Initially, Noah Baumbach Thought ‘Barbie’ Was a “Terrible Idea”

A few years ago, it was rather strange to read that Noah Baumbach was going to be co-writing a “Barbie” movie with partner Greta Gerwig. On-paper, it didn’t seem like the right fit, at all. Of course, as we all know, the gamble did pay off and now he and Greta are filthy rich because of their doll movie.

Baumbach is known for writing and directing critically-acclaimed indies (“The Squid and the Whale,” “Marriage Story”) and having penned a few Wes Anderson movies. “Barbie” was uncharted territory for him: a big-budgeted movie about a doll, aimed primarily at teenage girls.

Baumbach and Gerwig ended up making something slightly different, satirical, with some added feminist undercurrents. “Barbie” worked very well for them, mainstream audiences ate it up.

However, Baumbach has revealed, during a special screening at the Writers Guild of America West (via Variety), that he initially had no desire to write “Barbie,” that is until the pandemic hit and Gerwig forced him to help her out on the screenplay.

“I thought it was a terrible idea and Greta signed me up for it. I was just like, ‘I don’t see how this is going to be good at all.’ I kind of blocked it for a while and every time she’d bring it up, I’d be like, ‘You’ve got to get us out of this.’ And then the pandemic happened.”

Baumbach’s main problem with “Barbie” was that that was no character and no story to work with, “there’s no entry point.” According to Gerwig, he actually tried to work on other projects to escape being included on the writing team of “Barbie.”

It was only later that Baumbach realized the potential of the film: “I read these pages and I thought, ‘I understand now what this is.’ The movie is about embracing your mortality and about the mess of it all, so it was exciting.”

There are some, after watching “Barbie,” who still say that it was a “terrible idea”, but, then again, why even mention it, especially since the film has grossed $1.4 billion and has veritably changed the way a film can be marketed in Hollywood. Terrible idea or not, “Barbie” dominated pop culture in 2023.