Doing a movie can be scary, especially if it is based on a toy that could lead to any story that pops into your head. In an interview on Dua Lipa: At Your Service podcast, Greta Gerwig spoke about her fears about doing the Barbie movie and why she thought it would be a “career-ender.”
Not much is known about the film, outside of its huge cast with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling leading, and some leaked images of the leads in their costumes. The idea of a Barbie movie is so broad anyone would find it hard to write a script, especially Greta Gerwig. She said the experience was “terrifying.”
“There’s something about starting from that place where it’s like, ‘Well, anything is possible.’ It felt like vertigo starting to write it. Like, where do you even begin? What would be the story?”
Greta Gerwig on the Barbie movie being a “career-ender”
That fear stirred something positive and negative inside Greta Gerwig when it came to writing and filming Barbie. For her, that “terror” was “usually” the place “where the best stuff is” located. For the filmmaker and actress, being at that point of being “terrified” and thinking that it would be a “career-ender” is the sign to take on the job.
The three-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker directed the upcoming film and co-wrote it with her husband, Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story). The two leads are joined by Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), America Ferrera (How to Train Your Dragon), Emma Mackey (Death on the Nile), Connor Swindells (Sex Education), and Kate McKinnon.
Richard Dickson, Julia Pistor, and Michael Sharp serve as executive producers. Robbie, Josey McNamara, Ynon Kreiz, David Heyman, Christine Crais, Robbie Brenner, and Tom Ackerley act as producers.
The film hit theaters on July 21, 2023.