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But Denise is very persistent!
Ive got to give her full credit for not giving up.
After I reread the book, I thought,This really is a timely story worth retelling.
The final part of putting it together for me was, obviously, Who is going to play Jo?
Which is sort of what I was saying about me as a director.
But, Im digressing from Winona.
First of all, she comes from a family of book lovers.
She was so intelligent and passionate and thoughtful about life, and she can be very funny.
All those qualities I think are important for Jo; Jo should be able to laugh at herself.
Shes also got a great sense of justice all those things are definitely part of Jo.
It must have been my 11th birthday.
When you read the script, what was your initial reaction to it?
They were waiting for a director to be involved.
She really captured young girls growing up, and I think thats why its stood the test of time.
Ive read that they shopped it for 12 years before they got it made.
Did you know that before coming on?I didnt know that it was 12 years.
Denise Di Novi, Amy Pascal, and Robin were really the [shepherds].
Amy at that time was a junior executive at Sony Columbia, and shed always loved the book.
Shed been named Amy Beth after two of the characters in the book.
She and Robin Swicord were longtime friends.
It was very clever.
They knew that Denise Di Novi had a close relationship with Winona because ofEdward ScissorhandsandHeathers.
So they went to Denise, who then went to Winona.
Then they all decided on hitting on me.
Were you at all intimidated to take on this sort of classic?My Brilliant Careerwas an Australian classic.
It was sort of ourLittle Womenin Australia.
What was the first challenge that you came up against in this vein?Money!
Our budget was minuscule.
We were making a little girls film.
We were forced to go to Vancouver, because its cheaper [to film there].
Vancouver has hardly any period buildings at all.
It turned out there are like, literally two period houses that you could shoot.
We shot three different places around the world in one house.
Susan Sarandon, Eric Stoltz, Gabriel Byrne.
I think Amy may have been the only female executive in those days.
Oh my God.When we did our first marketing test as well, we did have mostly women.
This is for adults as well, and then we did get a certain percentage of men.
The marketing test card had a question: Would you recommend this film to your friends?
And all these sweet men anonymously wrote, Well, I couldnt tell my friends I really likedLittle Women!
Did that attitude that the studio initially had upset you at all, before they came around?No.
I can tell you many, many stories about how tough it is to be a woman director.
You have to work harder.
You have to do more prep.
You dont get offered a multimillion-dollar feature on the strength of one rock video!
Your second films have to succeed.
Youre judged more harshly.
It was something that Winona and I had talked about from the very beginning.
Shed said, I hope that there wont be some sort of difference because Im the star.
But there were a number of things that worked in our favor.
So they were already buddies.
Winona knew Trini [Alvarado] a little bit, who played Meg.
And Trini was newly married, and she was up there with her young husband that shed met onGodspell.
I knew Trini was going to go to some friends [house] for pizzas or spaghetti.
So I said, Oh, could Winona come along as well?
Then I saw Christian wandering around the hotel with his skateboard, and I said, Could Christian come?
So there was a lovely sense of camaraderie.
Uh, looks like were all going to have to up the ante here.
The next day, everyone knew all their lines as well.
Id say, it’s possible for you to see each other again!
Its not over forever.
All these things brought them together singing Christmas carols and so on.
Winona was up there with her boyfriend at the time; she and Christian were buddies.
But no, there were no romances that I know of!
I dont think Christian had kissed too many people onscreen before.
It was a genuine blush from Christian.
How about the famous ice-skating scene.
It was, you know, probably 75 degrees or something?
Its like a Teflon like cutting boards, you know, that you have at home.
And so thats what we made and then dressed all our false snow around the trees.
And she loved it.
She said it was such fun.
It was not real ice at all, and it was all built up on a platform.
That was an extra expense, but the studio did cough up for that.
I think Susan sometimes tried improvising a few things, but the language doesnt have the right rhythm.
And if you try and throw in some of your own words, they really stood out.
But Claire was not scripted to sob when she saw the piano.
We all cried too I could hardly call cut through my own tears.
People now know Claires agonizing sobs, but this was the first wed experienced.
That even though Beth is dying, shes the stronger one.
And actually, it is better.
Im sure its been the same principle with Greta.
So you will cry!
That will just pull people out of it.
Being made to look sick, I think she sort of felt it.
People were helping her into the bed, and everything was very hushed.
I think Denise had to leave.
By the time we called cut, most of the crew had tears in their eyes.
Then it was my duty to edit it in a way that would retain that and not kill it.
And one of the strongest parts of that is Thomas Newmans music.
He really did the most extraordinary score.
To this day, if I hear theLittle Womenmusic, it gives me tingles down my spine.
He shouldve got an Academy Award.
Speaking of the Academy Awards, what do you remember about them?
What sticks out to you?
I dont think we had any expectations.
I cant even remember who the other people were against Winona.
My big joke is, now theres diversity in Academy voting, I want a revote!
[Laughs] There were only like, one-eighth female voters in the year that we came out.
How do you think it might be received if it came out now?
Theres a million times where I go, If only I had done that or that.
I thought,Oh, itll be a cinema full of old gray-haired ladies.
I shouldnt be denigrating about that because they are still the best cinemagoers in the world.
But, actually, it was a 30-something audience with men and women.
And also, no one should have a suntan.
All our main kids were told, Dont go into the sun, wear your hats!
And there will be no lip gloss, there will be no blush!
Im like, What?
Theyre making another one already?
But then I actually checked the dates and went, Oh, wow!
Its been more years than I thought.
So, yeah, fair enough.
And Im a huge fan of Gretas, I have been sinceFrances Ha.
I love her onscreen, and its fantastic that theres going to be anotherLittle Womenfor this generation.
Do you think youll see it before it hits theaters?I dont know.
But I accept it, and Im happy to see Saoirse do anything.
So in a way youve made this one possible.I feel very proud.
Its fantastic that we broke down that barrier.
Can you talk a little bit about the choices that you made as a director afterLittle Women?
Youve spoken a bit about how you didnt want to be pigeonholed.What did I do afterLittle Women?
Have you got my CV there?
It had a darkness, but it never quite worked out.
It wasnt as commercially successful I suppose [because] it wasnt such a feel-good film.
But Im very proud of that.
Then Cate was attached toCharlotte Gray, wanted me to do it, and that was also great.
And Ive done them at 14, 18, 26, 32, and 45.
It was basically rom-coms, revenge dramas, or all the money started going into the big action films.
And then after that, I didOrry-Kelly.Orry wasanAcademy Awardwinning costume designer who didSome Like It HotandAmerican in Paris.
As an artist, I want creative freedom.
At the time, my American screenwriter friends were all moving to HBO and Showtime and so on.
And now there are fantastic dramas being made on all of the streaming services.
But at the time, there were no drama scripts I was interested in making.
Ive been so blessed that Ive actually only made films that I really loved.
Sometimes theyve taken off, and sometimes they havent, but Ive been so lucky.
Its so hard to make a film about something you dont care about and dont believe in.
