Entertainment
Greta Gerwig is officially the fifth woman ever to be nominated for the Best Director Oscar. Her directorial debut, Lady Bird, made a huge splash in 2017, earning the reputation as one of the best reviewed movies of the year, winning Best Comedy at the Golden Globes, and has positioned Gerwig as a history-making filmmaker. And as fans wait for her name to be called on Hollywood's biggest night — Gerwig is also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Lady Bird — now is the perfect time to get familiar with some of her previous work with these nine Greta Gerwig movies to see before the Oscars.
Gerwig kicked off her career in the business in 2006 with work in front of the camera. Long before she was a hot shot director, Gerwig was a struggling actor and writer, working with her friends in the New York City indie scene. Gerwig, along with Joe Swanberg, Jay and Mark Duplass, became known as members of the Mumblecore genre. Mumblecore was essentially defined as films made with natural realism and non actors who, you guessed it, mumbled. From there, Gerwig graduated to higher profile independent cinema, collaborations with director Noah Baumbach, and, eventually, made her way behind the camera making Lady Bird.
Not all Gerwig movies are like Lady Bird — that one is, obviously, one of a kind. But fans should be able to recognize some of the filmmaker and actor's quick wit and sensibilities in all her roles: those she wrote, and those she didn't.
1
'Hannah Takes The Stairs' (2007)
Gerwig got her first major starring role in Hannah Takes the Stairs, playing Hannah, a recent college graduate struggling to adjust to adult life and love. The movie, directed by Joe Swanberg, is classic Mumblecore that was improvised with a rough outline by Swanberg, Gerwig, and co-star Kent Osborne.
Available to stream on Amazon with Sundance Now.
2
'Nights And Weekends' (2008)
10 years before Lady Bird, Gerwig got her first ever directing credit on Nights and Weekends. Gerwig co-directed and co-wrote the film, about a couple adjusting to a long distance relationship, with Swanberg. Again, Nights and Weekends is a classic Mumblecore movie.
Available to stream on Amazon with Sundance Now.
3
'Greenberg' (2010)
After seeing Hannah Takes the Stairs, director Noah Baumbach decided to cast Gerwig in Greenberg, in which she starred opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh and Ben Stiller. It was the first collaboration between the two, who would eventually write together, make movies, and fall in love.
Available to rent on Amazon for $4.
4
'Damsels In Distress' (2011)
Gerwig is perfect in this Whit Stillman dark comedy about a group of girls who run the suicide prevention center and decide to take control of campus social life. It's wacky and strange, and a perfect primer for Gerwig's later film, Mistress America.
Available to rent on Amazon for $4.
5
'No Strings Attached' (2011)
Gerwig isn't in No Strings Attached all that much — she plays a supporting character and Natalie Portman's BFF — but when she does appear, she steals ever single scene she's in. Also, she delivers one of the most relatable lines ever about periods: "It's like a crime scene in my pants."
Available to rent on Amazon for $4.
6
'Frances Ha'
Gerwig was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Frances Ha, a film she co-wrote with director Baumbach. The movie is about a young woman living in New York City who finds her life thrown into uncertainty when her best friend moves out. It's sort of like if Lady Bird had a sequel.
Available to stream on Netflix and Amazon.
7
'Maggie's Plan' (2015)
Gerwig has credited Maggie's Plan director Rebecca Miller for giving her the boost of confidence she needed to take the jump into directing. "It's no accident that I worked with her and turned around and made my film," she said in an interview with Indiewire.
Available to stream on Amazon with STARZ, and also available to buy from Amazon for $15.
8
'Mistress America' (2015)
Gerwig's second time writing with Baumbach produced the comedy Mistress America, a coming of age story about a college freshman who gets a crash course in life and New York City from her eccentric soon-to-be stepsister. Gerwig shot the film at her alma mater, Barnard College.
Rent on iTunes for $3.99
Amazon: $14
9
'20th Century Women' (2016)
Gerwig continued her trend of playing outspoken young women in 20th Century Women, her last big screen appearance before Lady Bird's release. Working with writer-director Mike Mills, Gerwig plays an independent woman who ends up helping educate a teenage boy growing up in 1979.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime.
These nine movies should be able to satisfy your Gerwig cravings until the Oscars. And soon after that, Lady Bird junkies will be able to purchase the film on DVD for themselves when it is released on March 6.
