Filmmaker Oliver Stone apologizes for comments about ‘Barbie’

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Filmmaker Oliver Stone, director of films such as “Platoon” (1986) and “Natural Born Killers” (1994), was not pleased to read a text in Deadline that rescued his criticisms of the film “Barbie”. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), on Monday (22), he stated that the lines were made without having seen the film.

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“Ryan Gosling [who plays Ken] is wasting his time if he’s doing this crap for money. He should be doing more serious films. He should not be part of this infantilization of Hollywood”, he said in June 2023, in the statement now republished, to his annoyance, in the British newspaper City A.M..

Therefore, despite severe criticism, Stone was prejudiced because, as he himself admitted in the post, “he had little or no knowledge of the project beyond the title”. 

In his apology, the 77-year-old filmmaker also wished good luck to “Greta and the entire ‘Barbie’ team at the Oscars”, whose ceremony takes place on March 10th.

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“Very disappointed to see Deadline, a publication I respect, publish this sensationalist and out of context statement I made about Barbie weeks before the film was released. At the time, I was busy promoting my nuclear documentary in Europe and had little to no knowledge of the project beyond the title”.

“I managed to see Barbie in a theater in July and enjoyed the film for its originality and themes. The filmmakers’ approach was certainly different from what I expected. I apologize for speaking ignorantly”.

“Greta Gerwig’s 2017 film Lady Bird was one of my favorites from that year. Barbie’s box office performance significantly boosted morale in our industry, which was well received. I wish Greta and the entire Barbie team the best of luck at the Oscars,” Oliver said in his post.