Credit: Far Out / Warner Bros

Mattel didn’t want their executive to get shot in ‘Barbie’ beach scene

Tue 7 November 2023 9:11, UK

The writers of Barbie, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, have detailed comments by the doll’s creators, Mattel, upon reading their script. These include reservations about their executive getting shot with an arrow during the beach battle scene.

In addition to writing the script, Gerwig directed Barbie. The movie arrived in cinemas on July 21st, the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, kicking off the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon. It stars Margot Robbie as the title character and Ryan Gosling as her companion, Ken, as the two embark on a journey of self-discovery. Featuring an expansive supporting cast, American Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman and Will Ferrell also appear.

During a recent discussion with author Tony Kushner about the movie, Gerwig and Baumbach revealed Mattel had reservations about the beach battle scene in the third act where Will Ferrell’s CEO character gets shot with a fake arrow.

Baumbach said: “There was a note when we first turned the script. On page 111: ‘Does a Mattel executive have to be shot?’ At the time we were like, that should just be on the ad!'”

“But all the notes had a question mark at the end,” Gerwig added, maintaining Mattel allowed them much license to satirise the company. “It wasn’t like, ‘This has to happen.’ It was more, ‘But does he have to be?'” Gerwig continued, asserting that Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz “really did give us a tremendous amount of trust and freedom. There was a real, ‘If you say this is right, then let’s go.'”

However, it was previously revealed that during filming, Mattel President and COO Richard Dickson flew to its set in London to argue with Gerwig and Robbie about a scene where Barbie is called a fascist. After performing the dialogue on set, Dickson changed his mind.

In a four-and-a-half-star review, Far Out said of Barbie: “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.”

Watch the trailer for Barbie below.