Greta Gerwig has been tapped to receive this year’s Pioneer of the Year Award. She’s only the second female director to receive the prestigious honor after Elizabeth Banks.
She’ll be feted at the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s annual dinner on Sept. 25 at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
All three of the films Gerwig has written and directed solo — Barbie, Lady Bird and Little Women — landed Oscar nominations for best picture, while Gerwig herself received Oscar nominations for best director and best original screenplay for Lady Bird, best adapted screenplay for Little Women and best adapted screenplay for Barbie.
Last year, Barbie, which Gerwig co-wrote with Noah Baumbach for Warner Bros., became the first film from a solo female director to gross more than $1 billion at the global box office.
A tradition for more than 75 years, the Pioneer of the Year award recognizes members of the motion picture industry whose leadership, service to the community and commitment to philanthropy are exceptional.
All proceeds raised from the September dinner will go to the Will Rogers Pioneers Assistance Fund, a charity which provides financial assistance and supportive counseling to individuals in the motion picture distribution and exhibition community in times of need.
“Greta Gerwig is a dynamic filmmaker with extraordinary vision who entertains and inspires audiences everywhere,” said Warner Bros. domestic distribution president Jeff Goldstein, who is co-chairman of this year’s Pioneer dinner. Bleecker Street distribution president and Pioneers Assistance Fund chairman Kyle Davies echoed those sentiments.
Gerwig’s early acting credits include indie classics Hannah Takes The Stairs, which she co-wrote, and Nights and Weekends, which she co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced. Her breakout role came in Baumbach’s Greenberg, followed by Baumbach’s Frances Ha (the two are married). Most recently, Gerwig starred in Baumbach’s White Noise and will next be seen in his upcoming untitled film opposite George Clooney and Adam Sandler.
She’s also currently writing an adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia book series for Netflix.
Past Pioneer of the Year honorees include Tom Cruise, Erik Lomis, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, Donna Langley, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Elizabeth Banks, Jim Gianopulos, Dick Cook, Michael D. Eisner, Alan Horn, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Sherry Lansing, Frank G. Mancuso, Sumner Redstone, Terry Semel, Tom Sherak, Jack Valenti, Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck and Cecil B. DeMille.
