Sharon Stone Pitched a 'Barbie' Movie in the 1990s and "Was Laughed Out [of] the Studio"

Who's laughing now?

BY Ben OkazawaPublished Jan 18, 2024

In a film era dominated by superhero team-ups and moody biopics, it was Greta Gerwig's goofy-yet-touching Barbie movie that won this year's Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award at the Golden Globes. While the current generation of studio execs was clearly enthusiastic about putting together a Barbie film, Sharon Stone has revealed that was far from the case a few decades ago. 

The Basic Instinct and Casino actor took to Instagram this week to recount the tale of her buried Barbie pitch from the 1990s.

While congratulating Barbie star America Ferrera for winning the 2024 Critics Choice SeeHer Award, Stone wrote: "I was laughed out [of] the studio when i came [with] the 'Barbie' idea in the 90s [with] the support of the head of Barbie. How far we've come, thank you ladies for your courage and endurance." 

Amy Schumer — and, later, Anne Hathaway — also had a Barbie film in the works prior to Gerwig's, but even Hathaway agrees that the Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Ferrera-led movie did the best job in telling the iconic doll's story. 

"The mythic giants they toppled with Barbie that have kept certain narratives in place that have not allowed opportunities to develop for so many people … they ran straight through it!" she said on a recent episode of Happy Sad Confused. "If I believed that the version I was attached to could have done that, I might feel differently about it, but I genuinely think their film was the best possible version."

Alongside the film's massive success during awards season — it most recently took home six different trophies at the Critics Choice Awards — Barbie also became the highest-grossing film directed by a woman.

Check out Fererra's SeeHer Award acceptance speech and Stone's comment below. 
 
 

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