Barbie Director Greta Gerwig Organized Cast Sleepover Before Filming

The Barbie movie is just around the corner, and moviegoers are eager to see Margot Robbie take on the role of Barbie and Ryan Gosling the role of Ken. The film was helmed by Lady Bird and Little Women director, Greta Gerwig, who cast a star-studded line-up of actors to play alongside Robbie and Gosling. Recently, Gerwig had a chat with The Guardian about Barbie, and she revealed she didn’t initially tell her partner Noah Baumbach that she signed him up to be the movie’s co-writer. During the interview, Gerwig also talked about organizing a sleepover with the cast before filming began.

Gerwig revealed that she planned a slumber party with Robbie, Issa Rae, and America Ferrera at Claridges, the London hotel. Together, they wore pajamas and played games. Some of the Ken actors were also invited but didn’t spend the night. “Honestly, it just felt like it would be the most fun way to kick everything off,” Gerwig explained. “And it’s something you don’t get to do that much as an adult. Like, ‘I’m just going to go have a sleepover with my friends…’”

This isn’t the first time Gerwig has arranged something special for her actors. Before making Little Women, she had the four main cast members memorize poems and read them to each other. “These were professional actors,” Gerwig explained, “But there was something about the fact they had to select a poem and then recite it… It was very intimate and amazing, and they were very vulnerable. It instantly felt helpful in creating that connection.” She added, “As a director, you have the job of dreaming up the movie, and then you have to get everyone else in the movie – hundreds of people – to have that same dream, too.”

What Is Barbie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel.