Greta Gerwig on Oct. 8, 2023, in London; Ryan Gosling inBarbie(2023).Photo:Joe Maher/Getty, Movieclips/YouTube
Joe Maher/Getty, Movieclips/YouTube
Greta Gerwigwas committed to her vision for the “I’m Just Ken” scene inBarbie.
The director and co-writer, 40, spoke about theRyan Goslingscene at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday, recalling, perVariety, “It just said in the script, ‘And then it becomes a dream ballet and they work it out through dance.' "
But in a “big meeting” with the powers that be, Gerwig said she was asked " ‘Do you need this?’ " about the sequence that features Gosling, 42, and his fellow Kens duking it out on the beach before transporting viewers to another realm,where the Kens dance it out.
“I was like, ‘Everything in me needs this,' " Gerwig continued. “They were like, ‘What do you even mean? What is a dream ballet?’ And I was like, ‘A dream ballet? Where do I begin!' "
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Ryan Gosling (center) inBarbie(2023).Movieclips/YouTube
Movieclips/YouTube
Gerwig noted similarities involving “a dream ballet inside of a dream ballet” when compared to 1952’sSingin' in the Rain, explaining, “I was like, ‘If people could follow that inSingin’ in the Rain, I think we’ll be fine. I think people will know what this is.' "
But the scene wasn’t without worry for the filmmaker. “Even though everything felt right to me and was giving me so much joy in the way we were doing it, it was also like, ‘Oh no, this could be just terrible, but now I’m committed,’ " she added.
The film has now raked in more than $1.435 million in global tickets sales, having passedTheSuper Mario Bros. Movieas thehighest-grossing film of 2023thus far.
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“I went around to different theaters and sort of stood in the back, and would then also turn up the volume if I felt it wasn’t playing at the perfect level,” she recounted, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
Gerwig said at one of those screenings she heard a woman cracking up over a particularly zingy one-liner about the Proust Barbie. “And I was like, ‘That joke was for you!' ” she told the festival audience.
The director saidBarbiewas “the most joyful” experience she’s ever had on a set.
“So, I thought, if I can make a movie that is half as fun to watch as it was to make, I think maybe we’ve got a shot,” Gerwig said.
source: people.com
