Sacramento, a Kind of Middle Earth

Hobbit holes and everything:

Oxford University’s foremost J.R.R. Tolkien scholar, Dr. Wesley Kerrigan, is floored by Gerwig’s attention to detail. “The intellectual dexterity expressed in the creation of this, ‘Sacramento’ world…nothing short of masterly,” he says. “I’m fluent in Elvish, which is absolute cake compared to what Gerwig had to undergo to plot out the big blue house, that bridge, and even a parking lot that kids hang out in—unbelievable.”

It’s true, and unsurprising given its scope, that this project has been a lifelong one for Gerwig. “I spent the first 18 years of my life imagining myself in that world of Sacramento,” she says. “I imagined I was playing on those streets, going to a Catholic school, rooting for this fictional basketball team I called the Sacramento Kings. So, when it came down to making the film, it all came very naturally to me, almost as if I’d ‘lived’ it.”