The much anticipated Barbie starring Margot Robbie as the titular character is almost here and we can’t control our excitement – the iconic song by Aqua – I’m a Barbie Girl starts to play in the background.
First created back in 1959 by Ruth Handler, Barbie has been the most bankable product for Mattel along with Hot Wheels.
Barbie is not just your average ‘doll’ as Mattel prints the most out of this global icon. Back in 2021, they hit a whopping $1.7 billion in revenues which is the highest ever since. Now, as we are getting to see a live-action outing, there is a lot to know about how it all came to be.
Before Greta Gerwig (Little Women) took the director’s chair, Sony owned the character and had cast Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) as the leading lady back in 2016. It was later reported that Schumer could not continue and the role was passed on to Anne Hathaway. While all this happened, Ynon Kreiz – the fourth CEO of Mattel reclaimed the rights back to the company two years after.
Was Mattel behind Margot Robbie Getting Barbie?
As Mattel is very passionate about children’s entertainment all around the world, they can’t compromise the authenticity of their characters. Their entire facility in California screams ‘art’ and Gerwig got to meet the COO of the company – Richard Dickson, and he showed her what their world is like from the inside.
Margot Robbie had already signed on to star in the film after Kreiz got the rights back from Sony, and goodness, she was born for it! According to The Suicide Squad actor, Gerwig knows how to strike the sweet spot with balancing heart and intelligence.
She shared –
“You watch something like ‘Little Women,’ and the dialogue is very, very clever. It’s talking about some big things, but it’s also extremely emotional.”
Gerwig however kept stalling the project citing – ‘she didn’t have a ton of friends in corporate America’ on her call with Dickson. But he somehow, with his passion for the project and excitement got her on board. She got highly inspired by a ‘President Barbie’ that she saw during her tour of the facility.
Margot Robbie Knows Barbie Has Her Haters
As the 33-year-old actor has done films with some of the biggest players in the industry, such as the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Nicole Kidman, Viola Davis, and Brad Pitt, she knows the ‘ins and outs’ of a project when she sees one.
With films like I, Tonya, and playing Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie has proven her capacity to handle colorful characters – which Barbie definitely is.
In her two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting with Kreiz, she knew she had to take up the role and the company’s interests seriously.
“There are people who adore Barbie, people who hate Barbie. But the bottom line is everyone knows Barbie,” said the actor.
Barbie comes out on July 21, this year.
Source: The New Yorker
