Heading into the summer, many memes and jokes became part of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, as Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer went head to head at the box office.
Based on Christopher Nolan’s pedigree, and the presence of superstars like Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Matt Damon in the movie on J. Robert Oppenheimer – who was the “most important person” who ever lived, as per the movie’s filmmaker – many expected the documentary feature to blow Margot Robbie led Barbie out of the water.
Having grossed over $900 million globally, Oppenheimer has performed as many predicted. Rather it’s the historic performance of Barbie that has left doubters of Gerwig’s movie wowed.
What Response Greta Gerwig Has for Critics of Her Work
Greta Gerwig’s depiction of live-action Barbie and her beautiful but sheltered world, through which she took aim at patriarchal norms, worked wonders at the box office, helping the comedy gross $1.4 billion worldwide.
The 40-year-old’s groundbreaking work made Barbie the first solo-directed live-action film by a woman to join the elusive billion-dollar club. Such a performance has the potential to open more doors for female-centric narratives and women-led movies.
It’s not very often that studios back such projects, and the rare times they do, the response at the box office is usually pale. Gerwig might enjoy the change of fortunes from hereon, but she has also experienced her fair share of unsolicited criticism.
However, the Little Women director knows how to deal with such moments. While answering a question about testing moments, creatively or professionally for The Hollywood Reporter‘s Directors Roundtable, she said:
“All of my [tough moments] are petty. Like people telling me, without me asking, that they didn’t like my movie. ‘It wasn’t for me.’ Go f*ck yourselves!”
That’s one way to deal with it. Another is to deliver a billion-dollar blockbuster. Gerwig can now boast of having done both!
Why Greta Gerwig Thought Barbie Would End Her Career
Having already helmed much acclaimed Lady Bird and Little Women from the director’s chair, Gerwig had already established herself as a filmmaker who commanded a certain respect and didn’t need unwanted suggestions.
Still, such was the scale of Margot Robbie’s Barbie, which had a massive budget of $145 million that the relatively young director at times experienced terrifying emotions before production started. Speaking on Dua Lipa’s podcast At Your Service [as per EW], she said:
“It was terrifying. I think that was a big part of it. I think there’s something about starting from that place where it’s like, ‘Well, anything is possible!’ It felt like vertigo starting to write it. Like, where do you even begin? What would be the story?”
But at the same time, the nervousness pushed her to explore the best stuff. She continued [via EW]:
“That feeling that I had was knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually that’s where the best stuff is. When you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender,’ then you’re like, ‘Ok, I probably should do it’.”
Considering Barbie’s performance, it’s best to assume the terrifying thoughts worked pretty well for Gerwig.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, EW
