Judd Apatow says it’s “insulting” that ‘Barbie’ will compete for Best Adapted Screenplay

Judd Apatow has reacted to the news that Barbie would be classified as an adapted screenplay.

Although the movie campaigned for Best Original Screenplay, Variety reported on Wednesday (January 3) that the film would instead be classified as an adapted screenplay. Previous films with pre-existing characters, such as Toy Story 3 and Before Sunset, have been classified as adapted screenplays.

However, Apatow was not happy to hear the news, and took to X/Twitter to express his thoughts. “It’s insulting to the writers to say they were working off of existing material,” he wrote on Saturday (January 6).

“There was no existing material or story. There was a clear box.”

It’s insulting to the writers to say they were working off of existing material. There was no existing material or story. There was a clear box. https://t.co/8phHXmag7Q

— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) January 6, 2024

In a four-star review for Barbie, NME praised the film: “For a movie that ostensibly exists to promote a doll, this is laudable. Now come on Barbie, let’s go party.”

It was recently announced that despite Barbie hitting $1billion at the box office, the UK box office has been down a quarter since the pandemic. Some have theorised the SAG-AFTRA strikes may have impacted the box office figures this year.

Phil Clapp, the chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, said: “Given the range of challenges UK exhibitors faced during the year, not least in terms of significantly increased operating costs, these positive box office figures for 2023 are welcome, representing a further step on the road to recovery.”

Andy Leyshon, chief executive at the Film Distributors’ Association, added: “To cross the £1 billion box office threshold again was a major landmark for our industry, and with an exciting line-up of releases set for the next few years, hopefully we can continue the good momentum.”

Meanwhile, Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa’s contributions to the film have earned them places on the shortlist for the Best Original Song Oscar. Dua Lipa’s ‘Dance The Night’, Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For?’ and Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt’s ‘I’m Just Ken’, as performed by Ryan Gosling, all appear on the shortlist.

In other news, Meryl Streep said that Barbie “saved” the movies and “all of our jobs”.

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