Though Greta Gerwig kept every version of Barbie intact for her new buzz-worthy movie, she was not that careful with her actual dolls growing up.
The 39-year-old director and writer of the forthcoming Barbie film, along with a few of the cast members, confessed to inflicting violence on the plastic Mattel toys when they were little younger while speaking to reporters during the Los Angeles premiere of the movie on Sunday, according to USAToday.
While walking the pink carpet in an entirely pink outfit, Gerwig admitted she was never a fan of the dolls’ long blonde locks, which meant she often took it upon herself to give them a hot new do – literally. According to Gerwig, she would start by removing the doll’s braids and brushing through its fine hair.
“Then you see if you can curl it with a curling iron - you can’t, it melts - and then you cut it all off,” the director explained, adding that her violence on the dolls was “all hair-related”.
Unfortunately, Gerwig’s mutilation tactics would typically ruin her hair tools too, but it didn’t appear to stop her from partaking in the destruction.
Tick, Tick... Boom! actress Alexandra Shipp, who is playing a Barbie in the upcoming film, also admitted to burning her dolls’ hair when she was younger, because she wanted “to see what it would do”.
Hari Nef, who plays a different Barbie in the movie, confessed to her own form of violence on the dolls.
Rather than physically abusing the feeble toys, the 30-year-old model and actress said she preferred imposing emotional hardship on them.
“I didn’t really mutilate them physically, but I engaged them interpersonally in some really messed up psychodramas, like adultery and theft and scamming and crime,” The Idol star said.
She admitted her Barbies “were not well-behaved, but they looked amazing”. Of course, that was her own doing.
On Sunday 9 July, the live-action movie premiered in Los Angeles, California, at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall, resulting in rave reviews that included a push for Ryan Gosling to receive an Oscar for his performance of Barbie’s boyfriend Ken.
Film reviewer @JamieCinematics wrote: “Greta Gerwig somehow exceeded my expectations. She tackles the positives and negatives of Barbie so beautifully. Give Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination, I’m dead serious!”
Hollywood A-listers, including Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Ava Max, and Gal Gadot, showed up in mod renditions of the famed Mattel toy for the premiere, embracing fashion’s new Barbie-core fad.
Lipa, who plays Mermaid Barbie on the big screen, embodied her character on the hot pink carpet with a sheer sequin gown, while Minaj embraced the dolls’ hair with long blonde extensions.
Leading lady Margot Robbie wowed fans in a black Schiaparelli Haute Couture gown, which honoured Mattel’s Solo in the Spotlight Barbie.
The highly anticipated film is set to hit theatres on Thursday 20 July in the US and UK.
