Margot Robbie Talks Arguing With Mattel Over Barbie Movie

The film, directed by Greta Gerwig, centers around Barbie (Robbie), who’s busy living her *best* life ever in Barbieland. However, when Barbie notices things aren’t quite how they should be, she and Ken (Gosling) embark on a journey to the real world to find some answers.

Margot has previously said that she originally didn’t believe the movie would ever get made because of the “unexpectedly deep” plot. She even told Fandango, “Greta kinda pushes [the movie] in directions that I didn’t think [Mattel] would let us go in. I think a big part of that was kind of acknowledging the things that people find problematic about Barbie, as well as the things that people love about Barbie.”

And in a recent interview with Time, Margot revealed that during production, Richard Dickson, Mattel president and COO, actually flew to the movie’s London filming location to argue about a scene he felt was off-brand for the toy company.

She didn’t specify what scene he was upset about, but she did say that she and Greta performed the scene so he would change his mind. “When you look on the page, the nuance isn’t there, the delivery isn’t there,” she explained.

In fact, Margot encouraged Mattel to become involved with the movie and be part of the polarizing Barbie conversation. “In that very first meeting, we impressed upon Ynon [Kreiz, Mattel CEO] we are going to honor the legacy of your brand, but if we don’t acknowledge certain things — if we don’t say it, someone else is going to say it,” she said. “So you might as well be a part of that conversation.”

And while it seemed like Mattel was finally on board with the content of the movie, during this same press cycle, Robbie Brenner, head and executive producer of Mattel Films, claimed that Barbie is “not a feminist movie,” despite what the cast has said in previous interviews.

To which Margot responded, “It’s not that it is or it isn’t. It’s a movie. It’s a movie that’s got so much in it.” She added, “we’re in on the joke. This [movie] isn’t a Barbie puff piece.”

Read the full interview here.

And be sure to catch Barbie in theaters when it comes out July 21.