Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was one of the biggest films of 2023, and the movie has been looking to get nominated for several Oscars in the upcoming awards season. The movie was gunning for Best Original Screenplay, but it looks like it won’t be able to.
According to Variety, Gerwig’s Barbie has been deemed as an ‘adapted screenplay’ by the Writers Branch executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Though the movie did tell its own original story, the fact that it was centred on the existing Barbie IP means that it would have to be treated as adapted material.
The academy also did the same thing with The LEGO Movie back in 2014, as was revealed by director Chris Miller:
FUN FACT: In 2014, the Academy deemed THE LEGO MOVIE an adapted screenplay even though we had already won the National Board of Review Best Original Screenplay award — because it was based on LEGO bricks and had a LEGO version of Batman as a character https://t.co/UzTl9tS4jj
— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) January 4, 2024
Though Barbie may not be able to run for Best Original Screenplay, the movie had already nabbed five nominations including Best Sound, Best Original Score, and 3 Best Original Song nominations with What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish, Dance the Night by Dua Lipa, and I’m Just Ken by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.
No doubt, fans will want Barbie to be nominated for all the big Oscar numbers like Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actress (for Margot Robbie) and Best Supporting Actor (for Ryan Gosling). Hopefully America Ferrera’s performance a Gloria can also nab a Best Supporting Actress nomination.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Voting for Oscar nominations starts on Jan. 11.
