Mattel’s ‘Barney’ Film Starring Daniel Kaluuya To Be Adult-Focused, “A24-Type” Effort, Says Exec

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Of all the impressive skills Barbie has amassed in her 64 years as a working doll, who knew that cartography would be a focal point of her highly anticipated summer movie debut? But here we are. Trailers for the upcoming “Barbie,” from director Greta Gerwig and Warner Bros. Pictures, have led to the dissemination of a controversial map used in the film – one depicted in a scene with stars Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon (known in the film as “Weird Barbie”) — and the studio is speaking up after days of international headlines. “The map in Barbie Land is a child-like crayon drawing,” a spokesperson for the Warner Bros. Film Group told Variety. “The doodles depict Barbie’s make-believe journey from Barbie Land to the ‘real world.’ It was not intended to make any type of statement.”

Actor Nicolas Cage will be the featured guest at Quebec’s Fantasia International Film Festival, where he will receive the festival’s Cheval Noir Career Achievement Award. 

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline spoke to Nordic distributor Scanbox about why it made sense to join new European film and TV studio Vuelta Group, which we revealed earlier this morning.

“Barbie” director Greta Gerwig has a good reason why she chose not to use CGI on Margot Robbie’s feet.

Back in November, well before the world was obsessed with the upcoming “Barbie” film, it was reported that Greta Gerwig was going to ditch the world of pink plastic and make her way to the fantasy realm of “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Since then, we have just been waiting for some sort of confirmation that this was the case. Now, months later, it appears it’s true—Greta Gerwig is set to direct two new ‘Narnia’ films for Netflix.

Class won’t be in session for much longer on Netflix’s Sex Education.

Barbie, Mattel’s next film will focus on the brand’s beloved purple dinosaur, Barney.Said Barney film will see Get Out and Nope‘s Daniel Kaluuya serve as a producer, with the actor previously saying via a press statement: “Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood. We’re excited to explore this compelling modern-day hero and see if his message of ‘I love you, you love me’ can stand the test of time.”While it unclear if Kaluuya will also star in the film, a Mattel Film executive has newly revealed in an interview with the New Yorker that the movie will take on a “surrealistic” approach geared towards adults.“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” Mattel Films exec Kevin McKeon said about the Barney movie.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Authorities in The Philippines are weighing a decision on whether to follow the lead taken by Vietnam and ban Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie. Vietnam on Monday announced that it will bar the film’s commercial release due to the movie’s depiction of a map that depicts the “nine dash line,” a disputed representation of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Philippines, like Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, have competing claims in the South China Sea and strongly refute China’s claim to nearly the entire maritime region. “If the invalidated 9-dash line was indeed depicted in the movie ‘Barbie,’ then it is incumbent upon the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to ban the same as it denigrates Philippine sovereignty,” said Philippines Senator Francis Tolentino, vice chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, according to local media reports.

Even Barbie can become self-conscious.

Tom Cruise still makes time to go to the theatre despite being one of the most famous faces in Hollywood.

Barbie because the film includes the “nine dash line map” that depicts islands in the South China Sea as being controlled by Beijing.Vi Kien Thanh, director general of the Vietnam Cinema Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, announced that Barbie will not be allowed to commercially screen in the nation, as ruled by the National Film Evaluation Council.“We do not grant license for the American movie ‘Barbie’ to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line,” the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper stated, citing Thanh (via Variety).The move follows Vietnam banning previous films including Uncharted and Abominable over the same issue.In 2016 the UN ruled unanimously against the validity of the “nine dash line” map, however China responded by saying that it doesn’t recognise the UN’s decision.Meanwhile, in other recent Barbie news, Margot Robbie has revealed the one request she made to director Greta Gerwig before filming the new movie.Set for release on July 21, Gerwig’s film stars Robbie in the titular role, with Ryan Gosling as Ken.Speaking about the film in an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Robbie discussed how she fell in love with the character as a child when she was gifted a Barbie Dreamhouse for Christmas.Such was the impact the gift had on her, that she revealed she asked Gerwig to allow her to live out the real-life fantasy of the Dreamhouse in the film.“I’ll follow your vision. Whatever you want this Barbie movie to be, let’s do that,” she remembers telling the director.

Margot Robbie channels the 1960s Sparkling Pink Barbie for the Barbie press conference in Seoul, South Korea on Monday (July 3).

A new Barney movie is in the works and it’s going to be geared for adults.

From one imaginary world to another, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig is further building her movie-making resume.

Barney is a dinosaur from our imagination — and from the mind of Daniel Kaluuya. The actor is set to star in and produce a movie about the large purple dinosaur … but it won’t be a children’s film.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Greta Gerwig revealed in a new interview with Rolling Stone that some “Barbie” set visitors made Margot Robbie feel “self-conscious” during filming when they interacted far more with her co-star, Ken actor Ryan Gosling, than they did with her. Gerwig was talking about the time the crew spent filming a rollerblading scene in Venice Beach. Set photos from the scene, featuring Robbie and Gosling in neon outfits, exploded on social media last summer during production. “How Barbie operates in Barbieland is she’s entirely continuous with her environment,” Gerwig said. “Even the houses have no walls, because you never need to hide because there’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of. And suddenly finding yourself in the real world and wishing you could hide, that’s the essence of being human. But when we were actually shooting on Venice Beach, with Margot and Ryan in neon rollerblading outfits, it was fascinating because it was actually happening in front of us.”

Barney is embracing his inner Millennial.

the New Yorker. Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon told the publication that the movie will be “surrealistic.” “We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” McKeon, 38, said. “It’s really a play for adults.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The much-maligned “Cats” movie musical caused the internet to lose its mind after a visual effects editor on the film confirmed that CGI was used to add buttholes to all of the feline characters. The “butthole cut,” as it became known on social media, was ultimately scrapped by the studio. It’s now been revealed that the upcoming “Barbie” movie flirted with its own potential CGI disaster, as writer-director Greta Gerwig shut down early discussions that would’ve had her actors sporting CGI feet since Barbie is known for her arched heels. “There was a big discussion in the beginning,” Gerwig said on Australia’s “The Project.” “Everyone said, ‘Are you going to CGI all the feet?’ And I thought, ‘Oh god, no! That’s terrifying! That’s a nightmare.’ Also Margot has the nicest feet. She has these beautiful dancer feet. She should just hang on to that bar and do it just like this.”

Barbie director Greta Gerwig is to make a series of Narnia films for Netflix.It was revealed this week that Gerwig would write and direct two films in the Chronicles Of Narnia universe for the streaming service in coming years.A new interview with the director in The New Yorker revealed that the project will signal the start of a larger move from Netflix to create a host of movies and TV shows in the franchise.After the news was revealed, many fans have shared their worries about a reboot, with one tweeting: “I love Greta Gerwig, and I love the old Chronicles of Narnia movies, and I need them to stay separate!!”Because I love Greta Gerwig, and I love the old Chronicles of Narnia movies, and I need them to stay separate!!— kira

Zack Sharf Digital News Director With Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” gearing up for box office domination this month, the movie is being eyed as a launching pad for Mattel Films. The studio has dozens of more films in the pipeline based on its toys and popular IP, including a Barney movie with Daniel Kaluuya. The “Get Out” Oscar nominee and “Us” star first attached himself to Mattel’s Barney movie in 2019, and a new profile of Mattel Films published by The New Yorker confirms the project remains in development. Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon told The New Yorker that the Barney movie is “surrealistic” and in the vein of films directed by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze. Those directors are probably not the first two filmmakers one thinks of when the family-friendly Barney name comes up.