THE Sister hood

GRETA GERWIG

THERE WERE MANY THRILLING ASPECTS of making Little Women — the chance to bring to life a story and characters that were so close to me that they almost felt as if they belonged to my own autobiography, the challenge of stretching myself on a larger cinematic canvas, to build the world of the 1800s, to create a big environment for this big story to unfold in, to intellectually play with the intersection of women, art and money, which is always what I’ve thought the book was truly about, to finally write an ending that Louisa May Alcott might have enjoyed. But all of these paled in comparison to the ultimate thrill of working with the genius cast that agreed to come lend their talents to this project.

I love each one of these women and the characters that they created. They were always keen to find the subtext, the undercurrent, what wasn’t explicitly on the page but was buried in the soul of each character. The film would not be what it is without them, and I owe everything to these four women who became both glorious individuals and a formidable four-headed beast of sisterhood. Although these questions might appear silly at first glance, I assure you they are not. I wanted to ask them questions that would give me one last chance to engage with how creative they are, how bright, how funny, how sincere. I can’t wait to read their answers.

How would you describe Little Women to someone who has just arrived from another planet? Assume you don’t have to explain what sisters are or what family is, but that they don’t know anything else.

Hello, galactic traveller! Welcome to Earth’s Visitors’ Centre. See all this mystery, confusion, pain and possibility in front of you on this new planet? Isn’t it equally overwhelming and exciting? Well, that’s what we humans call adolescence, and, here, take, and it’ll guide you through a few possible routes to take on your road trip to self-actualisation on this planet. Enjoy the views on the bumpy roads ahead!