By Filmmaker Oliver Stone has found himself on the receiving end of some harsh criticism after making dismissive comments about the “Barbie” film without having seen it.
In July last year during the height of the “Barbenheimer” craze, Stone was doing an interview with City AM about a documentary he was promoting. Stone, who looks down on franchise movies and big-budget blockbusters, said:
“Ryan Gosling is wasting his time if he’s doing that s— for money. He should be doing more serious films. He shouldn’t be a part of this infantilization of Hollywood. Now it’s all fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, including all the war pictures: fantasy, fantasy.”
The comments came and went without anyone really caring, though his dismissal of the “John Wick” franchise at the same time did draw some attention.
Earlier this week, Deadline posted a story including those “Barbie” comments from months back and before he saw the film and this time Stone has found himself on the receiving end of a barage of complaints.
Combined with “Barbie” scoring eight Oscar nominations this morning, Stone has now had to respond to the story on social media and basically gives a mea culpa, saying he shouldn’t have said anything before seeing the film for himself:
“At the time, I was busy promoting my nuclear documentary in Europe and had little to no knowledge of [‘Barbie’] beyond its title. I was able to see Barbie in a theater back in July and appreciated the film for its originality and its themes. I found the filmmakers’ approach certainly different than what I expected. I apologize for speaking ignorantly.”
Stone alao goes on to praise Gerwig’s 2017 film “Ladybird” which he dubs “one of my favorites of that year” along with the impact “Barbie” had not just on the box-office but the “morale of our business” before wishing the “Barbie” team good luck at the Oscars.
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