Greta Gerwig talks 'Lola Versus,' HBO's abandoned 'Corrections'

Why the indie It girl feels more comfortable with film than TV

By Geoff Berkshire Tuesday, Jun 5, 2012 7:42 PM

If you pay attention to indie films then you already know who Greta Gerwig is, and you probably like her quite a bit. That's exactly what Fox Searchlight is counting on with the release of her new comedy "Lola Versus."

After a string of indies small ("Hannah Takes the Stairs," "Baghead") and not so small ("Greenberg," "Damsels in Distress"), Gerwig pretty much carries "Lola Versus" on her shoulders. The supporting cast includes actors known for TV work -- Zoe Lister-Jones ("Whitney"), Joel Kinnaman ("The Killing") and Hamish Linklater ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") -- and brief appearances by Debra Winger and Bill Pullman as Gerwig's parents. But it's Gerwig who is front and center for the ad campaign and in the movie.

I spoke with Gerwig about the challenges of being a leading lady, why "Lola Versus" can't really be called a romantic comedy, and what happened to the promising HBO pilot "The Corrections," an adaptation of Jonathan Franzen's prize-winning novel directed by Noah Baumbach that would have featured Gerwig alongside Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest.

"Lola Versus" opens in limited release June 8

Geoff Berkshire
Contributor

Geoff Berkshire lives in Los Angeles and writes about film and television. His work has appeared in Variety, the L.A. Times, and Premiere, among other publications. He is the former national entertainment editor and film critic for Metromix.com.