Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story 36 years before Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster phenomenon.A 43-minute short film made at Bard College in New York State, Superstar depicts scenes from the life of the 1970s pop star using the children’s toys instead of real-life actors.Charting the rise and fall of Carpenter, who died from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa in 1983, Haynes’ controversial film uses the stick-thin dolls to emphasise Carpenter’s frailty and was banned after a copyright claim from the Carpenter estate. It contains uncleared Carpenters tracks throughout and also makes claims about the sexuality of Karen’s brother Richard.Superstar has become a cult curio since then and Haynes, though he hasn’t seen Barbie, told NME in an exclusive interview that he’s pretty sure Gerwig is familiar with it.“I love Greta Gerwig.