The newest film adaptation of this classic novel was released late in 2019. Directed by Greta Gerwig, this movie is up for a handful of Academy Awards, including Best Picture. While this cast and crew is one that’s pretty hard it ignore, this film was inspiring, stunning, and totally wholesome. For movie-lovers, you might be interested to know everything that went into making this beautiful masterpiece. There are a lot of factors that go into making the final product that hits the big screen, and some of them would never be known to movie-goers. So, here are ten things you didn’t know about the making of Little Women.
The Entire Film Was Shot in Massachusetts
The infamous novel by Louisa Alcott was actually written in this state, specifically, in Concord. So, Greta Gerwig and the entire team flew down to Massachusetts and scoped out possible scenes for shooting. The whole film was shot there, including one scene that was even filmed in Alcott’s father’s schoolhouse! That’s right, even the Paris scenes were shot inside this state, and Harvard was used as a filming location for this setting.
The Cast Infiltrated the Movie
Some of the cast didn’t even have to audition for their roles. Meryl Streep (Aunt March) and Saoirse Ronan (Jo March) simply got in touch with Greta and told her that they would be playing their respective roles. Greta, obviously, agreed, and wrote the parts to fit these talented women.
Saoirse Ronan has worked with Greta before, and she was right in believing that she’d be a perfect Jo March. Every character in this movie has had a cast member met with a warm reception after their performance.
The Cast Had Etiquette and Dialogue Coaches
It’s one thing to have a coach direct you on speech and dialogue. That’s pretty obvious, since most of the cast (shockingly) isn’t from the 1860s. However, they also had a etiquette coach that led them through mannerisms from this time period. They had to study the different era, and were taught an incredible lot before they brought this era to life on the big screen.
Each Character Was Given a Color Scheme
Viewers will have clearly noticed a large usage of colors to make the film appear the way it does. Between a warm filter and a cool filter to show the time periods, Greta Gerwig also assigned a color palette to each of the sisters. For example, Amy March was dressed mostly in blue shades, Jo was given red, and Meg was green. This was consistent, and is another reason this movie is so aesthetically brilliant.
The Entire Cast Caught Strep Throat
The entire cast came down with this nasty illness during the filming of the movie. While this doesn’t seem relevant to the making of the movie, it’s actually super poetic. Strep throat is the infection that is the precursor to scarlet fever, which (spoiler), leads to the most tragic part of this infamous story.
That’s definitely one way of method acting, and certainly makes for an incredibly behind-the-scenes fact for the making of this movie.
They Had Tricks to Get Into Character
Apparently, every cast member had habits that would help get them into character. Florence Pugh (Amy March) and Saoirse Ronan (Jo March) said in an interview that they wrestled before scenes together, in order to have that physical anger with each other. Also, the cast apparently ate a lot of Wendy’s before a scene, or simply just ate from the spread during meal scenes.
Director Greta Gerwig Was (Secretly) Pregnant
Although her and the cast had an incredibly close relationship, Greta didn’t mention that she and fellow director, Noah Baumbach, were about to have a child. She filmed the whole movie while pregnant, and didn’t make it known to anyone. However, it created an issue with the timeline of the editing process.
They had to cut the process short, because Greta was about to have her baby. With 3 less weeks, they made it all work, and Greta Gerwig gave birth to her munchkin only a day after she submitted her director’s cut.
There Are Tons of Nods to Art
In an interview, Greta Gerwig explains that a lot of the scenes and props were inspired by famous works of art. For example, photography Julia Margaret Cameron, who shot women in England in the 1960s, inspired Greta to capture women the same way. As well, Jo wears a hat that is a reproduction from a Winslow Homer painting, and Greta also says that the beach scene was also based on some of Homer’s work.
The March Home Was Referred to as the “Jewelry Box”
While this infamous home looks pretty plain on the outside, the crew wanted to make it vibrant and homey on the inside. Multiple times, director and production designer refer to the inside as an old jewelry box. Elegant, but worn in and beautiful. The house was a large part of set design, and was supposed to look colorful and bright to match the personalities of the March sisters. Plus, they definitely needed room to perform and wrestle.
Amy’s Feminist Monologue Was a Group Effort
This scene was added in at the last minute by Greta Gerwig. In fact, it was actually inspired by a conversation the director had with legend Meryl Streep. After discussing feminism and the difficulty of being a woman in this era, Gerwig scribbled this monologue on a piece of paper for Amy (Florence Pugh) to deliver to Laurie (Timothee Chalamet). This has become one of the most iconic scenes from the film, and is likely a large part of the reason that Pugh received an Oscar nomination for her role in this film.
