Greta Gerwig Fought for ‘I’m Just Ken’ Dance Sequence in ‘Barbie’: ‘This Could Be Terrible, but Now I’m Committed’

Jaden Thompson Disney has unveiled a first look at the upcoming live-action remake of “Snow White.” In a new image, Rachel Zegler is transformed into the iconic Disney Princess, surrounded by her Seven Dwarfs. As of today, the film, which was originally set to open on March 22, 2024, has been delayed to March 21, 2025. Zegler stars as Snow White and Gal Gadot plays The Evil Queen.

Disney has unveiled a first look photo for its live-action Snow White movie, which this afternoon pushed back its release date from March 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025, amidst the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.

Barbie film has led to a major spike in sales for the toy for its manufacturer Mattel.Greta Gerwig’s film was released in July this year, and has since become the highest grossing film ever directed by a solo female director and the highest grossing film ever released by Warner Bros., having brought in over $1.4 billion (£1.2 billion).One knock-on effect has been that from July to September, as reported by the BBC, sales of Barbie toys increased by 16 per cent compared with the equivalent window in 2022, lifting the company to its first quarter of sales growth in a year.“Our strategy is serving us well,” said Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz in a message to investors. “We are very well positioned competitively and expect a strong holiday season.”Mattel had previously said that it hoped to receive a $125 million (£103 million) boost from the film, most of which has already been realised.

Karen Idelson This year’s AFI Fest is back in full glory, featuring a rich lineup of critical favorites plus a slate of five films curated by guest artistic director Greta Gerwig, whose latest film, “Barbie” has grossed $1.4 billion. Returning to Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre and screening films from October 25-29, the event will feature Gerwig’s curated list of films: “All That Jazz,” “An American in Paris,” “A Matter of Life and Death,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” and “Wings of Desire.” AFI Fest will also screen the U.S.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Ava DuVernay‘s moving drama “Origin,” which tells the story of author Isabel Wilkerson’s journey to write her famous nonfiction novel “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent,” is the latest film to be making the switch from an adapted screenplay run, to original. Deemed an original screenplay by the Writers Guild of America, the announcement comes after Variety reported “Barbie” from Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach and “The Bikeriders” by Jeff Nichols, were also deemed original by the WGA.

John Carpenter has said that he is still in shock after watching the Barbie movie this summer.The Halloween director opened up about watching the film to Los Angeles Times saying parts of Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking film “went right over my head.”He went on to say that he watched the movie at home, not in the cinema, and that he loved Margot Robbie’s performance, deeming it “fabulous”.He told the publication: “I watched Barbie. I can’t believe I watched Barbie. It’s just not my generation.

Three things are true. Everyone has an opinion on “Barbie,” you’re in a fantastic position if everyone is talking about your film (hello, Oscars),  and old, cantankerous DGAF filmmakers make for excellent copy.

UPDATED with lineup additions, 11:01 AM: The American Film Institute today added some films to its 2023 lineup. The five films selected by Guest Artistic Director Greta Gerwig are All That Jazz, An American in Paris, Wings of Desire A Matter of Life and Death and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. She will introduce the latter two.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Martin Scorsese has not seen Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” or Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” but that didn’t stop him from celebrating the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon during a recent interview with the Hindustan Times. Scorsese himself has ties to “Barbie,” as it stars and was produced by his “Wolf of Wall Street” breakout Margot Robbie and shot by his longtime cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. The latter filmed “Barbie” after wrapping up work on Scorsese’s own “Killers of the Flower Moon.” “I do think that the combination of ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ was something special,” Scorsese said.

“I’m Just Ken” musical number in the hit “Barbie” after studio execs questioned the necessity of the scene.“It just said in the script, ‘And then it becomes a dream ballet and they work it out through dance,'” Gerwig, 40, said during the BFI London Film Festival, according to Variety. The iconic scene comes at the film’s climax as the Kens — led by Gosling, 42, and Simu Liu, 34 — begin to fight each other on the beach before dancing it out.According to Gerwig, she was hauled into “big meetings” where she was forced to defend her position.

Barbie.During a Screen Talk conversation at the BFI London Film Festival on Sunday (October 8), Gerwig said she was asked whether the sequence led by Ryan Gosling’s Ken was necessary during a “big meeting”.“It just said in the script, ‘And then it becomes a dream ballet and they work it out through dance,’” Gerwig told Succession creator Jesse Armstrong at the event (via Variety). “There was a big meeting that was like, ‘Do you need this?’ And I was like, ‘Everything in me needs this.’“They were like, ‘What do you even mean? What is a dream ballet?’ And I was like, ‘A dream ballet? Where do I begin!’”Gerwig said the sequence, which is soundtracked by the song ‘I’m Just Ken’ written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, was inspired by 1952’s Singin’ In The Rain which featured a “dream ballet inside of a dream ballet”.“I was like, if people could follow that in Singin’ In The Rain, I think we’ll be fine,” Gerwig said.

Though the film is titled “Barbie,” there’s no denying the breakout performance from the blockbuster is from Ryan Gosling as Ken. And if you point to one moment in the film to showcase just how great Gosling’s performance is, you can talk about the “I’m Just Ken” song sequence.

Some Strictly Come Dancing viewers appear to have spotted an issue with the show's epic Barbie-themed routine. On the whole, fans of the BBC One dance contest were beside themselves as the professional dancers kicked off Movie Week results night with a performance dedicated to Greta Gerwig's blockbuster.

Greta Gerwig wears a see-through skirt while stepping out for her Screen Talks conversation during the 2023 BFI London Film Festival on Sunday (October 8) held at the BFI Southbank in London.

Strictly Come Dancing viewers were swooning over Gorka Marquez on Sunday night as the professional dancer channelled Ryan Gosling's Ken for a Barbie-themed routine.

The first week of the British Film Institute’s (BFI) London Film Festival wrapped this evening with a rapturous onstage Q&A session with writer-director Greta Gerwig.

The production team behind Barbie were on hand at Deadline’s Contender’s London event today to reveal some of the secrets behind the smash hit’s unique journey and what set it on the road to becoming the year’s biggest movie at the box office.

On the heels of a staggeringly triumphant run with Barbie, the fantastical comedy which she co-wrote and directed for Warner Bros, Greta Gerwig has been appointed by the American Film Institute to serve as Guest Artistic Director of AFI Fest 2023.

is undeniably the color of the season, the trend that has dominated ever since we got a first glimpse of Greta Gerwig’s movie last summer shows no signs of going anywhere, either. The latest celebrity to embrace head-to-toe pink? At ’s spring/summer 2024 show in Paris, the actor opted for a double-breasted blazer and wide-leg trousers in baby pink, paired with a girlish bow-shaped bralette underneath and sky-high platforms.

Christmas may still be a few months away, but it'll be here before we know it - meaning you may be keen to get started on the shopping.