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Greta Gerwig has revealed there was a particular Barbie scene she refused to cut from the film.<\/p>\n
The movie\u2019s director and co-writer is currently basking in its huge success after what has been a record-breaking opening weekend; Gerwig has broken the domestic box office record for a female director, with a debut of $155m in North America and $337m globally.<\/p>\n
Barbie is receiving acclaim from critics and audiences \u2013 but, according to Gerwig, studio executives working at Warner Bros Pictures asked her to consider removing a scene from the finished film. <\/p>\n
The scene in question arrives shortly after Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) arrive in the real world. <\/p>\n
As Ken wanders off on his own adventure, Barbie sits on a bench and notices strangers around her experiencing different emotions. Sat next to her is a woman reading a newspaper and, after the pair exchange a glance, Barbie tells her: \u201cYou\u2019re so beautiful.\u201d The lady abruptly replies: \u201cI know it,\u201d to which the pair start laughing. <\/p>\n
When Ken returns, and Barbie leaves with him, she looks back at the woman who has resumed reading her newspaper.<\/p>\n
Gerwig reflected on the moment with Rolling Stone, saying: \u201cI love that scene so much. And the older woman on the bench is the costume designer Ann Roth. She\u2019s a legend. It\u2019s a cul-de-sac of a moment, in a way \u2013 it doesn\u2019t lead anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was for this reason that studio bosses thought the film might have been better without the scene, with Gerwig revealing: \u201cIn early cuts, looking at the movie, it was suggested, \u2018Well, you could cut it. And actually, the story would move on just the same.\u2019 And I said, \u2018If I cut the scene, I don\u2019t know what this movie is about.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cThe way Margot plays that moment is so gentle and so unforced. There\u2019s the more outrageous elements in the movie that people say, \u2018Oh, my God, I can\u2019t believe Mattel let you do this,\u2019 or, \u2018I can\u2019t believe Warner Bros let you do this.\u2019<\/p>\n
Oscar-winning costume designer Ann Roth has a cameo role in \u2018Barbie\u2019 <\/p>\n
(Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cBut to me, the part that I can\u2019t believe that is still in the movie is this little cul-de-sac that doesn\u2019t lead anywhere \u2013 except for, it\u2019s the heart of the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Roth, 91, has won two Oscars for costume design \u2013 once for The English Patient (1996) and again for Ma Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom (2020). <\/p>\n
She also received nominations for her work on Places in the Heart (1985), The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) and The Hours (2002).<\/p>\n
Roth has previously worked with Barbie co-writer, and Gerwig\u2019s husband, Noah Baumbach on three occasions: Margot at the Wedding (2007), While We\u2019re Young (2014) and White Noise (2022).<\/p>\n
Barbie is in cinemas now. Find The Independent\u2019s review of the film here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for free Greta Gerwig has revealed there was a particular Barbie scene she refused to cut from the film. The movie\u2019s director and co-writer is currently basking in its huge success after what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n