Barbie: because nobody wanted to make the film and then Greta Gerwig succeeded

But, despite the fanfare online, not everyone believed Gerwig’s maiden voyage to the MCU – Mattel Cinematic Universe – would never have happened. In a recent BAFTA video, Robbie admitted that after reading the script for Barbie written by Gerwig e Noah Baumbach, she had more than a doubt that that film would ever materialize. “It’s beautiful,” she had thought. “It’s a pity we’ll never see it, because I’m ruling out they’ll let us do it.”

So how did it get to the movie about Barbie? And weren’t there originally any other mega stars connected to the project before Robbie wore a pair of pink shoes? The short answer is: yes. The long answer…

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The voices of a film based on the iconic doll began circulating in 2009, when Mattelthe parent company of Barbie, has signed a deal with Universal Pictures. Laurence Mark was supposed to produce a project based on Barbie’s intellectual property, but nothing came of it. It wasn’t until 2014 that another Willows doll project began to take shape, this time financed by Sony Pictures and based on a screenplay by the author of Sex and the City jenny bthecks. Although filming was scheduled to begin later that year, Barbie and her pink convertible hit another snag. Diablo Cody

the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Junowas brought in to rewrite the script and Amy Pascalthe head of Sony at the time, joined the production team.

From that moment the hunt for Barbie began. In 2016, the comedian Amy Schumer she was announced for the role of the quintessential doll and was also close to participating in the script together with her sister Kim Caramele. In that case the film had been presented as the story of inadequacy of a doll that is expelled from Barbieland because it is not perfect enough. Four months later, however, Schumer dropped out of the part. At the time, she blamed it on “scheduling conflicts”; in an interview given last year to The Hollywood Reporter, she returned to talk about that decision. In her version of the film, she explained, Barbie was a determined inventor. The production house allegedly demanded that Barbie’s invention be «high heels made of jelly», an idea Schumer did not share. “The studio absolutely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it,” the actress said. “The only way I was interested in doing it.”

So, with one Barbie out of the picture, the team went back to the drawing board. In the summer of 2017, as a potential Barbie was made the name of Anne Hathaway. Sony would hire the writer Olivia Milchwho had worked with Hathaway on Ocean’s 8and the Australian director Alethea Jones in an effort to get the actress to sign on to the project. The attempt seemed to have gone through thr announced Hathaway as the future Barbie. But once again, Barbie’s dream house remained closed. Sony’s option on the project expired in 2018 and Mattel regained control of the rights. The film’s release date was therefore moved from the summer of 2018 to the summer of 2020. Shortly after this announcement, Hathaway’s version of the film fell apart.

It seemed that the Barbie movie, with almost a decade of attempts under its belt, would never be made. Then she came Margot Robbie. The star first announced that she “entered negotiations” to replace Hathaway in October 2018. At that point, it was rumored that the director of Hathaway was handling the project. Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins, and it was confirmed that Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap, would be on board to produce it. But even though the project had regained momentum, the film industry’s doubts were not entirely allayed. In January 2019, Forbes published an article marked by skepticism: “Will Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie ever be made?”.

Then, like a bolt from the blue, it arrived Greta Gerwig who completed it. In July 2019, variety announced that Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach had officially signed on to write the film Barbie with Robbie and, in July 2021, the same magazine confirmed that the director would be Gerwig herself. In a cover interview with British VogueRobbie noted that audiences may not be prepared for the Barbie by Gerwig, who has long since dropped out of the plot since “inadequate doll” designed for Schumer. “People generally associate Barbie with a certain type of movie, but when she hears that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, it’s a little doubtful if she’s going to make it,” Robbie noted.

So, what should we expect? The first trailer presented shows a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey (but that might just be a joke written for the clip) and countless Barbies and Kens, played by actors like Robbie, Gosling, Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Dua Lipa, Ncuti Gatwa, Kate MacKinnon And hari Neph. There are also puppets Midge and Alan – Barbie’s and Ken’s BFFs – played respectively by Emerald Fennell

And Michael Ceraand at least one human character, played by America Ferrara. Will Ferrell slips into the role of the CEO of a toy company, while Helen Mirren is the narrator of the first trailer. On the notes of the song by Beach Boys Fun, fun, fun, fun, the second trailer immerses you totally in the magical Barbieland, complete with dance numbers, rollerblading and “beach life” involving Liu and Gosling. But little or nothing is known about the plot itself.

From behind-the-scenes photos of the set, we understand that at one point Ferrell chases after Barbie and Ken wearing some shoes rollerblading. Are you trying to steal Barbie and Ken’s intellectual property? We will have all the answers on July 21, 2023, when Barbie will finally hit theaters.