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LMGI COMPASS
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Winter 2024
are now 20 of us. I was thrilled; it definitely is an honor. It's a huge
accomplishment and a big step forward for our craft."
READY FOR BARBIE
When executive producer Michael Sharp sent Robin the Barbie
script in early 2022, she was well equipped to marry the story's
surreal elements with workable production venues. Sharp, who
worked with Citrin on Cold Mountain and Jupiter Ascending,
says that the tale would have suffered from a traditional rebate-
driven approach. "I always felt strongly that that there is only one
California, and Barbie is a California doll. We wanted to maintain
the recognizable landmarks of L.A. where we could."
Citrin was tasked with finding real-world locations in Los
Angeles and environs to mirror Barbie's utopian toy universe
erected on the London sound stage. Key UK-based production
leads would fly in for a scout in February 2022, return to London
to shoot the Barbie Land scenes, then revisit L.A. in early June to
film in a dozen locations on a tight schedule during the summer in
one of the busiest tourist spots in America.
the movie's main location. We went all over the Northeast, finding
cliffs that would work and finding an island where we could actually
film and dock our boats. We found the structures in Medfield,
Massachusetts, and then pieced together multiple locations to
create the island where the story took place. That was the exciting
part, being able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and create
that story."
Citrin's ability to map abstract narratives by adapting to
situational production design needs and styles would not only
shape her creative philosophy for future projects but earn her a
prestigious placement in the Production Designers Branch of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Considering that the Academy only recently began admitting
location professionals, and its exclusive and exacting standards
only allow a handful of admissions yearly, Citrin's membership
reflects how highly her creative input is esteemed. "Production
designers recognized the value of this relationship and agreed to
include location managers in their branch of the Motion Picture
Academy. I was invited to join in 2018 and as of this year, there
Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as
Ken. Photo: Dale Robinette/© 2022 Warner Bros.
Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
