Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504681
B A R B I E | P E R S P E C T I V E 9 9 Barbie. There are a million places to start, but the most important thing is that "it looks beautiful—a mad fantasy of gorgeousness." That was one of Greta Gerwig's first comments to me at the beginning of 2021, adding, "and it's also very important that it feels simple." Now there's a challenge!! This film was a massive and uniquely exciting project; amazing script and ideas, referencing a world that has so much play in it and boundaries to push at. Hysterically funny and layered. Greta's script included questions and surprises at every step. This is not what anyone expects from a Barbie movie! Thankfully, Greta saw something my previous films with set decorator Katie Spencer that would harmonize with her vision of Barbie. Some would say it was so far from our normal métier, how radically different it was from the usual textured layered patina worlds we have created up to now with Darkest Hour, Pride and Prejudice, etc., but of course, it is just the same. We are still creating a world with complex characters and environments. Set decorator Katie and I have worked together for over twenty-five years on many projects, and Barbie was certainly one of the most intellectually challenging to create and understand. It was a massive journey to arrive at something that now seems so simple. As with all projects, finding the way in was paramount; we had to go right back to baseline questions like "What is water? Where is light from if there are no shadows? What makes a character a toy doll? How do you take a 70-year-old icon and make her relevant to today's world?" A. BARBIE ON HER DREAMHOUSE ROOF OVERLOOKING BARBIE LAND. PRODUCTION STILL. B. VERY EARLY BARBIE LAND PENCIL SKETCH DRAWN BY ART DIRECTOR MARK SWAIN. C. BARBIE LAND OVERVIEW ILLUSTRATION SHOWING THE PLACEMENT OF THE HERO SET IN CONTEXT. B C