Despite campaigning for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination, Barbie has been deemed to be an adapted screenplay by the Writers Branch executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
According to a recent report from Variety, when official Oscar nominations open next week on January 11, 2024, members will only be able to vote for the film’s script as an adapted work. The debate of whether or not Barbie should be an original or adapted screenplay has been raging for months now following news that the film would be campaigning as an original work.
The Writers Guild of America had originally designated the film as an original work, which it will continue to be seen as for the upcoming WGA Awards. However, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has its own classification rules, and determined the film didn’t mean the criteria to be considered wholly original.
Barbie was a massive success at the box office, and could be an award favorite
Barbie was directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she co-wrote with husband Noah Baumbach. It was produced by Robbie and Tom Ackerly for LuckyChap and Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner along with Josey McNamara and Ynon Kreiz. During its theatrical run, it earned a worldwide gross of over $1.4 billion, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2023.
The film starred Robbie, Gosling, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Hari Nef, Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, Dua Lipa, and more. It’s original soundtrack is currently nominated for 11 Grammy awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media, with Ryan Gosling receiving his first Grammy nomination for “I’m Just Ken.”
