on a movie called Nights and Weekends. But the fact that this is her solo effort and this is what she gives us, I'm astounded. Amber. Yeah, she's just absolutely one of those natural talents. I mean, I don't think it's going too far to say in the vein of like Steven Spielberg, who just kind of jumped right out of the gate and had a vision and was able to realize that vision in a very audience entertaining way, Can is it too early? Can we go ahead and talk about the Oscar snub this year? I'm kind of on the seesaw about it. Oh okay, because as much as I wanted her to get that directing nod, because I think it's just ridiculous that women just seem to be excluded from that category, like they just don't belong there. It's some kind of fluke when their movies are brilliant and successful. You know, the movie was nominated in other categories that Greta could win, so she still gets to win, Margot Robbie still gets to win. Yeah, they do. But I just feel like, but you it's a snub. I mean, and I think I think what you're saying definitely has merit, because it would be one thing if we could say,

5:12 hey, listen, this movie had a lot to say, and you know, there was a really amazing message behind the behind the plot. But it didn't do any money, but we know it did a billion dollars, and it'd be one thing to say, hey listen, it's a it's a popular movie. Yeah, I made a bunch of money, but I mean, come on, it's Barbie, except that it wasn't it had a lot to say. I still like, we covered it on our Back to the Box Office series and I raved about it. Then last July when when it came out, and I still think of who is it America Ferrara, who gives that incredible speech, that monologue at the end, and I thought, damn, I mean, how hard is it to be a woman in this day and age, in the past, in the future like this? Like everything she said like it just it hit me like a ton of bricks.

6:04 So so okay, yeah, so I'm on the Oscar snub train here. I think I think she got she got cheated. Let's jump into this cast. There's a couple people I want to talk about. Let's begin with the woman playing the title role of ladybird Uh. And I'm so happy to know how to do this because you look at her name and you're like, what, but listen, she will tell you herself. It's Saresha Ronan. Yes. And after I butchered David Oilweo's on the other I have practiced because I was so ashamed of myself. I'm very proud that I knew how to pronounce name because my son is completely in love with her, Like, that's why I watched this movie because to the credit of her talent. Yeah, the first and only thing that I had seen her in before this was Atonement, and her character is so awful in an Atonement, and I hate her so much that I was like, I don't even want I can't even deal with her. I don't want to look at her. I can't stand it.

7:15 And Liam just fell in love with her and was like, but we had to say this movie because my girls, Hey, I he has great taste. She is. She is an attractive young woman. She's a talented young woman. And speaking about her beauty, I loved when I when I because I kind of noticed this when I watched it and then like just picking up a little bit, do you know, because I'll warn you I'm not as prepared this time. I didn't. I didn't do a lot of digging on this film. But that's okay. Yeah, I figured you would. But I love the fact that she chooses not to wear makeup, you know, to cover she had a little bit of acting me going on at this time in her life, and she makes an informed decision and not to cover it up because she wants to show a teenager's face in a movie that actually looks like eighteenagers face in real life. And Greta girl will get it like she's on board with it. And my god, she's still she's she's she's just a beautiful girl in this movie. Despite that, you know, I think it has something to do with there are some people that their intelligence and their passion just comes across on their face. There is something about her that is so compelling and just makes her so interesting to watch. I have to agree, But I love that lack of vanity. She had just done The Crucible on Broadway, and that heavy stage makeup combined with like the hot lights and

8:46 everything, just is that what was doing it out? Oh wow? And the fact that she is the one that went to her makeup artist and then they went to Greta and said, this is what we want to do, because you know, every teen movie that you can think of, like they've all got porcelain skid, you know, not like that movies like this, the you know, the high school coming of age movies, even the nerds, even the like everyone everyone looks fantastic. Let's be honest, you know, looks better than in the Breakfast Club I'm looking at you. Brian Johnson. Yeah, yeah, he looked fantastic. You know, he couldn't he he wasn't good at shop class. But that's okay. He still look great.

9:31 You know, he's a handsome guy. Laurie Metcalf plays Ladybird's mother, Mary M McPherson. So Gerwigs, I know, uh, Gerwig was impressed by her theater work because we're all wondering, like, you know, what happened to Jackie? She you know, gone, I feel so like that's so insulting, but it made such an impression that every time I see her, I'm like, Jackie is in this what? Well? I mean, let's let's be honest. Every time Lorie Metcalf shows up in a film and to her she's very good. You still see Jackie, you know, like, oh, hey, Jackie's working for Jim Garrison and jfk Oh hey, Jackie's unhinged. She's a she went crazy and scream. So yeah, but this is a situation where I don't see Jackie at all, and I guess, you know, she leaves Rose and she goes, she goes on stage, does a lot of theater work. I would love to see some of her theater performances, if that's out there anywhere. But she's amazing in this movie. I absolutely think her performance was incredible. I can't believe, you know, she's nominated for an Academy Award here and I can't believe she doesn't win it. Oh, she was so amazing and so perfect for this role.

10:45 And the one thing that I love is in researching Little Women, Greta Gerwig in that script, I love when people like when there's intermingled dialogue and people talking over each other, and she had written that into the script, like within tension, and they rehearsed it that way, and I wonder, I didn't get anything from this one, But I wonder how if this was just a Lourie Metcalf thing, or if they rehearsed it this way, that the way she paces all of her conversations with Ladybird, where it can start out like very nurturing and then all of a sudden it takes like this ninety degree turn into a fight and then they switch gears and then they're back again, and yeah, okay, so it's it flows so naturally because every time we watch this and they go to shop for the Thanksgiving dress. Like Liam and I are on the floor because that is literally every shopping trip I've ever taken with my mother to this day. Liam's like, yeah, I've watched you do it. It's amazing. You know. We were kind of kidding around about jumping out of the car. This movie opens. Okay, so I'm gonna be honest with you. Like I said, I had not seen this movie. I didn't know what to expect. We'll see what happens.

12:01 I had faith, I will say this. I had faith because I was like, this is a Greta Gerwig film. I'm already, I'm already, I'm already on board. But we open up there they're listening to like the Grapes of Wrath on on tape, and they're they're having like this tender mother daughter moment where they're both crying, and I don't relate. You know, I'm a guy. I don't relate to that. You know. I didn't have crying moments with my with my mom. But within like a second, they're at each other and this girl just just opens the door and flings herself out, and I'm like, holy shit, what kind of movie are we watching here? What? What? What? And at that point I knew, this movie's fantastic. I'm gonna love it the rest of the way. I don't care, well, I don't even care what happens from here on out. This is gonna be a fantastic movie because these moments between Laurie Metcalf and Sarah shar Ronan, they're just they're so real, like it blows my mind, you know. And maybe they did do this, but I would just believe that Greta Girgs just sent them on a road trip and said, hey, go be mother and daughter and you know, come back. We'll see you on Monday. You know. Yes, if they didn't do that and they still had this kind of chemistry as a as a mother and daughter, I'm just I'm just wild. Yeah, they're just powerhouse women. And the thing that I love that Gretigrig said about it was because through the whole press junket leading up to the awards season that year, because this film just had all of the buzz and everybody was going that's over. People of course

13:31 kept asking her like, well, how true is it? And did all of these things really happen? And she said that this story rhymes with the truth and I thought that is so such a perfect way of saying it, because you know, you can, like I said, I can relate to those having those fights with my mom, but we rarely had fights that bad, you know, where they're like constantly, you know, at each other's starts, And my mother never said anything as harsh. Laurie Metcalf like does not hold back in some of those scenes. The things she says are really brutal. She's the breadwinner of this family and she's working double shifts. She's still at home doing dishes and doing laundry, and you're like, what what is the rest of this household doing? Like, why aren't they helping this woman? So when she gets a little out of line with Ladybird or she kind of gives some very transparent, hard to hear truths about their family situation, their financial situation, I'm behind her. It hit me on two levels because you know, I'm watching it from Ladybird's perspective, and I was, I mean, I wasn't like her as a teenager, but I remember feeling that way as a teenager and then seeing it also from the mom's perspective.

14:52 You're in both worlds now, right, Yeah, and then understanding that how scared her mother is all the time. She just operates on this level of anxiety that none of the rest of them even see that frequency. So God bless her. She's doing her best. She's doing her best. I'll tell you someone who's maybe not doing their best, And I don't mean their performance, I just mean the character I was so listen, my man, Timothy shallaba is in this post. I'm a huge I'm a huge I'm a huge Shallabay fan. I love this dude. Yes, And I'm like, all right, I can't wait. Where's he at? Like it's because it's like thirty minutes before he shows up. And then he's he's he's straight up James Dean and I'm like, yeah, shallab is here, give it to me.

15:43 And then and he's going to be the hero because the first boyfriend fell flat. Yeah, the first boyfriend kind of is a little bit of a dufist and he definitely is uh is gonna fall flat. But man, ten minutes in and I'm like, oh, Timothy Shallomey, You're You're a douchebag. This is not what I wanted. Credit. I mean, he's great, he's playing like a real teenage boy. Well, yeah he is, which I think shows how like Timmy's got to be a really good guy because he does not come off this way. I'm I'm not going to it for this. Yeah, I'm not gonna say that. I was like Timothy shallow May's Kyle character that not all that much. But I see I see where he where is? Yeah, that's that's kind of a late nineties, early two thousands high school guy. Yeah, I get it. Yeah he is still tataract. He is he is. Yeah. Yeah, I'll tell you.

16:49 I gotta plug a movie and you know what, We're going to cover it at some point. But have you ever seen him in a movie called The King. It's a Netflix original with Joel Edgerton. Oh you know why? It is the Henry the Fifth movie, King Henry. I feel so strongly about Henry the Fifth that I I didn't watch it because I was like, I'm gonna hate it. Oh you're missing out. Oh I'm telling you. That is that is the that is the go to challow May performance, no kidding, no kidding. And he even takes on Robert Pattinson's you know, French King and you're like, damn, these guys are they're they're putting work. So oh you got me intrigued. Now I'm gonna have to watch it. I give you a guarantee if you if you don't like it, uh yeah, I'll tell you what you don't like. Sorry, you know you don't like it. You picked the director, you picked the but I don't even care what movie is. Well we'll do it on the show.

17:41 All right, all right, all right, there you go. I am. I'm a man of my word. Unlike Timothy Shallow may Lay, I even like Maade Liam. He was like chattering about something when I rewatched it, and I was like, a second, I need to hear if he says what I think he said in this scene. What scene we're talking about, the scene at the party he says he's a virgin. He says it they're they're they're getting a little busy, and she's like, wait a minute. He's like, Gobby too, I think I think that's the line something like along those lines. Yeah. He's like really, and he goes yeah, yeah, totally, yeah, yeah, yeah, totally totally yeah mm hmm. Hey, at that at that age, we'd say anything. I'm just right. I'm not condoning it. I'm just saying he was a real teenage boy. He was a real teenage boy. Can we talk about the scene stealer of this entire film? Who I just felt I felt hard for.

18:44 I. I don't know where she came from. I don't know what else she's been in. I am a huge fan of Beanie Feldstein. She played she plays Julie the best friend. Yes, this girl's okay, I'm gushing here, but can we just talk about her smile? Like, just like this this I love like the math teacher. Every time the math teacher gives her a compliment and she's just like, look at him all do her whole body lights up? Yeah? This girl? Like who is? Who is this girl? Beanie Feltz? Has she done other stuff? She has, but it's like hit or miss here there. The biggest thing that I know from is she did the American story. Uh, Monica Lewinsky? She is She's not playing she played Monica. This girl is playing Monica Lewinsky on an American crime story. Yeah what, I I don't have to check.

19:41 What is she the girl from Book Smart? I don't know because I don't know what that is. But she did like when they did during Lockdown, they did that Princess Bride. She played Buttercup. Uh, there's an animated Harriet the Spy show on Apple TV. She did the voice of Harriet. She's popped up on like Grey's Anatomy and okay, so she's getting work. Yeah, she's getting work. And I think she's done. See Robert needs to be here. I think she's done a lot of Broadway. Well yeah, okay, so because we got like her and her and Lady Bird are trying out for like the school play. Yes, and she does. She has she's got a lovely voice. You know she's gonna but you know what, she's smarter than your average bear because she got that part because she's sang a hymn that is smart. Yeah, you're right. I just she wasn't any better than any of the other girls and certainly didn't sell it, you know like Ssha and the other girl did. But they picked her her character because she sung a him. Yeah, she's she's fantastic. But I'm sure character because that that's more what my personality was. Like. Okay, well I was in high school, so I really felt her. Yeah, what I am sure of is this this actress is going places she was. She's

21:11 fantastic. She does steal the movie as far as I'm concerned. Let's take a quick break and when we get back we'll talk. We'll talk a little bit about the background of this movie. We are back. Amber Lewis is with us talking about Greta Gerwig's Ladybird. I don't know much, but I do know this this movie. You know, she spends Greta Girwigs spends a lot, a lot of couple like what three or four years try to write this at one point, it's a three hundred and fifty page screenplay called Mothers and Daughters. Yeah, she said that she when she writes, she starts usually with a line. We'll just come to her a line or a scene.

21:57 And in this it was the line at the end when Ladybird is at the party, the college party, and she meets the guy and he asks her where she's from, and she says Sacramento and he doesn't hear, and he says, I'm sorry where and then she changes it to San Francisco and just sells out everyone she's ever known and her entire life history to like impress this guy that she's known for like four seconds, and it started there and it just became like this thread that you pick at and it starts to unravel.

22:41 And that's how the story just kind of came out of her. And she would just write these pages and just keep collecting pages. You could tell she loves to write. But apparently during pre production, Nmber not only did she take the cast and crew on a tour of her hometown, Sacramento, she passed like she shared her high school yearbooks, she shared her diaries, her journals that she wrote in high school, just because she wanted them to get into her headspace and understand who Ladybird is and what her journey's all about. Well, and the town is so it's so important to who she is and who she wants to be and what she's pushing away from. And you have to be able to get that. And she doesn't have a whole movie to tell you, no, so they had to understand. They had to get it, you know, in order to let you dive right in and understand. You know where everybody is at so on set. This is something she has my immense respect for the fact that she has cell phones banned from the sets of her films makes her a hero in my book. I love the fact that she bans them. This is something she picks up from her husband, Noah Bambak. Yes, and yeah, I think that works.

24:03 My other hero, Christopher Nolan. Nolan does it too. Like Robert Downey Junior was giving an interview and he was like, to this day, if I see him coming, I just like throw my cellphone away so he doesn't say I have it, because and their their point is like, you're here to work. There is nothing more important than doing this, and if you give one hundred percent of your focus, then you're not wasting anybody's time. Absolutely, And you know, like you mentioned before, this was her first directing opportunity, solo directing opportunity. Yes, and she uh did a great interview where Spike Jones was actually interviewing her about Ladybird after the one of the early screenings. Their friends and he was one of like a handful of people that when she was getting ready to jump off into this, she called them and said, like, can we sit for like an hour and you just tell me everything I need to know? And she took like all these notes and all this advice from everybody, and these great things to bring the cast and crew together and make her set and atmosphere of hard work and comradeship.

25:26 And I just thought that was so brilliant to already know from the beginning, like what you don't know even with the cell phone rule, Like the courage that it takes. This is a woman who's doing her first film. You know, this is her directorial debut. It's not like she has a lot of clout behind her. So she's showing up on set and she's telling she's telling established actors and actresses. She's telling established crew and personnel, put your cell phones away. I will not see it on the set. And I dig that about her, Like her strength of character is just it's off the charts as far as I was, I'm concerned. This movie is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress at the ninetieth Academy Awards. Lady Bird gets her heartbroken twice in this movie. I feel like it's broken a third time. We go zero for five. I'm gonna I'm gonna I wanna remind you about the that that year, so Best Picture, Best Director goes to the Shape of Water and uh Guillamo del Toro. Oh but I love Gimo. You're not gonna beat Shape of Water that year. You're just not. I mean, there was some great This is a tough year too. This is a tough class of films in the ninetieth Academy Awards, but del Toro had it locked as far as I was concerned. Best Original Screenplay, this is this is this is

27:00 amazing work that she's put out. She loses to uh Jordan Peele for Get Out And I know you love that one. I know you're a fan that one. Yes, yeah, so again that's like, oh yeah, that's that's a tough that's a tough one. Uh. Best Actress Sarsha loses to Francis McDormand for three Billboards Outside of Missouri Abbing Missouri Abbing Mercy. Yeah, thank you, thank you for correcting me. Yes, I could go either way there. McDorman is is is brilliant in that movie. Yes, so I can kind of maybe see the Academy going, hey, listen, this young lady, she's just getting her start. She'll get another chance because you know, gets like that well, and I think they take her for granted because she got nominated way back for atonement. Yeah, when she was like twelve. Oh, I didn't know that. Okay, yeah, so I think so she's due. Consists didn't brilliant work from her, and it's just kind of like there was a span of time where they treated Meryl Streep like that. It was like another genius performance, Ehagan. I feel I feel like they were at this point, like, you know, she's twelve, she's got plenty of time, She's she's nineteen. You know, we'll get you next time. If she's in anything other than a Michael Bay movie, she's she's she's gonna get it. I'm telling you that right now. Yeah,

28:30 here's when like Emma Stone might be getting like her second Yeah, come on, come on. Best Supporting Actress went to Alison Janey for it, Tanya. Yeah, again, this is the one. Okay, well, okay, so okay, okay, I'm not taking away from Alison Janey's performance. I'm just saying Lori metcalf Beater. If I'm looking at those two performances, I'm like, you know what Llrie met, if got it, I think it's really difficult to compare because Alice and Janny's performance is more transformative because I was a figure skater, and I was a figure skater during that time.

29:18 I lived that, Okay, every second of that Tanya Harding Nancy Kerrigan drama, and like Alison Jenny was tiny Harding's mother, Like I remember seeing that woman on television, and when I saw Alison Janney, I was like, oh my god. So it just kind of depends on what the Academy appreciates more. And I think you could argue that what Laurie Metcalf did was so so subtle that the flashare role prevailed. I'll ask this question. Let's take a moment to highlight Amber Lewis, the voice of reason in the podcasting world. Amber, is it possible that I'm I'm more for lurd Metcalf in this situation because her character was more likable. I didn't like it Alison Jane's character, the character, not her performance, like she was kind of a terrible person. I thought, you know, oh yeah, yeah, But so is that my problem? Maybe I'm just like, like, I like Marian better. The challenge between Francis McDorman and Sarsha Rennan's characters for Best Actress as well, because you know, Ladybird is someone that you're you're rooting for and you want to succeed. And Francis mcdormand's character in Three Billboards is angry and yes, marsh and violent and just furious at the world and she wants

30:49 revenge and she doesn't care. And that's a lot harder to root for. Like you kind of are with her in the beginning, and then like she never takes her foot off the gas, so by the end you're like, jeezly, how long can you maintain this? I agree, you got a point. I want to talk about the pivotal scene. What you think is the pivotal scene. I know I had one and then I and I was like, nope, this one is more pivotal to the this story, this this film. So before before I ask you for your pivotal scene, is there is there any any scene in particular, like just that you want to call out, like, hey, this this moment I loved it for this reason, or this moment made laugh for this reason, because this again, this is a coming of age story told from the female perspective. I have to I have to believe that you've you've got some some good uh commentary on some of these scenes. Especially some of these moments between these these these young female characters. Oh, I live this life. You live this life?

31:53 Amber, Yes, like the the absolute realism of it. The auditioning for the for the musical just had me on the floor. And then after opening night when they're all at like Perkins or whatever, like that was my entire high school life was, you know, doing a production and then everybody orders fries and you know, you're loud and obnoxious and you know, and like I said, every shopping scene between Mom and Ladybird was like spot on.

32:35 Oh my gosh, there's so many, so many. There's one great line though, that I do want to call out, when she's talking about traveling and she says that they went to I can't remember where they went, like South America. I think somewhere when she was like three, her dad got transferred for work. And she says, I remember from the picture. And I love that line so much, as there's so much like real false memory in that, and she just says it so innocently. I want, I want you, lady. It's it's women's history. Mind. Ladies. First, you give what you believe is the pivotal scene, because we might have the same one. So and I want to I wanna take the spotlight away from you. What is the pivotal moment in this movie for me? It's when Ladybird comes back to herself and the first step that she takes is telling shamamalay Not that she wants to go to prompt drop me off at my friend's house. And Greta Gerwood described this scene as she told Sarah, shit, this is your boombox over your head. Go get the love of your life moment. And when she gets out of the car and she's running up to the apartment, Greta right before she said action, Greta said, go get

34:07 your girl. Oh that's awesome. Is that wonderful? Yeah? I think that whole sequence when they come back together and reclaim that friendship is where the whole movie turns. For me. That scene in particular, I love it because this movie and you know, whether she was inspired by it or not. The second half of this movie gives off a real Can't Buy Me Love vibe with Ronald Miller and his best friend Kenneth. Our friend of the show, Courtney Gaines, who played Kenneth, and Can't Buy Me Love Because you've got These two girls are best friends, and then all of a sudden, one decides I'm gonna go hang out with the popular crowd and you're not coming with me, and it just sucks, like you're like, why are you being such a shitty friend. So I love that moment where it's like they get to reconnect, they get the she gets her girl back right, And I hats off again to Beanie because I love her that in that moment, you know she she's in a vulnerable moment. And then they're right back to being like twelve years old again. And then they're right back to being Let's go, let's go smash prom, Let's let's have a let's have a blast.

35:20 And I love that moment for him. And I love that too, because so many things are in pop culture about having that that magical prom moment and it all works out somehow and whatever. And I didn't have a date for Prom, but I was determined that I was going to go, So I called one of my friends who I had known since kindergarten m hm, and she didn't have a date either, and she and I went to prom together at a blast. So I love that I got to see that kind of acted out on I love you know you can just go and do this thing. Yeah, fantastic. I'm gonna give you I don't I don't ever do this. I'm gonna give you the runner up pivotal moment and the I'm ina give you what I feel is the pivotal moment. I'm gonna I'm cheating a little bit. I'm channeling Challa May just a little bit here. The runner up moment, the one I thought this is the moment for me, and then another moment just took my breath away. The first boyfriend who seems like a great guy, and you know, I mean there, who's that guy? Clarification he is a great guy, even that quirky moment where there's like a makeout scene and she has to tell him like, hey, you know you can touch my boobs and he's like yes, but I respect you too much, and I'm like, dude, you just got the you just got the all access passed. Like what do you do? Now? We

36:52 understand? You know, her heart breaks the first time because she is gonna find out that that this young man he happens to be hey, he happens to be gay, and when he shows back up, and he's kind of got like this worm like vibe to him, like he's trying. He's slinking in at where she's at work. He's and You're like, no, dude, Shala may is on scene, you're not getting another shot at well at the moment, what can he possibly say to to to be better or to explain himself. Yes, But when he catches her behind the store and she's like, what do you want and he's like, please, don't tell, and then breaks down and actually just collapses into her arms and starts sobbing.

37:44 I thought, whoa, that's this poor guy, like this poor kid who is dealing with a whole lot, and it's amazing. You know, shame on me for not calling out the action name. Might you know again, didn't didn't do all my homework, But that moment, he is just fantastic. And I love that because it was a it was a chance for for Lady Bird too to grow and develop. I feel like, yes, and that is h I'll save you here. That's Lucas Hedges. Lucas Hedges, what has he been again? I don't He was in Three Billboards. He was Francis mcdorman's son is he the Sun. Okay. He was also in Manchester by the Sea, Manchester by the faking Sea, Okay, yeah, with Michelle Pfeiffer. No, h Grand Budapest Hotel with and again. So yeah, Moon Right's Kingdom. He's done. He is in Moon Right's Kingdom.

38:51 Okay, yeah, Okay, Now I'm now I'm picking him up. I'm putting the face to the to the characters. Fantastic moment for him. I honestly thought that was gonna be the pivotal moment, and I feel like that is the moment where you see Ladybird's mother in her. Yes, you see that, that empathy and that comforting you know, because their mom's a nurse. She this is what she does. She's a nurse at a psychiatric facility, yes, psychiatric host. So you see that side of her finally naturally emerge from Ladybird, which I thought was a beautiful thing. That moment almost did it for me, but I got to call out what I feel is the pivotal moment is the moment I was waiting for the entire movie where we're gonna see Ladybird and her mom truly connect. And that's the Hey, you wanna you want to have our Sunday ritual, our Sunday fun day.

39:52 And they have this thing where together they're the only two in the in the family that know about that, that share it, and they kind of get to go pretend to be the prospective buyers at at houses and just move through the houses and just enjoy that that that that dream because again, you know, Maren even points out like your father and I didn't think we're gonna be in this house twenty years later, like this is not the life that we wanted and this is not what you know, but we're in Sacramento. This is how it is. And so in that moment, I kind of feel like Lloyd Metcalf's character is is dreaming, she's being she's showing her Ladybird's side, much like in that scene that we were just talking about, Ladybird's showing like her motherly side, and it's just a great it's a beautiful moment between mother and daughter. It's the one time and that I think the whole movie almost where you get to see them have a tender moment and not and not turn brutal. Yeah at like the next step, right, Yes, that's what that's what does it enjoying each other's company. Well, let's take a quick break and uh and when we get back Amber, we will enjoy more of your company. All Right, I've been channeling my inner Schalomey this whole episode. I'm gonna do it one more time. Remember, now is the time where we typically are gonna talk a little bit about our director. I would love to tell you all about Greta Gerwig. However, I kind of feel like it's already been done very recently on the Docking Based seventy seven podcast

41:28 where just last week you were talking about another Greta Gerwig film, Little Women, and I feel like Liam just knocked it out of the park. Like listeners, if you want to learn a little bit more about Greta Gerwig and you want to hear a great episode about the film Little Women, go check out Amber Lewis on the Docking based seventy seven podcasts. She's there with Dayton, she's there with Liam, she's there with Robert, and they are going to give you a great, great deep dive on on Greta Gerwigs Little Women. So having said that, Amber, we will talk about a few of her movies. We have been talking about Greta Gerwigs' directorial debut twenty seventeen's Lady Bird. Two years later, twenty nineteen, she does what I understand is the seventh film adaptation of Little Women, And again I will direct you right back to the docu Base seventy seven podcast because I don't know what more we could say on this show that you guys didn't say on that episode. But Amber, I will ask you, is Greta Gerwigs Little Women the definitive version.

42:52 No, the nineteen ninety four version is arguing the most faithful to the book. But what Greta Gerwick did, which is just the singularness of vision that she has, is she broke apart the storytelling and tells the story with all of the high points that you have to hit. You have to hit where Joe cuts her hair, and you have to hit where they give their breakfast away, and there's all these different story points that need to be there, but she breaks it apart and tells it alternating between the girls when they're older and the girls when they were younger. That just creates this unique flow that makes the story come alive in a whole brand new way. And she plays tribute to Louisa may Alcott by giving Joe all of these characteristics that are still true to the novel, because the character of Joe is based on Louisa may Alcott, but she gave her specific characteristics that were true to life.

44:05 Following twenty nineteen's Little Women, we arrived to last year's Barbie, the one billion dollar Juggernaut slash Oscar snubbed movie. If you want to know exactly what I feel about this movie, please check out our Back to the box Office episode on Barbie. But I want to hear what Amber thinks of Barbie. I have to believe you've seen this movie, and now I want to know what your take is. Well, interestingly enough, I mentioned this in the Little Women episode. I was resistant to the Greta Gerreg version of Little Women because I said that, yeah, I loved the ninety four version. I was like, what is she even going to do? And I didn't really know her as a filmmaker. You know, she was new to the game, so I was pleasantly surprised. Well, when this whole Barbie movie was under production, I didn't know that that was her movie. I just all I ever heard was Margot Robbie Ryan Gosling, and I don't like Ryan Goslin, so I was like, this movie is ridiculous and I'm not watching this.

45:07 And then one of the kids that I nanny for she was like all about it and she's thirteen years old and couldn't wait to go see it and loved it. And she was like, miss Lewis, you have to go see this movie. You're not gonna believe it. And I'm like, all right, I'll go. And the minute I saw a credit Girwing's name, I was like, oh my cow, this is gonna be good. And then I was just blown away by it. And let me put an additional little plug in there. If you watch it on HBO Max, they actually have a version with ASL interpreters and you can watch the whole movie with that accessibility function of ASL interpreters on screen. Now, is that something? Is that something that's important to greet a Gerwig or is that like a Max?

46:05 Yeah, but like they are like kind of dressed for the for the movie a nice you know, and it is the most phenomenal thing. So just a little plug in for that. But that movie just blew me away, just the absolute you know, like I said, she has this singular filmmaking vision that you know, I think puts her in this echelon with like Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg and you know, these directors that they have this style that is unlike anything else. And I mean, I just cannot wait to see what she's going to do next. Well, we're gonna we're gonna talk about that in just a minute. But one thing I will say about Barbie regardless if you if it's not your cup of tea, you know, if you never if you've never seen it, you never play on seeing it.

46:59 That's fine, but you have to give Greta Gerwig some huge props because one thing that that film did, it brought the magic of the movies back to theaters. I wanted to see, you know, we were going to cover this and sneak preview passes not available. Friday night shows sold out, Saturday night shows, all Saturday shows sold out. I was able to find a matinee where it was still a packed house. And I'll tell you Amber, I remember that weekend because Dayton and I saw Oppenheimer and did we went Barbenheimer. One thing I noticed I went to three separate theaters that weekend in an attempt to get tickets for Barbie. And the one thing I saw that told me that the magic of movies is coming back is all these all these moms taking their little girls, and all the little girls are dressed up. All these women in their thirties and that grew up playing with Barbie dolls are dressed up for the occasion. They're dressed up like Barbie. All these millennial aged men and women dressed up like Barbie and Ken just to have fun with it.

48:14 I haven't seen that kind of involvement at a movie theater since since since like Keaton's Batman came out in eighty nine. You just don't see that. And we owe that to Greta Gerwig, you know. I think it did show the power of the female dollar. Yes, but it was everybody was going to see it and enjoying it. It wasn't just women and girls, it was their guys went with them and maybe learned a little bit. Something like Barbie shows that if a female director makes a movie with a female message and it's a good story and it's well acted, everyone's going to come out and see it. But I think there is something to be said. Or they had one hundred percent buy in with the studio and with Rue Mattel, and they had the money and the advertising behind it to really make it.

49:14 You know, let's dive into We're opening the same weekend as Oppenheimer and make it a thing and you know, really push the fun and the bringing the magic back. And I think that the more studios learn to get behind female led projects and support them and give them the hype that they need, I think, you know, the better that those projects will do. I think we can agree Barbie is a good blueprint to look at if you were I don't care who the director is or what the what the project is. The idea should be let's get as many people back to the theater. Let's put butts in the seat. And this is how we do it. We make it an event, we make it something that you don't want to miss, and we're going to have a lot of fun with it. And I think that unfortunately we may have to wait a year or two to see the fruit of it. But Hollywood responds to one thing, and that is dollars, and I think that that's going to be to the benefit of femal led storytelling and fema led productions, and I think you're going to start to see that change in the future. Let's talk about what she's got coming up next.

50:24 Now, I'm going to ask you, do you do you happen to know what her next project is? I do not. I think this is gonna make you happy. She is currently in pre production on a Chronicles of Narnia remake. Yes, I did know that. Yeah, this is gonna be like she's like, she's all she's going all in with Netflix. Where it is they are going to stick close to the source material. There's not a whole lot of information available, so I don't amber. I don't maybe you maybe you've maybe you've read something, maybe maybe you've heard something. I don't know if this is gonna be like a a ten episode series. I don't know if we're signing we're signing up for like three three pickure deal, or if it's just like, hey, we're doing Chronicles of Narnia and if if all goes well, we'll keep going. But I am excited to see what she does with this property. I am too, especially because looking at Little Women, one of the things that's so amazing about her adaptation is that there passages literally word for word, lifted right out of the book. And anytime she said that, anytime she got stuck, she went back to the book and there it was. It was all written out for her. So she really does I don't think she is a slave to source material, but I think she has a great respect for source material. So I feel that that can only benefit a Narnia adaptation. And what I'm looking at really quickly right here says it's going to be a feature film version. She clearly has respect

51:57 for Sarah Sharonin. They haven't announced any casting for this yet, but I'm going to ask you, like, who do we get sar Sharonin to play in Chronicles and Onia? Let's have her eat up some white Witch action. She's gotta be the white Witch, right, She's gotta be JADUs Like, come on, all right, we're on the same page. I'm happily team Amber right now at this point. So this is a great coming of age comedy slash drama, a drama da if you will, I highly recommend it. It's currently streaming on twob Amber. I have to believe that you highly recommend it as well. Yes, one hundred and ten. I think it is, you know, like I said at the beginning, it's it's in the Parthenon with the Breakfast Club, with Clueless, you know, with all those great coming of age stories. Just add this to the list. Well, listeners, we want to know what you think of Lady Bird. You can let us know on social media. We're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

53:01 You can check out a Film by Podcast dot com for all your favorite film and TV articles and our entire library, which is streaming free on all the platforms. You can write to us at a Film by a Podcast at gmail dot com with your questions, comments and concerns. I gotta tell you we have recently seen quite a surge on social media. We got like something like eighty new followers just a few days ago. One of one of them reached out, and we now have something on the books coming in like a springtime. We're gonna we're gonna be covering a movie that a listener reached out to us and said, please, you gotta do this movie. So when we say hey, talk to us on social media, that might be the kind of response you get. So hit us up because we may just read your response on the show. We may just send you some a film by Swag, or we may just revise our schedule though to add a movie in that we weren't planning to. You can join us for our Star Trek themed series Phaser set to Stun tomorrow. Wayne, David and Scott are continuing their conversation about Star Trek the Next Generation with their top ten episodes of season five.

54:20 Amber, I know you're a big TNG fan. I have recently become one, and I am loving what I'm seeing. Yeah. That Phaser set to sun is I wait for it is my favorite series is so good and I have to block out like a huge chunk of time because they are spot on with their episode choices. You got, Yeah, you gotta go back and like, why okay, now I gotta watch I got ten episodes to watch. Yeah, I've listen. I've been after them like can we get more? And they're like, hey, we're cranking out as fast as we can. So you know they'll be back tomorrow though, and on Friday, our limited series A Film at forty five will celebrate the forty fifth anniversary of the China s. I'll tell you if you if you didn't have concerns about nuclear mountdowns before. This is one movie that will change your mind. I think Amber got to thank you for stopping by again. We'll get you International Women's Day. I had to come up on our red you had to Yeah, we had to have you back, and you'll be back again. Like, well, let's for our listeners. Maybe this is the first time listener listen to this episode. You have this month alone, You've you've been with us for a film at forty five, you joined David Scott, you talked talked a good deal about Norma Ray. You and I just talked about nineteen ninety six is Mary Riley. And I'm excited because before the month's over, you're coming back and we're going to talk about the craft with with our friend

55:52 Amanda Janic. Right. Yes, we are doing Women's History Month, proud, you know. And Amber is there with as many as her schedule will allow. So yes, it's only there are more I do have, like my real job though, I know we're talking to we're talking to payroll. We're gonna see what we can do for you, you know. Yeah, thanks a lot, Amber, and to all of you out there that are hitting the like subscribe and follow buttons. Thanks for listening. Maybe I should turn silence, tell myself I didn't care.