Oliver Stone apologizes for derogatory “Barbie” comments

taketonews

The director criticized the film before its release, even though he only knew the title at the time.

Director Oliver Stone (“Platoon,” “Alexander”) strongly criticized both the film “Barbie” and Ryan Gosling’s involvement in it in an interview. But as soon as his biting comments made the rounds, he apologized again in a statement via X. A timeline of the events also followed.

That happened

The 77-year-old filmmaker was asked by “City AM” about his opinion of the “Barbie” film and Stone then made it clear that the work would contribute to the “infantilization of Hollywood.” He particularly criticized Gosling, who plays Ken in the satirical comedy, for his choice of film: “Ryan Gosling is wasting his time doing this shit for money. He should do more serious films.”

“Sensationalist statement taken out of context”

However, the interview took place in June 2023, several weeks before “Barbie” was released in cinemas (the film was released in Germany on July 20, 2023). “Deadline” recently revisited the Stone conversation and published an article with his anti-“Barbie” statements on January 21, 2024.

The director now reclassified the whole thing in an movie ever came out.”

“I appreciate the film for its originality”

He continued: “At the time, I was busy promoting my documentary about nuclear power in Europe and had little to no knowledge of the project other than its title. […] I was able to see ‘Barbie’ in a cinema in July and I appreciate the film for its originality and themes. I found the filmmakers’ approach was very different than expected. I apologize for my ignorance.”

Oliver Stone concluded his statement by saying: “’Barbie’s’ box office performance has greatly boosted morale in our industry, which has been very welcome. I wish Greta and the entire Barbie team good luck at the Oscars.”

See Oliver Stone’s X-Post here:

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“Barbie” received eight Oscar nominations in the following categories:

  • “Best movie”
  • “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Greta Herwig and Noah Baumbach)
  • “Best Original Song” (Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” and Billie Eilish and Finneas’ “What Was I Made For?”),
  • “Best Production Design”
  • “Best Costume Design”
  • “Best Supporting Actor” (Ryan Gosling)
  • “Best Supporting Actress” (America Ferrera)

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