Greta Gerwig Directs America Ferrera on the Cover of W MAGAZINE’s Directors Issue

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W MAGAZINE released the second of three covers for its latest issue, Volume 2, The Directors Issue, featuring Academy Award nominee America Ferrera in “The Lady Wins,” directed by Academy Award nominee Greta Gerwig. Each year, The Director’s Issue highlights and celebrates some of the greatest and most talked about films from the past 12 months.

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Greta Gerwig talks about the cinematic archetype of the “Broad” as her inspiration for the shoot: “I love the word ‘broad’ because I think it’s so descriptive, particularly of certain women in film—those hopeful, dangerous, seductive characters we see ourselves in, the women we want to win even though maybe we shouldn’t…And I think America could totally play those parts.”

America Ferrera on why she prefers working with female photographers: “I feel different when it’s a woman behind the lens…There tends to be less direction about what to do with my body, and that kind of direction is one of the most uncomfortable things for me because I’m not a model, I’m an actress. My overwhelming experience with male photographers is a lot of ‘lift your head here’ and ‘move your arm there’ and ‘arch your back’—almost being moved around like a doll, which makes me feel totally lost. With women, there’s a little bit more freedom and focus on your soul coming through.”

Ferrera on resonating with her monologue in Barbie: “I think the reality of the situation is that I’ve been a woman for 40 years and so has Greta, and when I read what she’d written, there wasn’t that much to say about it other than ‘yeah’”

Gerwig on writing about the relationships between women: “I don’t outline, and I don’t write treatments ahead of time. I write about what’s exciting to me, and more often than not, it’s a lot of ladies…Sometimes it catches me by surprise because I’m like, Ohhh, I thought this one was, er, different? But I do really enjoy women. I do.”

W Magazine’s Directors Issue is on stands March 19th. 

Directed by Greta Gerwig
Written by Jenny Comita
Styled by Allia Alliata Di Montereale
Photographed by Mickalene Thomas

[Photo Credit: Mickalene Thomas for W Magazine]

• Allia Alliata Di Montereale
• America Ferrera
• Editorials
• Greta Gerwig
• Magazines
• Mickalene Thomas
• W Magazine