Oliver Stone Retracts Barbie and Ryan Gosling Trash Talk After Watching the Movie

Oliver Stone says he appreciated Barbie's originality and themes once he actually saw the film.

By Nicole Drum

Oliver Stone hasn't been shy about sharing his thoughts about blockbuster films, but when it comes to Barbie, the JFK and Natural Born Killers filmmaker is apologizing for comments he made prior to the film's release. The comments, originally made to City AM back in June, were recirculated on Monday by Deadline, prompting Stone to take to social media to both address the recirculation of the comments, and also clarify his thoughts about Barbie — and apologize for his previous thoughts.

Stone wrote in his statement that he was disappointed that his previous comments were presented out of context and acknowledged that he had made them weeks before the film's release and that, at the time, he had "little to no knowledge about the project beyond its title."

"I was able to see Barbie in a theater back in July and appreciated the film for its originality and its themes. I found the filmmakers' approach certainly different than what I expected. I apologize for speaking ignorantly," Stone wrote. "Greta Gerwig's 2017 film Lady Bird was one of my favorites that year. Barbie's box office greatly boosted the morale of our business, which was welcome. I wish Greta and the entire Barbie team good fortune at the Oscars."

What Did Stone Previously Say About Barbie?

Back in June, Stone harshly criticized Barbie star Ryan Gosling in a conversation with City AM for his involvement in the massive blockbuster and said the movie is part of the "infantilization of Hollywood."

"Ryan Gosling is wasting his time if he's doing that sh-t for money," Stone said. "He should be doing more serious films. He shouldn't be a part of this infantilization of Hollywood. Now it's all fantasy, fantasy, including all the war pictures: fantasy, fantasy."

It wasn't just Barbie that Stone took shots at, either. He had gripes about the Fast and Furious franchise, saying that despite having previously enjoyed the films more recent installments have "become like Marvel movies". He also swung at John Wick and said it made him fall asleep.

"On the plane I watched John Wick, which is three hours and some. And I fell asleep about 778 times during it," Stone said. "I kept waking up and having to face him killing more people. It's like the world has degenerated into non-logic."

Stone Has Previously Praised Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer

Of course, not all major box office films have earned Stone's criticism. The filmmaker previously had praise for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.

"Saturday, I sat through 3 hours of #Oppenheimer, gripped by Chris Nolan's narrative. His screenplay is layered & fascinating. Familiar with the book by Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin, I once turned the project down because I couldn't find my way to its essence. Nolan has found it," Stone wrote on social media last year. "His direction is mind-boggling & eye-popping as he takes reams of incident and cycles it into an exciting torrent of action inside all the talk. Each actor is a surprise to me, especially Cillian Murphy, whose exaggerated eyes here feel normal playing a genius like #Oppenheimer."

What do you think about Stone's updated comments about Barbie? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

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