Barbie Director Greta Gerwig Shares Why She Chose Movie

Barbie director Greta Gerwig revealed why she decided to sign on for the movie. In a new TIME Magazine profile, the cast and decision-makers behind Barbie discussed what drew them to this particular project. For a lot of the actors and actresses involved, their decision to join-up came down to Gerwig. Her reputation around movies like Lady Bird and Little Women speaks for itself. So, when they saw her attached to Barbie, they knew it wouldn't be a normal IP-driven movie. (Although, it's still definitely invested in the idea of Mattel's world with the iconic doll.) That drive to make something different really appealed to Gerwig who surprisingly played with dolls for a long time. So, the bedrock was already there!

"I played with dolls too long," the 39-year-old director told the outlet. "I was still doing it in junior high. Kids were drinking, and I was playing with dolls." 

In addition, it sounds like Gerwig's mother wasn't exactly in love with Barbie either. For feminist reasons, she had her quibbles. The director observed, "She went through the '60s and was like, 'What did we do all this for?'"

Barbie Star Margot Robbie Let Gerwig and Noah Baumbach Go Wild

Elsewhere in the cover story, Margot Robbie mentioned how important it was to let Gerwig truly explore the concept of Barbie, even if all the conclusions aren't 100% positive. Robbie's LuckyChap banner is producing the movie along with Mattel and Warner Bros. It seems like the star wasn't going to let any studio notes hold back that first draft. When Gerwig and her team succeeded, the result was a bit outlandish for such a known property like Barbie. In fact, the actress didn't think that the powers that be would let them make this movie at all because of how daring it felt. 

"We worked hard to give them their space and let them come up with what the movie was going to be, uninterrupted, without people pushing an agenda on them—not Mattel, not Warner Bros., not us," Robbie revealed. "And then when I saw the script, I was like, 'They're never going to let us do this. This is really pushing it.'"

Mattel Is Betting Big With Barbie

"Playing with Barbie promotes confidence, curiosity and communication throughout a child's journey to self-discovery," Robbie previously said in a press release. "Over the brand's almost 60 years, Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president."

"Barbie is one of the most iconic franchises in the world and we are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures and Margot Robbie to bring her to life on the big screen," Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, wrote when the project took shape. "We look forward to building on this collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures as we tell the stories of our beloved brands. Mattel Films is on a path to demonstrate the enormous potential of our brand portfolio, as we continue to execute on our strategy of transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high performing toy company."

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