Judd Apatow says it’s ‘insulting’ to put BARBIE in Adapted Screenplay category because there was ‘no existing material’

Director Judd Apatow (Freaks and misfits, The forty-year-old virgin, To knock) expressed his opinion on the categorization of Barbie films as “adapted screenplay” this awards season. The film is poised to win awards, but Apatow believes it has been misplaced, saying it is completely original and not adapted.

Apatow said in a X post during the weekend:

“It’s offensive for writers to say they were working on existing material. There was no existing material or story. There was a transparent box.”

Last week it was announced that “Barbie” will compete for a nomination for best adapted screenplay in the Oscar race, despite the original screenplay campaign. Each awards body and voting group has its own subset of rules for films in terms of which screenplay category they can submit or ultimately be nominated. Many films about pre-existing characters – such as previous Oscar nominees “Toy Story 3,” “Borat 2,” “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight” – were ultimately classified as adapted screenplays.

This is a unique situation though, as the film is based on a doll, with clothes, a house and accessories, but the story is completely original.

The executive committee of the Writers Branch of AMPAS most likely moved the play to an adapted screenplay because Barbie and Ken were pre-existing dolls from Mattel. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has designated “Barbie” as an original work, and it will remain in that category for the upcoming WGA Awards.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig he co-wrote the film with his partner Noah Baumbach, and became the first woman to direct a billion-dollar film. This will be his fourth career Oscar nomination, which began with “Lady Bird” (2016) for original screenplay and direction, and “Little Women” (2019) for adapted screenplay.

via: Variety