Noah Baumbach says he thought ‘Barbie’ was a “terrible idea” before co-writer and real-life partner Greta Gerwig signed them up for the project.Photo:Dave Benett/GettyNoah Baumbachwas not head over heels forBarbie— at first.In fact, the screenwriter, 54, who co-wrote the movie with his creative collaborator and real-life partnerGreta Gerwig, said he thought the project was initially a bad idea.“I thought it was a terrible idea and Greta signed me up for it,” he admitted during a Q&A with Gerwig, 40, andJudd Apatowat a special, sold-out screening of the blockbuster film on Friday,Varietyreported.In the conversation — Baumbach’s first time discussing the movie since he forwentBarbie’s press tour in accordance withthe WGA strike— he remembered thinking, “I don’t see how this is going to be good at all.”“I kind of blocked it for a while and every time [Greta would] bring it up, I’d be like, ‘You’ve gotta get us out of this.’ And then the pandemic happened,” he continued.Gerwig subsequently recalled all of the reasons her partner initially objected: “There’s no character and there’s no story, so why do you want to do this? There’s no entry point," she said, perVariety.According to theBarbiedirector, Baumbach even made “side calls” to try and get the screenwriting duo “out of it.”His attitude toward theMargot Robbie-led film finally changed after he read a couple ofBarbiepages Gerwig wrote to get her general concept for the movie across, perVariety.“It was Barbie waking up in her Dreamhouse and coming out to her backyard and meeting somebody who was sick and dying,” he recalled. “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,” he added.‘Barbie’ co-writers Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig.Dia Dipasupil/WireImageThankfully, Gerwig’s hunch aboutBarbiewas correct, and it ended up being “the most fun” the couple had ever had, Baumbach said.During the writing process, the duo would try to “amuse each other and one up each other,” writing away from each other and then exchanging their work, per Baumbach. “Then we listen to hear if the other person’s laughing,” Gerwig added.After rinsing and repeating that process, “at a certain point,” Baumbach said he thought to himself, “I think this is the best thing we’ve ever written.”“I know enough always just to follow what Greta says, so even in my bellyaching and revolting, I kind of knew, ‘Well if she really believes it, then there’s something there,'" he added.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.On her own initial thoughts about the gig — and why she said “yes” — Gerwig said, “It wasn’t that I had a take of an idea. It just seemed strange enough.”“Everybody knows what Barbie is,” she continued. “It’s been around since 1959. Everybody has an opinion about it … ‘I hate her. I love her. She’s an inspiration. She’s terrible.’ I felt like there was enough there. In a way, it was like saying, ‘If you leave us alone, we’ll figure it out.’”As for Baumbach? The film — whichbecame Warner Bros.' highest-earning theatrical release of all timein August — was not such a “terrible idea” after all.“The reason you make anything is because you’re saying to this imaginary audience, ‘Maybe you feel this way too?’” the screenwriter said. “So, when the whole world seems to feel that way, then that’s very gratifying and very moving. Because sometimes people are like, ‘No we don’t recognize that feeling.’”
Noah Baumbach says he thought ‘Barbie’ was a “terrible idea” before co-writer and real-life partner Greta Gerwig signed them up for the project.Photo:Dave Benett/Getty
Dave Benett/Getty
Noah Baumbachwas not head over heels forBarbie— at first.In fact, the screenwriter, 54, who co-wrote the movie with his creative collaborator and real-life partnerGreta Gerwig, said he thought the project was initially a bad idea.“I thought it was a terrible idea and Greta signed me up for it,” he admitted during a Q&A with Gerwig, 40, andJudd Apatowat a special, sold-out screening of the blockbuster film on Friday,Varietyreported.In the conversation — Baumbach’s first time discussing the movie since he forwentBarbie’s press tour in accordance withthe WGA strike— he remembered thinking, “I don’t see how this is going to be good at all.”“I kind of blocked it for a while and every time [Greta would] bring it up, I’d be like, ‘You’ve gotta get us out of this.’ And then the pandemic happened,” he continued.Gerwig subsequently recalled all of the reasons her partner initially objected: “There’s no character and there’s no story, so why do you want to do this? There’s no entry point," she said, perVariety.According to theBarbiedirector, Baumbach even made “side calls” to try and get the screenwriting duo “out of it.”His attitude toward theMargot Robbie-led film finally changed after he read a couple ofBarbiepages Gerwig wrote to get her general concept for the movie across, perVariety.“It was Barbie waking up in her Dreamhouse and coming out to her backyard and meeting somebody who was sick and dying,” he recalled. “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,” he added.‘Barbie’ co-writers Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig.Dia Dipasupil/WireImageThankfully, Gerwig’s hunch aboutBarbiewas correct, and it ended up being “the most fun” the couple had ever had, Baumbach said.During the writing process, the duo would try to “amuse each other and one up each other,” writing away from each other and then exchanging their work, per Baumbach. “Then we listen to hear if the other person’s laughing,” Gerwig added.After rinsing and repeating that process, “at a certain point,” Baumbach said he thought to himself, “I think this is the best thing we’ve ever written.”“I know enough always just to follow what Greta says, so even in my bellyaching and revolting, I kind of knew, ‘Well if she really believes it, then there’s something there,'" he added.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.On her own initial thoughts about the gig — and why she said “yes” — Gerwig said, “It wasn’t that I had a take of an idea. It just seemed strange enough.”“Everybody knows what Barbie is,” she continued. “It’s been around since 1959. Everybody has an opinion about it … ‘I hate her. I love her. She’s an inspiration. She’s terrible.’ I felt like there was enough there. In a way, it was like saying, ‘If you leave us alone, we’ll figure it out.’”As for Baumbach? The film — whichbecame Warner Bros.' highest-earning theatrical release of all timein August — was not such a “terrible idea” after all.“The reason you make anything is because you’re saying to this imaginary audience, ‘Maybe you feel this way too?’” the screenwriter said. “So, when the whole world seems to feel that way, then that’s very gratifying and very moving. Because sometimes people are like, ‘No we don’t recognize that feeling.’”
Noah Baumbachwas not head over heels forBarbie— at first.
In fact, the screenwriter, 54, who co-wrote the movie with his creative collaborator and real-life partnerGreta Gerwig, said he thought the project was initially a bad idea.
“I thought it was a terrible idea and Greta signed me up for it,” he admitted during a Q&A with Gerwig, 40, andJudd Apatowat a special, sold-out screening of the blockbuster film on Friday,Varietyreported.
In the conversation — Baumbach’s first time discussing the movie since he forwentBarbie’s press tour in accordance withthe WGA strike— he remembered thinking, “I don’t see how this is going to be good at all.”
“I kind of blocked it for a while and every time [Greta would] bring it up, I’d be like, ‘You’ve gotta get us out of this.’ And then the pandemic happened,” he continued.
Gerwig subsequently recalled all of the reasons her partner initially objected: “There’s no character and there’s no story, so why do you want to do this? There’s no entry point," she said, perVariety.
According to theBarbiedirector, Baumbach even made “side calls” to try and get the screenwriting duo “out of it.”
His attitude toward theMargot Robbie-led film finally changed after he read a couple ofBarbiepages Gerwig wrote to get her general concept for the movie across, perVariety.
“It was Barbie waking up in her Dreamhouse and coming out to her backyard and meeting somebody who was sick and dying,” he recalled. “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,” he added.
‘Barbie’ co-writers Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig.Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
Thankfully, Gerwig’s hunch aboutBarbiewas correct, and it ended up being “the most fun” the couple had ever had, Baumbach said.
During the writing process, the duo would try to “amuse each other and one up each other,” writing away from each other and then exchanging their work, per Baumbach. “Then we listen to hear if the other person’s laughing,” Gerwig added.
After rinsing and repeating that process, “at a certain point,” Baumbach said he thought to himself, “I think this is the best thing we’ve ever written.”
“I know enough always just to follow what Greta says, so even in my bellyaching and revolting, I kind of knew, ‘Well if she really believes it, then there’s something there,'" he added.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
On her own initial thoughts about the gig — and why she said “yes” — Gerwig said, “It wasn’t that I had a take of an idea. It just seemed strange enough.”
“Everybody knows what Barbie is,” she continued. “It’s been around since 1959. Everybody has an opinion about it … ‘I hate her. I love her. She’s an inspiration. She’s terrible.’ I felt like there was enough there. In a way, it was like saying, ‘If you leave us alone, we’ll figure it out.’”
As for Baumbach? The film — whichbecame Warner Bros.' highest-earning theatrical release of all timein August — was not such a “terrible idea” after all.
“The reason you make anything is because you’re saying to this imaginary audience, ‘Maybe you feel this way too?’” the screenwriter said. “So, when the whole world seems to feel that way, then that’s very gratifying and very moving. Because sometimes people are like, ‘No we don’t recognize that feeling.’”
source: people.com
