Ryan Gosling as Ken in ‘Barbie’ – Photo courtesy Warner Bros.
The Barbie movie has taken the box office by storm, becoming an instant hit with audiences worldwide.
The colorful and vibrant film, led by Margot Robbie as the titular Barbie and Ryan Gosling as her Ken, raked in a staggering $162 million in ticket sales during its first weekend.
That’s enough for the production to earn back its production budget (though not when including what was apparently a huge marketing spend).
For those who have yet to experience the magic of Barbie on the big screen, beware of spoilers ahead!
The movie features not just one Barbie and one Ken but an ensemble of Barbies and Kens, each representing a different version of the doll once made available for kids. In addition to the stocked cast, there were initially even more well-known names expected to grace the film, adding to its star-studded ensemble.
Director and co-writer Greta Gerwig and casting director Allison Jones have been actively promoting the film and sharing fascinating behind-the-scenes insights.
They revealed several prominent actors were approached to portray Kens but couldn’t ultimately join the cast. Among them were three highly talented individuals – Bowen Yang, Dan Levy, and Ben Platt, all of whom would have been great in the role.
Unfortunately, due to various constraints, including Covid-related restrictions at the time of filming and other commitments, Yang, Levy, and Platt were unable to make appearances in Barbie.
Despite this, the film boasts an impressive roster of nearly 10 Kens, portrayed by equally gifted actors such as Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, and John Cena.
Each actor brought their own unique style and charisma to their version of Ken, making them similar to one another, but also noticeably different.
Jonathan Groff was reportedly offered the role of Allan, an essential character in the Barbie universe. However, the part ultimately went to the equally talented Michael Cera, who brought his trademark quirky aloofness to the character.
As one-word movie titles go, Mercy sits near the top of the popularity heap. A quick glance at IMDb turns up more than a dozen films with the same title, at least eight of them released since 1995.
That 1995 entry, starring John Rubinstein (forever beloved by me as Broadway's original Pippin) and Sam Rockwell, is log-lined as: "A couple of people steal the daughter of a famous lawyer. Now they want money to give her back — but it's not just the money they want. They want revenge."
Or take a 2023 entry, starring Leah Gibson and friend of MAGA Jon Voight, in which "a doctor and former military officer finds herself in a deadly battle for survival when the Irish mob takes control of the hospital where she works and her son is taken hostage."
Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang walked back comments they made about this year's U.S. Senate race in Texas, after advising listeners not to "waste" money donating to U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett's campaign.
The gay comics made the remarks on the January 7 episode of their Las Culturistas podcast, during a wide-ranging discussion of left-leaning political figures -- including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- and the direction of a Democratic Party they described as increasingly rudderless ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Documentaries generally don't need an onscreen host. The camera can play host, and real-life stories can tell themselves, with offscreen prompting from research and production, and shrewd direction and editing providing context.
If a filmmaker wants to put the prompting onscreen, there's a delicate art to inserting themselves or an on-camera host into the story without stealing the spotlight from their subject.
Ryan Ashley Lowery, director and creator of the LGBTQ doc Light Up, is anything but delicate in inserting himself and two on-camera host-interviewers -- Michael Mixx and Maurice Eckstein -- into the film's still-compelling portrait of Atlanta's "community of Black same gender loving men and trans women."
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