Greta Gerwig reveals the key Barbie scene she refused to cut despite studio pressure
Greta Gerwig has revealed the scene in Barbie that she refused to cut. The Academy Award-nominated director said that it was suggested she remove a scene where Barbie meets an elderly woman on a bench and tells her she’s beautiful. “I love that scene so much,” Gerwig told Rolling Stone. “And the older woman on the bench is the costume designer Ann Roth. She’s a legend. It’s a cul-de-sac of a moment, in a way - it doesn’t lead anywhere. "And in early cuts, looking at the movie, it was suggested, ‘Well, you could cut it. And actually, the story would move on just the same.’ And I said, ‘If I cut the scene, I don’t know what this movie is about.'” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In another interview, Gerwig called the scene a "transaction of grace" and said it is vital to understand how the living doll perceives the human world. “The idea of a loving God who’s a mother, a grandmother - who looks at you and says, ‘Honey, you’re doing ok’ - is something I feel like I need and I wanted to give to other people,” Gerwig told The New York Times. “If I cut that scene, I don’t know why I’m making this movie,” the director added. “If I don’t have that scene, I don’t know what it is or what I’ve done.” Gerwig's critically lauded and box-office-smashing movie was released worldwide last Friday with seemingly everyone heading out to see the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starring comedy about the iconic toy. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Greta Gerwig has revealed the scene in Barbie that she refused to cut.
The Academy Award-nominated director said that it was suggested she remove a scene where Barbie meets an elderly woman on a bench and tells her she’s beautiful.
“I love that scene so much,” Gerwig told Rolling Stone.
“And the older woman on the bench is the costume designer Ann Roth. She’s a legend. It’s a cul-de-sac of a moment, in a way - it doesn’t lead anywhere.
"And in early cuts, looking at the movie, it was suggested, ‘Well, you could cut it. And actually, the story would move on just the same.’ And I said, ‘If I cut the scene, I don’t know what this movie is about.'”
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
In another interview, Gerwig called the scene a "transaction of grace" and said it is vital to understand how the living doll perceives the human world.
“The idea of a loving God who’s a mother, a grandmother - who looks at you and says, ‘Honey, you’re doing ok’ - is something I feel like I need and I wanted to give to other people,” Gerwig told The New York Times.
“If I cut that scene, I don’t know why I’m making this movie,” the director added. “If I don’t have that scene, I don’t know what it is or what I’ve done.”
Gerwig's critically lauded and box-office-smashing movie was released worldwide last Friday with seemingly everyone heading out to see the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starring comedy about the iconic toy.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.