As we round third base into the home stretch of movie award season, predictions for Oscar’s Best Picture are coming. But, Barbie?!
This year’s gaggle of original films and retreads have been smoked by Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie for both its dynamic storyline and fan service smorgasbord. Earning more than $1.4 billion, it is far-and-away the most successful (and surprising) movie of 2023.
Again…but, Best Picture? Like, from the Academy Awards?!
Following Barbie eclipsing the $1B mark at the box office, Warner Bros. pushed all its pink chips to the center of the table. That’s when they announced the film would be submitted for “Best Original Screenplay.“
Scott Derrickson, director of another surprise hit in its day, Doctor Strange, was so enamored by the pink pleasurefest that he thinks Oscar should give its most coveted award away now.
For Best Picture, Barbie Has Its Merits
The penned script by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach is a no-doubt contender for this award. Name a person that hasn’t mentioned about their movie, “I wasn’t expecting that to be so deep.” The movie had 9 Layer Dip depth to it, and no one saw that coming. It’s a children’s movie for adults full of great memories and even better thematic content.
Moreover, the horror director behind Sinister, The Black Phone, and most recently, V/H/S 85, told “The Playlist” Barbie was tied with the IFC/Shudder film When Evil Lurks for best picture of the year. And then, he took Barbie to the summit of moviemaking.
“I think Barbie is the best film I’ve seen this year—well, maybe that’s not true; I saw this horror film, When Evil Lurks at Fantastic Fest, but Barbie and When Evil Lurks those are my two favorite films of the year, which couldn’t be further away from each other.
Scott Derrickson, “The Playlist,” October 2023
If you’re still having difficulties swallowing that iridescent, kaleidoscopic pill, Derrickson’s rationale is sound about the movie. Warner Bros. agreed. That’s why the ham-handed studio has submitted Barbie for not only “Best Original Screenplay,” but also
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- “Best Original Song” (What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish)
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- “Best Original Song” (I’m Just Ken by Ryan Gosling)
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- “Best Actress” (Margot Robbie),
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- “Best Supporting Actor” (Ryan Gosling)
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- And yes, “Best Picture.”
Barbie is a good example of populist I.P. that was treated with true brilliance. That’s an extraordinary movie on every level. I think it should probably win Best Picture; the writing is so clever and so smart and subversive, the acting is amazing, and it’s so entertaining, it’s artistic in its visuals, the style of it, it’s just an awesome film.
Scott Derrickson, “The Playlist,” October 2023
Song and Supporting Actor may be put to bed already. That movie deserves its acclaim and praise, but there is much more cinema to show if it deserves an Oscar. Moreover, Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall would like a word.
Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.
