Anne Hathaway praises Greta Grewig’s ‘Barbie’ being made instead of her version
In the 2010s, Anne Hathaway was lined up to star in a movie about Barbie directed by Alethea Jones, featuring comedian Amy Schumer.
However, plans fell through, leading to the creation of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, starring Margot Robbie as the Mattel doll and Ryan Gosling as Ken, which became a cultural phenomenon.
The movie, the most successful release of 2023, was practically inescapable this year. Coinciding with the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, many viewers watched both as a double feature, leading to the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon.
Gerwig co-wrote the movie with her husband, filmmaker Noah Baumbach. Barbie ended up grossing a whopping $1.44billion and was widely praised.
Yet, plans for a Barbie movie before Gerwig could’ve resulted in a very different take on the doll’s story. Speaking to Variety, Hathaway expressed her love for Gerwig’s film, suggesting that it “was the best possible version.”
She explained, “What’s so exciting about what Greta and Margot and that phenomenal team [did] is they hit a bullseye. The bullseye caused the entire world to reach this level of ecstasy. Now imagine that version… that much energy, that much anticipation, that much emotion… but it’s not the right version. I actually think of it as a lucky thing.”
The actor continued, “It’s easy just to be thrilled and happy for them. I love watching women kill it. To do so well, so undeniably that they actually had to write new records… come on! I think it will probably make things better.”
In a four-and-a-half-star review of Barbie, Far Out stated: “This is certainly not merely a film to watch only once, to laugh and sing along to, and be done with. In fact, Barbie may just accomplish the greatest of all art’s tasks, and incite change. Don’t be fooled by her hype or her history; Barbie is an essential piece of cinema for the modern age.”
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