Anne Hathaway has shared her support for Margot Robbie‘s and Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie movie.
Before Robbie’s and Gerwig’s take on Barbie, Hathaway was in 2017 attached to star in a Barbie movie with Australian filmmaker Alethea Jones attached to direct. Comedian Amy Schumer was first attached to star in the film but dropped out over “scheduling conflicts”.
However, nothing would become of Jones’ and Hathaway’s project, leading to Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie teaming up for this year’s Barbie.
Speaking to Variety, Hathaway said of Robbie’s film: “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 [it didn’t get made].”
Hathaway went on to praise Margot Robbie, saying: “Margot is sublime. What she is doing as a creative person and a producer is so exciting and inspiring. The mythic giants they toppled with ‘Barbie’ that have kept certain narratives in place that have not allowed opportunities to develop for so many people… they ran straight through it! Just as a cinemagoer and as a woman in Hollywood since I was a kid, I’m thrilled by the development.”
“If I believed that the version I was attached to could have done that, I might feel differently about it, but I genuinely think their film was the best possible version. 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.”
Barbie scored a four-star review from NME‘s Alex Flood upon its release earlier this year. Flood wrote: “The script contains unexpected subtlety, particularly during the tender moments which pack an emotional punch. Presumably, part of Mattel’s motive for bringing Barbie to the big screen was changing her outdated image of rigid beauty ideals and unrealistic body conformism. Gerwig is clever enough to deliver these with self-awareness and some sarcastic jokes (Mirren thanking Barbie for ending misogyny is a highlight), meaning the balance between reality and commercial is never lost.”
Barbie was also recently named NME‘s seventh best movie of the year. Paul Bradshaw wrote: “A quick vault over the billion-dollar box-office mark saw Gerwig break records for a female director. Nobody could stop singing ‘I’m Just Ken’… Wherever you were in 2023, and whatever you were doing, we were all just living in a Barbie world.”