There’s no doubt about it; this summer’s ‘Barbie’ film is one of the most eagerly awaited features of the season. The movie perfectly marries elements of childhood reminiscences with the magnetic appeal of big-name celebrities, creating a potent blend that movie studios are desperately trying to replicate. From the initial trailers, it was unmistakably evident that both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling brought to the table the precise comedic rhythm and on-screen rapport necessary to propel the film to box office triumph. Yet, the allure of Barbie and Ken, and their plethora of well-selected variants, isn’t the only component guaranteeing the film’s imminent victory. A significant factor is the writer-director behind the project: Greta Gerwig.
The term “triple threat” is typically associated in Hollywood with an actor who can perform three skills: acting, singing, and dancing. Yet, Gerwig has redefined this term in her unique way. She’s a triple threat not just as an actor, but as a proven screenwriter and director as well. This combination of talents, especially for a woman in the movie industry, isn’t commonplace. With three Academy Award nominations under her belt, Gerwig has proven her prowess in writing and directing with her work on ‘Lady Bird’, and her acclaimed adaptation of ‘Little Women’. In 2017, she was the lone female nominated for Best Directing, falling to Guillermo del Toro. Gerwig was the first woman to be nominated in this category since Kathryn Bigelow for ‘The Hurt Locker’ in 2009. Over the 94-year history of the Academy Awards, only seven women have received nominations for Best Director. This lack of representation isn’t because of a dearth of women directors, but because films by women are often overlooked compared to those by their male counterparts. It’s also a stark contrast to an industry that is predominantly male-led, with women directors being a minority.
When Gerwig received a Best Director nomination for ‘Lady Bird’, it stimulated broader discussions across the industry about female directors. The increasing number of women in the entertainment industry, coupled with the surge of social media, raised awareness of the alarming eight-year gap between single women nominees for Best Director. As a result, press junkets started addressing questions specifically to renowned actors associated primarily with female directors. ‘Barbie‘ signifies the first official collaboration of Gosling with a female director in his three-decade-long career.
Gosling, however, was quick to clarify during an interview with Perri Nemiroff that he had previously worked with Anna Boden in the 2006 feature, ‘Half Nelson’. Even though Ryan Fleck is officially credited as the film’s sole director, Boden and Fleck co-wrote the movie. Gosling was full of praises for Gerwig’s unique storytelling style:
“[S]he’s just such a brilliant person and such an inclusive person. She’s brilliant but incapable of being pretentious. I think what I admire so much about her work is she doesn’t allow herself to create a divide between drama and comedy, and she encourages everyone around her to do the same. So you end up mining places that are in the in-between. It feels very specific to her, but also something that you can relate to because it’s more like life.”
Robbie, who has experience working with female directors like Cathy Yan and Josie Rourke, as well as the controversial director David O. Russell, emphasized that a director’s gender doesn’t affect her decision to work with them. Robbie stated, “If I may add on to that, when I make my list of dream directors I want to work with, I don’t divide it into dream lady directors and dream dude directors. It’s like, “Who are my top 5 dream directors?” And Greta’s on that list because she is just an incredible dream director. She is an auteur. She is gonna be the [Stanley] Kubrick of our generation, or whoever she wants to be. She’s gonna be her own thing. It’s not even about female director or not, she just is one of the greats of our generation.”
A ‘Barbie’ Dream: Calling For More Female Directors
Robbie’s commentary regarding her list of top 5 dream directors sparks a conversation, especially when considering the scarcity of female directors working on blockbuster projects. The 2023 movie scene is dominated by male directors like James Mangold, Christopher Nolan, Christopher McQuarrie, James Gunn, Chad Stahelski, M. Night Shyamalan, Guy Ritchie, and Wes Anderson. An actor’s list of top dream directors will likely mirror this, but might also include names such as Gerwig, Elizabeth Banks, Eva Longoria, Catherine Hardwicke, or Celine Song, who all have films releasing this year. Hopefully, as more actors lean towards working with female directors, film studios will begin investing in gender parity in the director’s chair. However, judging from the current industry trend, it might be a while before we see that change.
‘Barbie‘ hits theaters on July 21, 2023. Don’t miss Nemiroff’s complete interview with Robbie and Gosling in the player above.
