According to the latest Vogue, Margot Robbie as Barbie was Margot’s idea…
But she wasn’t a fanatic as a child. She’s not even sure she owned one.
I don’t think I did.
I know my cousin had a bunch of Barbies, and I’d go to her house.”
So what’s the Barbie movie backstory?
There were previous attempts to make a Barbie movie. Amy Schumer was attached at one point. So was Anne Hathaway. Those projects never got off the ground. Robbie kept tabs on the status. As a producer, she saw huge potential…
The word itself is more globally recognized than practically everything else other than Coca-Cola.”
LuckyChap, the production outfit she runs with her friend Josey McNamara and her husband, Tom Ackerley, didn’t have a specific concept in mind…
We of course would want to honor the 60-year legacy that this brand has…
But we have to acknowledge that there are a lot of people who aren’t fans of Barbie. And in fact, aren’t just indifferent to Barbie. They actively hate Barbie. And have a real issue with Barbie.
We need to find a way to acknowledge that.”
There were bigger meetings with Mattel (the company, not Trixie) and then meetings with Warner Bros., where LuckyChap had a first-look deal. Eventually Robbie started talking to Greta Gerwig about writing and directing.
I was very scared it was going to be a no. At the time this was such a terrifying thing to take on. People were like,
You’re going to do what?”
The movie rollout will take over Robbie’s life this summer.
I’m all Barbie from here until ‘Barbie’…”
And the rest will soon be HerStory. Barbie opens July 21 with Ryan Gosling as Ken.
You can read more and see more perfectly fab Barbie/Robbie photos by Ethan James Green here.
(Photos, Ethan James Green; via Vogue)
