Barbie dollstarring Margot Robbie in the title role, is finally released this Friday (July 21).
The live-action film based on the famous Mattel doll has been in production since 2009, and in that time, has gone through many changes in writer and director.
At one stage, Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway were both in talks to star, but that changed when Robbie stepped in.
Before the actor was cast in the lead role, she was attached as a producer and recommended the film to Warner Bros Pictures, who eventually acquired it from Sony after some hustling from The Wolf of Wall Street performer.
She told collider in a new interview: “I thought I told them it was going to make a billion dollars, which I probably oversold, but we have a movie to make, okay?”
However, Robbie shared with her a condition to produce the film before the role of Barbie was cast.
“I don’t want our director to be – Greta [Gerwig] was the first choice, but if she said no – I didn’t want our director to feel pressured to give me the role.
“So I was really outspoken and said, ‘I wouldn’t be offended in the slightest. We can go to anyone. Whatever story you want to tell and who you want to be, I support it. I got a chance to be in the game as a producer, I didn’t get a chance to be in the game as an actor, so feel free to choose that.’
Luckily for Robbie, Gerwig said to her, ‘Shut up, I want to write this for you.’” But Robbie was initially unconvinced: “I was like, ‘You might feel pressured to say that, but…’ and we danced that for a while. And then I finally accepted that she wanted me to play the part, and then she wrote it.
Since that time, the names of Robbie and co-star Ryan Gosling have been written on the script, with Gerwig co-writing the screenplay with her husband, director Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story).
Margot Robbie Shares Concerns About ‘Pressure’ Around ‘Barbie’ Casting
(Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.)
Barbie, starring Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu and Michael Cera, is predicted to make more than $100 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
Its biggest rival is the Christopher Nolan biopic Oppenheimer, starring Irish actor Cillian Murphy, is expected to gross $50 million. Both films received critical acclaim.
Find live updates prior to the release of both films here.
