Barbie has been a bonafide phenomenon since it debuted in theaters last summer, creating a monocultural moment in an array of ways. That included the standout original song of “I’m Just Ken”, which was performed by Ryan Gosling’s Ken in the film. “I’m Just Ken” transcended into a new stratosphere at last month’s Oscars ceremony, when Gosling performed it in a massive live production. The topic of whether or not Gosling would perform at the Oscars was speculated about at length, and in a recent interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he revealed that his initial reaction to the Oscars offer was “100% no.”
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“There’s a lot of ways that could go wrong,” Gosling said.
What Was the “I’m Just Ken” Oscar Performance Inspired By?
The performance of “I’m Just Ken” contained a number of classic Hollywood homages, particularly to Marilyn Monroe’s iconic performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
“Ryan Gosling is a true professional, that man — we met with him on Zooms months ago, talking about that performance,” Academy Awards producer Molly McNearney explained in an interview earlier this year. “Greta Gerwig weighed in creatively as well. He was so committed to it. His choreographer, Many Moore, is exceptional — she was on all the calls. So was Mark Ronson. That’s where the pink suit, and everybody else in black came from — and the stairs in the back. And we did an homage to the candelabra girls: We had Ken-delabra men.”
Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?
At the time of this writing, a Barbie sequel still has yet to be greenlit. Previous reports have indicated that Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling are not contractually obligated to return, with last year’s Hollywood strikes delaying those talks.
“It’s funny, that knee-jerk reaction in this day and age for everyone to immediately ask about a sequel. I don’t think it was like that 20 years ago. This wasn’t designed to be a trilogy,” Robbie explained in a recent interview. “Everything went into Barbie – and that’s how Greta works. She finishes every movie on empty, feeling like she could never make another movie because she put everything she had into that one. So I don’t know what it would take to fill that cup up again for her. Or for us. I think Warners would also agree. I don’t know what more could even look like. We want to make more films that have the effect that Barbie has. I don’t know if it has to be Barbie 2. Why can’t it be another big, original, bold idea where we get an amazing filmmaker, a big budget to play with, and the trust of a huge conglomerate behind them to go and really play? I want to do that.”
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