Greta Gerwig Will Co-Write New ‘Barbie’ Movie
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach are set to write the new Barbie movie from Mattel and Warner Bros. According to The Wrap, the academy-winning writers closed a deal to finish the script for the upcoming movie.
Gerwig, who was nominated for two Oscars for directing and writing the 2017 coming-of-age film Lady Bird, is also in the running to direct the project. The actress/writer/director has worked with Baumbach on three films, including Frances Ha, Greenberg, and Mistress America. Baumbach was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006 for his The Squid and the Whale screenplay.
The Barbie project was originally announced in 2014 with Amy Schumer set to star as the title character. The film originally followed Barbie in the real world after discovering she’s not good enough for the doll world.
Several high-profile writers, like Diablo Cody and Jenny Bicks, previously worked on the script. But, as reported by Variety, Schumer dropped out of the movie in 2017 citing scheduling conflicts. At the time, the actress said she was “bummed” about not being able to play Barbie.
This came after many complaints that the actress was not slim enough to play the iconic doll. The actress responded on Instagram.
“Is it fat shaming if you know you’re not fat and have zero shame in your game? I don’t think so. I am strong and proud of how I live my life and say what I mean and fight for what I believe in and I have a blast doing it with the people I love. Where’s the shame? It’s not there.”
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach to Reunite For #Barbie Film Starring Margot Robbie https://t.co/h7Yk4qEOuv pic.twitter.com/Moz2ZXNhED
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) July 16, 2019
In January, it was announced that Margot Robbie would take over as Barbie. The Australian actress will also co-produce. According to the BBC, Robbie was looking forward to the part.
“I’m so honoured to take on this role that I believe will have a tremendously positive impact on children.”
While there’s no word on when the movie will be shot or released, all of the movie’s personnel have big projects on the way. Gerwig directed and wrote an adaptation of Little Women that will be released in December. It stars Emma Watson, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, and Timothée Chalamet.
Robbie will star as Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood later this month, while Baumbach is currently working on a project for Netflix about a divorcing couple. It will star Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, and Ray Liotta.
