Director Greta Gerwig: "I Am Curious About Women's Stories" (Comprehensive)

Movie 'Barbie' Korea Press Conference

Lead and Producer Margot Robbie: "A Growth Story Breaking Stereotypes"
America Ferrera: "No Barbie Without Real Women"

Is there any other meeting as desirable as this? Actress Margot Robbie (33), who appeared in the films 'The Suicide Squad' (2021) and 'Bombshell' (2020), and director Greta Gerwig (39), known for her impressive storytelling in 'Lady Bird' (2018) and 'Little Women' (2020), have come together for 'Barbie'.

Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie visited Korea ahead of the release of 'Barbie'. At a press conference for 'Barbie' held on the morning of the 3rd at the Four Seasons Hotel in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul, director Greta Gerwig said, "I am interested in women's stories," adding, "I am curious about how women think and act."

(From left) America Ferrera, Margot Robbie, Director Greta Gerwig
[Photo by Yonhap News]

'Barbie', which opens this month, tells the story of Barbie (played by Margot Robbie), who lives in Barbieland, discovering the balance of a portal connected to reality and embarking on a journey with Ken (played by Ryan Gosling) to resolve it.

Director Greta Gerwig, who directed the film, said, "There are many kinds of Barbies. Her identity represents the identity of everyone. Every woman is Barbie, and every Barbie is a woman." She emphasized, "It's wonderful that the film starts from the point of breaking down identity."

Margot Robbie produced the film and also starred as the lead role, Barbie. It is noteworthy that two prominent women filmmakers in Hollywood met as producer and director to create 'Barbie'. There is great interest in what themes they will convey.

Director Greta Gerwig explained, "The Barbie Margot plays is, in a word, the image that comes to mind when you think of Barbie." She continued, "I didn’t like Barbie because of the stereotypical image my mother told me about when I was young. That typical image meets Gloria (America Ferrera) in reality, transcends stereotypes, and grows."

Margot Robbie, who plays Barbie, explained, "I played the stereotypical Barbie from 1959, with blonde hair and black and white swimsuits." She added, "As she steps into reality and experiences the world, various women?real women, imaginary women, representative women?are completely connected."

She said, "It depicts the process of realizing that mom, friends, and everyone cannot be perfect. I wanted to tell a story about learning this through a doll. A doll is not a woman but an object, yet it symbolizes femininity. Through this, I wanted to provoke thoughts about femininity."

Margo Robbie [Photo by Yonhap News]

Margot Robbie also said, "When I was a child, instead of dolls, I carried a lizard in my pocket and played in the mud." She viewed, "Other girls all played with Barbie dolls. Toys or dolls become tools to project oneself, but unconsciously, various adult ideas are reflected in the dolls."

America Ferrera also shared, "Barbie is beautiful, but I know there is no Barbie without a human woman," explaining her reason for appearing, "It can be a philosophical film that poses questions to the audience."

Previously, she gained great popularity playing Betty in the American TV series 'Ugly Betty' (2009?2010), portraying a character who finds her true self beyond appearances and achieves her dreams. America Ferrera emphasized, "The important thing is to accept ourselves as we are and celebrate ourselves."

She stressed, "We need to recognize that we are our best versions and were born perfect. What 'Barbie' says about us is important," she said emphatically.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.