Little Women‘s Oscars nominations have left Greta Gerwig “brimming with happiness”, even though she was snubbed in the Best Director category.
The filmmaker put out a positive statement on Monday after the 2020 Oscars nominations were unveiled.
Gerwig was among the favourite contenders for Best Director, having directed an acclaimed adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel.
But she’s not among the five people shortlisted in the category. Instead, the Academy unveiled an all-male list of Best Director nominees on Monday, prompting outrage from many who expected female filmmakers – including Gerwig – to earn recognition for their talents.
Despite the snub, Gerwig made sure to thank the Academy six times in her statement. Little Women is up for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score. Saoirse Ronan is nominated for Best Actress while Florence Pugh is a contender in the Best Supporting Actress category.
“This film of Little Women has been over 30 years in the making, from the very first time Louisa May Alcott and Jo March reached across time and space and made me believe I could be a writer and creator,” Gerwig added in a statement published by ET.
“Every single person who worked on this film poured their heart and soul into it, and we are all so grateful to the Academy for recognising the collective effort. I am so personally proud of each person who worked on the film, and I am bursting with joy for all of them.”
Gerwig went on to give shout-outs to cast members Ronan, Pugh, Laura Dern, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, Meryl Streep, Jayne Houdyshell and Timothee Chalamet, as well as Chris Cooper, Tracy Letts, James Norton, Bob Odenkirk, and Louis Garrel.
“Writing and directing this film was an honour and sharing it with audiences has been the most sincerely heart-warming journey,” she added. “I hope our Little Women does for another generation of girls and women what it did for me: lights a fire to write your book, make your movie, sing your verse. From all of us Little Women and Men, thank you to the Academy.”
Ronan, who portrays Jo March, told Deadline: “I’m really happy that the Academy recognised [Gerwig] for Adapted Screenplay and Picture, and I feel like if you’ve been nominated for Best Picture, you have essentially been nominated for Best Director. But to me, Greta, since she started, has made two perfect films, and I hope when she makes her next perfect movie, she gets recognised for everything, because I think she’s one of the most important filmmakers of our time.”
Pugh called the snub “a big blow” and told the publication: “I think everybody’s angry and quite rightly so. I can’t believe it’s happened again, but I don’t really know how to solve it. I don’t know what the answer is, other than we’re talking about it.”
The 2020 Oscars will take place on 9 February. You can read a full list of nominations here.
