Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” looks to be one of the most ambitious, potentially subversive and certainly interesting films of next year.
Going into it, the actress/filmmaker has revealed she went through various emotions about taking on the gig – one of which was outright fear. After all, how do you write a story about a Mattel doll?
Speaking with singer Dua Lipa on the At Your Service podcast, Gerwig reflected on working on the script with Noah Baumbach before then deciding to direct:
“It was something that was exciting because it was terrifying. I think that was a big part of it, like: ‘Oh, no, Barbie.’ It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: ‘Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?’
And I think it was that feeling I had was knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually, that’s where the best stuff is where ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender’ – and you’re like, ‘I should probably do it.'”
The script had been in development for years, with actors like Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway circling the role before Gerwig and star Margot Robbie came on board.
Gerwig adds the Mattel executives have given her “trust and…freedom” to the point it feels incredibly rare: “Whatever we wanted [the film] to be, they did not try to micromanage it. They were completely onboard as partners, and that was extraordinary.”
Part of the reason Gerwig wanted to work on the film was to work with star Margot Robbie. In a recent Vanity Fair profile on the Aussie star, Gerwig recounts a moment on the set where she wanted to shoot the actress in slow motion while the rest of the cast performed at regular speed. Turned out they didn’t need trick photography, Robbie just did it:
“Once, I wanted to capture Margot in slow motion but have everything else move fast, so I went up to her and said, ‘Could you move at 48 frames per second, even though we’re shooting in 24 frames per second and everyone else will be moving at regular speed?’ She did some calculation behind her eyes and then f—— did it. She literally moved at a higher frame rate. I don’t know what category that goes into other than magic.”
“Barbie” also stars Ryan Gosling as Ken along with America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell. It opens in cinemas in July next year.
