Current:Home > Contact-usWhat the Mattel CEO Really Thinks of the Satirical Barbie Movie-InfoLens
What the Mattel CEO Really Thinks of the Satirical Barbie Movie
View Date:2024-12-23 12:03:38
For Mattel executives, the Barbie movie was more than kenough.
In fact, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz had nothing but praise for the film, which stars Margot Robbie as the titular doll leaving Barbieland on a quest into the real world.
"It took 64 years to bring it to today," Kreiz told CNBC's Squawk on the Street on July 21. "It's an important moment for Barbie. It's a milestone moment for Mattel, and it's a historical moment for cinema in bringing together for the first time to big screen one of the most iconic brands in modern culture."
And their hopes in creating Barbie went above and beyond just shooting a movie.
"Well, from the beginning, we were set out to create a cultural event," Kreiz explained. "This is more than making a movie. Barbie is a pop culture icon that is both timeless and timely. And we always believe that this will be something very special, not conventional that will create a real societal event."
However, bringing the iconic doll to life also meant facing the criticisms the doll has faced in the past—something director Greta Gerwig and Robbie were unafraid to address.
"You need to be able to point out all the things that people have found problematic about Barbie," the Babylon star, who also served as a producer on Barbie, told the New York Times in an interview published July 13. "Greta would say, run toward that, that's going to be more interesting."
It wasn't always smooth sailing making the film as Robbie admitted Mattel had a "long laundry list of concerns," which ranged from what lines to include or why some language was necessary. After all, the company's COO even flew to London over concerns about a scene but later relented. Still, there was a collaborative effort to make a movie everyone was proud of.
"By the way, we had total freedom," Robbie continued. "They weren't allowed to dictate the movie, but we didn't want to make a movie that they weren't going to be supportive of as well."
Read on to learn more secrets from the Barbie movie.
Margot Robbie, who stars as Barbie and also produced the film, admitted in an interview that she always wanted Ryan Gosling to be her Ken. She said he was written into the script—as the character "Ken Ryan Gosling"—and joked, "We pretty much wouldn't take no for an answer."
"We just kept bothering you," writer/director Greta Gerwig admitted to Ryan in an SXM interview. "Margot was like, 'Is it weird if I go to his house?' I was like, 'Don't go to his house. We're just gonna stay put.' Send a follow-up text." As Margot teased, "I would see a sea of blue on my phone."
Ryan revealed that Margot gave him daily gifts inspired by his character Beach Ken.
"She left a pink present with a pink bow, from Barbie to Ken, every day while we were filming," Ryan told Vogue. "They were all beach-related. Like puka shells, or a sign that says 'Pray for surf.'" He said that he's "never quite figured out" what Ken's job as "Beach" means, "But I felt like she was trying to help Ken understand, through these gifts that she was giving."
Amy Schumer explained the real reason she dropped out of the Barbie movie.
"I think we said it was scheduling conflict, that's what we said," she said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in June 2023. "But yeah, it really was just, like, creative differences. But you know what? There's like a new team behind it, and it looks like it's very feminist and cool. So, I will be seeing that movie."
"It was a happy accident," John Cena told Today of his casting as a Mermaid Ken. He said he "kind of" pitched himself to join the film "in an accidental run-in with Margot Robbie." John told her, "I would do, pretty much, whatever you guys need 'cause I really enjoy the movie and they asked me if I wanted to be a merman."
Casting director Allison Jones revealed Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang, Schitt's Creek actor Dan Levy and Dear Evan Hansen actor Ben Platt almost played Kens in the movie but weren't able to make it work. She added, "They were, I'm not kidding, really bummed they couldn't do it."
According to the casting director, before Michael Cera came on board as Ken's buddy Allan, it almost went to a certain Frozen actor.
"Dear, dear Jonathan Groff was like, ‘I can't believe I'm typing this," Allison Jones told Vanity Fair, "but I can't do Allan."
The Barbie actresses revealed they had a cast sleepover at the London hotel Claridge's to get close. "We all shared beds and wore our pajamas, and ordered room service," Margot shared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, "and played games, and found out that America [Ferrera] is exceptionally competitive."
America had her own tea to spill about the evening. "Nobody told me that it was a sexy Barbie sleepover," she quipped. "So everybody was in like really pretty silky nightgowns, and I was in like the most grandma floral twin set you can imagine."
As for the Kens? "Greta was very deliberate in what she wanted the Kens to do to bond," Simu Liu exclusively told E! News, "which was to gym together."
The French version of Barbie's poster went viral after social media users pointed out the double entendre of the translation. "She can do everything. He's just Ken," the English tagline goes, which was translated to, "Elle peut tout faire. Lui, c'est juste Ken."
However, fans went wild after pointing out that "ken" has a slang meaning in French as "f--k" and would translate to, "He can only f--k." Bonjour, Ken!
Though Nicola Coughlan only appeared for a few moments in the film, it was very important to her to experience life in plastic.
"I auditioned for Barbie back in January 22 when I was on holiday with friends," she wrote on Instagram. "I'd packed one random hot pink dress I hadn't worn at all and when I had to make my audition tape I thought- this is fate, I have a dress in Barbie Pink!"
Admitting she's "obsessed" with Greta Gerwig, the Bridgerton star said that "the prospect of working with her was something I couldn't even have imagined."
"When I found out she wanted to have me be part of @barbiethemovie, and then that I probably wouldn't be able to make it work because of my schedule I was firstly elated and quickly heartbroken," Nicola continued. "So when I was asked if I wanted to pop into Barbieland even briefly my answer was an immediate, and very emphatic yes."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (9)
Related
- Waymo’s robotaxis now open to anyone who wants a driverless ride in Los Angeles
- Self-professed ‘Wolf of Airbnb’ sentenced to over 4 years in prison for defrauding landlords
- Hunter Biden drops lawsuit against Fox News over explicit images featured in streaming series
- At least 11 dead, dozens missing after a highway bridge in China collapses after heavy storms
- California voters reject proposed ban on forced prison labor in any form
- Andrew Garfield's Girlfriend Kate Tomas Calls Out Misogynistic Reactions to Their Romance
- Shohei Ohtani nearly hits home run out of Dodger Stadium against Boston Red Sox
- Democrats promise ‘orderly process’ to replace Biden, where Harris is favored but questions remain
- Love Is Blind’s Chelsea Blackwell Reacts to Megan Fox’s Baby News
- Eva Mendes' Ultimate Self-Care Hack May Surprise You
Ranking
- Footage shows Oklahoma officer throwing 70-year-old to the ground after traffic ticket
- The Mitsubishi Starion and Chrysler conquest are super rad and rebadged
- Largest trial court in the US closes after ransomware attack, California officials say
- 3,000 migrants leave southern Mexico on foot in a new caravan headed for the US border
- Georgia lawmaker proposes new gun safety policies after school shooting
- Pepper, the cursing bird who went viral for his foul mouth, has found his forever home
- Karen Read back in court after murder case of Boston police officer boyfriend ended in mistrial
- Sam Smith Shares They Were Unable to Walk After Skiing Accident
Recommendation
-
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long record of promoting anti-vaccine views
-
Stop taking selfies with 'depressed' bear, Florida sheriff's office tells drivers
-
'This can't be real': He left his daughter alone in a hot car for hours. She died.
-
Get 80% Off Banana Republic, an Extra 60% Off Gap Clearance, 50% Off Le Creuset, 50% Off Ulta & More
-
How Alex Jones’ Infowars wound up in the hands of The Onion
-
Secret Service director says Trump assassination attempt was biggest agency ‘failure’ in decades
-
Wildfires in California, Utah prompt evacuations after torching homes amid heat wave
-
16 & Pregnant Alum Autumn Crittendon Dead at 27