NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 鈥淏arbie鈥� was the , the highest-grossing movie ever directed by a woman and a bona fide cultural sensation that and left a still-going trail of think pieces in the wake of
But while 鈥淏arbie鈥� , including best picture, it was easily bested by its unlikely double-feature partner at the box office, And when the Academy Awards many saw some of the same patriarchy parodied in "Barbie" at work.
Even Ken was furious.
鈥淭here is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no 鈥楤arbie鈥� movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally celebrated film,鈥� Ryan Gosling said. "No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. To say that I鈥檓 disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.鈥�
By Wednesday, the backlash had already passed into the political realm. Hillary Clinton, , the platform formerly known as Twitter, wrote:
"Greta & Margot,
While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you.
You鈥檙e both so much more than Kenough.
#HillaryBarbie"
Clinton's post sent the internet in a frenzy that, from afar, looked something like the beachfront warfare that breaks out in 鈥淏arbie.鈥� The firestorm on the heels of nominations ensures that the runup to the March 10 Oscars 鈥� which had started to feel like a straightforward march and a handful of frontrunners 鈥� will have plenty of drama.
who will host those awards, has already weighed in. On Tuesday night's 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live,鈥� he quipped that Gosling being nominated for Ken while Robbie and Gerwig were snubbed 鈥渨as kind of the plot of the 鈥楤arbie鈥� movie.鈥�
If the summer phenomenon of was defined by a strange counter-programming synergy that lifted both films up, the same dual effect didn't quite transfer to the Academy Award nominations. The disparity was striking, in part, not just because of the strong support for 鈥淏arbie,鈥� but because the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has a long history of overlooking women behind the camera and female-led films.
Gerwig, herself, has already been in the middle of that history. When she was nominated for best director in 2018 for 鈥淟ady Bird,鈥� she was just the fifth woman nominated in the category. At the time, only Kathryn Bigelow had previously won best director. Since then, both (鈥淣omadland鈥�) and (鈥淭he Power of the Dog鈥�) have.
At the same time, Gerwig has been uniquely celebrated by the academy. Her first three films as a solo director 鈥� and 鈥淏arbie鈥� 鈥� have all been nominated for best picture. On Tuesday, Gerwig and her husband, Noah Baumbach, with whom she co-wrote the film, were nominated for best adapted screenplay. (In another twist that didn't delight 鈥淏arbie鈥� fans, the academy deemed the script would be categorized as adapted.) Robbie, as a producer, shared in the best picture nomination.
Neither Gerwig nor Robbie has commented publicly yet on either the nominations the movie received or the ones they didn't. Representatives for Gerwig and Robbie didn't respond Wednesday to queries.
Meanwhile, debates raged about the nature of the 鈥淏arbie鈥� snubs. Mary McNamara, : 鈥淒id too many people (particularly women) enjoy 鈥楤arbie鈥� for it to be considered 鈥榠mportant鈥� enough for academy voters? Did Robbie鈥檚 Barbie not suffer enough? Did Gerwig simply make it look too effortless? Was it just too pink?鈥�
Sexism might have played a role. Yet Justine Triet, the filmmaker of was among the nominees for best director, along with Christopher Nolan ("Oppenheimer"), Martin Scorsese ("Killers of the Flower Moon"), Jonathan Glazer ("The Zone of Interest") and Yorgos Lanthimos ("Poor Things"). That left two 鈥� Gerwig and Alexander Payne ("The Holdovers") 鈥� on the outside.
One likely factor: the increasingly international composition of the film academy. Partly to expand the diversity of Oscar voters, the academy is spread around the world more than ever; ballots were filed from a record 93 countries this year. Potentially, that may have favored Europe-based filmmakers like Triet, Lanthimos and Glazer.
The academy could also point to another record: For the first time, three movies directed by women were nominated for best picture: Gerwig's 鈥淏arbie,鈥� Triet's 鈥淎natomy of a Fall鈥� and Celine Song's 鈥淧ast Lives.鈥�
Still, the end result 鈥� with the creative brains and star of the year's most-talked about movie left out 鈥� just felt wrong to many.
鈥淕reta Gerwig: Made a critically acclaimed, culturally profound, feminist movie about Barbie and the patriarchy that made a billion dollars at the box office,鈥� activist Shannon Watts tweeted. 鈥淥scar nomination goes to 鈥� Ken.鈥�
Sometimes, a glaring snub can boomerang a flagging awards campaign. After Ben Affleck went unnominated for directing 2012's 鈥淎rgo,鈥� voters rallied around his movie, ultimately Whether the same effect could follow 鈥淏arbie" will be one of the biggest questions leading up the Academy Awards.
On Wednesday, who fought for and won equal pay for women in tennis, posted that she was 鈥渞eally upset鈥� about the snubs.
鈥淭he movie is absolutely brilliant," "and Greta Gerwig is a genius.鈥�
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
