Judd Apatow says it’s ‘offensive’ Barbie is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay in Oscars race: ‘There was no existing material’
Judd Apatow says it’s ‘insulting’ that Barbie has been nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay category in the Oscars race.
The 56-year-old filmmaker criticized the decision of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Saturday on X (formally Twitter).
He wrote: ‘It is insulting to the writers to say that they were working from existing material. There was no existing material or story. There was a clear box.”
It is interesting to note that Apatow believes there was “no existing material,” as the fashion doll Barbie has been around since 1959.
In fact, previous Oscar nominees like Toy Story 3 and Borat 2 were ultimately identified as adapted screenplays with similar reasoning.
Judd Apatow (pictured in March) says it’s ‘insulting’ that Barbie has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay in the Oscars race
It is interesting to note that Apatow believes there was “no existing material,” as the fashion doll Barbie has been around since 1959.
Barbie was the highest-grossing film of 2023 with a whopping $1.4 billion worldwide.
On Wednesday Variety had reported that Margot Robbie’s film will compete for Best Adapted Screenplay in the Academy Award race, despite campaign efforts to get into the Best Original Screenplay category.
The release notes that the Writers Branch of the Academy Committee determines a film’s eligibility in the submitted categories and is not bound by what the Writers Guild of America (WGA) does.
The WGA previously designated Barbie as an original work and it has remained in that category for the upcoming WGA Awards.
Meanwhile, Margot, America Ferrera and director Greta Gerwig tease the possibility of turning it into a musical.
The trio hit the red carpet at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Thursday evening.
Because there were a few iconic music tracks in the blockbuster, the trio was asked by Entertainment tonight if there was a full song and dance movie on the way.
Robbie, 33, was quick to respond as she said: ‘Believe me, this isn’t the first… this isn’t the first time we’ve thought about it, yeah.
The 56-year-old filmmaker criticized the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ decision on X (formally Twitter) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Barbie was the highest-grossing film of 2023 with a whopping $1.4 billion worldwide, and now three of the biggest stars associated with the film are teasing the possibility of turning it into a musical.
Actresses Margot Robbie (left) and America Ferrera (right) were joined by director Greta Gerwig (center) on the red carpet of the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Thursday evening
“It’s so much fun when you can turn anything into a big, crazy musical number. Everything is infinitely more fun.’
Greta, 40, who directed the film, agreed with the film’s lead actress as she also shared her admiration for musicals.
She said, “A lot. I am deep [in] Love [with] musicals. America has also performed in musicals!
‘I really like musicals. I mean, nothing would make me happier. So I would like a musical.”
America, 39, played a character from “the real world” in the film Mattel employee Gloria, who she said felt like she “had a number inside her.”
With a budget of $145 million, Barbie grossed an eye-popping $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office and scored an 88% approval rating from critics on Rotten tomatoes.