Gerwig is a big fan of John Hughes and has said that Pretty in Pink was an influence on Lady Bird (the dress Saoirse Ronan wears to prom is an overt homage to the film).

John Wayne is one of Gerwig's acting heroes. “He can be really scary in movies like Red River, or he can be very gentle," she says.

"It’s about a fancy boarding school in Australia and the kids who are on scholarships are otherwise ostracized," she says. "It’s very tender and it’s very good."

A young Parisian must make major decisions about pregnancy, a job and her boyfriend.

The director has been a major influence on Gerwig. "I love Mike Leigh," she says. "I find his actors really inspiring and the way he’s such a good storyteller but it’s so subtle, you don’t even realize the story’s being told. I find that really inspiring."

Gerwig has said that this musical is always guaranteed to make her cry.

Girlfriends went on to become highly influential; its imprint can be seen on shows like Lena Dunham's Girls, for example. Gerwig has said that the film inspired the central female friendship in Frances Ha.

"The way that she walks in movies and there's something about her entrances and exits that's inherently hilarious to me," she has said. "[Screwball actors] have this feeling of using their whole bodies the whole time they are acting [...] and the way that [Lombard is] able to be big and real at the same time. It’s something I always aspire to."

"I love [Another Year]; it’s great, it’s the best," Gerwig has said.

"In Rohmer movies, he’ll just give characters philosophies that they explain and I love that the whole movie just stops and you listen to a character explain their philosophy on love or on life or something," Gerwig says.