Margot Robbie captivated global hearts with her portrayal of the iconic fashion icon in Barbie. Since its release, the movie has continued to garner public interest, achieving numerous accomplishments including 8 Oscar nominations. This movie female-led movie has created a substantial impact globally, cementing its place in the cinematic world.
But, long before Greta Gerwig and Robbie achieved this feat, Sharon Stone attempted to pitch the movie in the 1990s though her efforts didn’t yield any results. She recently shared the plotline of her unmade film which sounds as intriguing as the 2023 hit.
Sharon Stone Details Her Unmade Barbie Movie Pitch
Long before the 2023 sensation, Barbie, made its place in the female-led blockbuster movies, Sharon Stone tried to pitch a movie based on the iconic Mattel doll. However, Hollywood was not kind to the actress who revealed previously about being laughed out of the studio, as they didn’t believe that it could garner any attention.
In the latest appearance on Dana Carvey and David Spade’s “Fly On The Wall” podcast, she claimed that the studio did not welcome her movie pitch, leaving her to get thrown out of the studio.
She shared,
“I went to the studio to try and make Barbie in the 1990s with a producer, a friend of mine, and I had the then-CEO of Mattel on my side. We got thrown out of the studio. They were like, ‘Why would you take this American icon and try to destroy it? What is wrong with you?’ I got a lecture and an escort to the door.”
Revealing the details of her rejected bid, Sharon Stone stated,
“We had it so the opening scene would be Barbie pulling up to Mattel in her Barbie car and secret service come out and their feet are as big as the car. They escort her into Mattel and everybody falls aside because she’s the most important member of Mattel.”
She continued,
“All the big people are chasing her around and kissing her ass because she’s the queen of Mattel and it’s about the power of being Barbie and what Barbie could do in the world because she’s so powerful.”
However, her pitch proved unsuccessful as the undisclosed film studio “didn’t think Barbie should be powerful.” Given that the film industry, back in the day, was reluctant to female-centric movies, the Basic Instinct star’s incredible pitch ended up becoming nothing but a forgotten concept. However, the 2023 movie itself faced lots of obstacles before eventually getting a green light with Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig.
Before Margot Robbie, 2 Actresses Were Slated for Barbie Role
While Gerwig’s impeccable direction and Robbie’s impeccable acting skills contributed significantly to the movie’s success, they joined the project quite later. For the unknown, Barbie has been in development since 2009 with Amy Schumer originally slated to star in the titular role.
Given that Sony initially had the film rights, the Trainwreck actress was hired but she dropped out of the project. Back in 2022, she revealed creative differences to be the reason behind her exit. However, she is highly impressed with what Ryan Gosling’s movie offers as she feels “it’s very feminist and cool.”
Soon after her exit, Anne Hathaway stepped in to assume the titular role but her movie version never materialized, with the project eventually getting scrapped. Warner Bros. later on picked the film rights in 2018, with Robbie’s production company pitching its own version with Gerwig as co-writer and director.
Barbie is streaming on Max.
