It's been two years since she brought the quirky, spirited Frances to life in 2013's "Frances Ha," and now Greta Gerwig is back with "Mistress America," which she wrote and stars in as the overtly ambitious -- yet simultaneously directionless -- stepsister to Lola Kirke's character, a vulnerable college student.
The two films pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors, and, with any luck, will achieve success that inspires studios to make more like them. At least that's what Gerwig hopes for, she told HuffPost Live in a Tuesday conversation.
"I think there's often a disconnect between what people actually want and what studio heads think that they want," Gerwig told host Nancy Redd. "And I think that every time there's a movie with a really interesting female character, it's like everybody goes, 'Oh my god, they work!' It's like, no, they've always worked -- you just weren't making them."
Gerwig looks forward to a time when studios stop considering female-driven films to be a risk.
"It shouldn't feel like taking a chance," she explained. "It should feel like ... these movies make money and people like them, because they do."
And one can look no further than Gerwig's two critically lauded films for examples, with "Frances Ha" even racking up a Golden Globe nomination. Still, the actress recognizes that it was the support of small-scale connections that made those movies realities, a luxury not all women writers and actors have.
"I've been very lucky to find people -- producers and investors -- who are interested in doing this," she said of featuring women onscreen. "I hope the success of these movies show that there's space for it."
"Mistress America" hits select theaters on Aug. 14.
Watch more from Greta Gerwig's conversation with HuffPost Live here.
Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live's new morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before!
Also on HuffPost:
HuffPost Live's Celebrity Guests
For a constant stream of entertainment news and discussion, follow HuffPost Entertainment on Viber.