Greta Gerwig reveals why Ryan Gosling's Ken wore a faux mink coat in 'Barbie' to Stephen Colbert
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: During a recent appearance on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert', 'Barbie' director Greta Gerwig shared fascinating insights into the creative process and unique character choices, including the reason why Ryan Gosling's Ken sported a faux mink coat in the movie.
The conversation kicked off with Stephen Colbert's curiosity about Gerwig's partnership in writing and directing the film, which led to an amusing revelation about how she accepted the project without consulting her partner, Noah Baumbach, initially.
From bombshell announcement to 'mink-tastic' ballet
Gerwig humorously recounted the sequence of events, mentioning how Baumbach discovered the news of their involvement in the 'Barbie' movie through an industry announcement.
"It was announced, in the Hollywood Reporter or something and it said Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach with the Barbie movie and he sent me a text with just a question mark and then I said 'Oh, oops'," she revealed.
Gerwig assured that Baumbach had a fantastic time working on the project, "he had a wonderful time."
As the conversation delved deeper into the casting choices, Gerwig shared fascinating insights into the selection of Ryan Gosling for the role of Ken.
She revealed that while writing the drafts, Gosling was always envisioned as Ken, particularly because they were crafting the character with Margot Robbie in mind for another role.
When Gosling eventually learned about his character, he embraced the role with enthusiasm.
Gerwig said, "He's an amazing genius actor, dramatic actor, everything. I always knew he was extremely funny. He is extremely funny in lots of movies but also his 'SNL' appearances, he's one of the great all-time 'SNL' hosts. I said I've written this for you. He eventually agreed with me."
Ken's furry fashion statement
One of the most intriguing revelations was about Ken's fashion statement in the film.
Gerwig unveiled that the idea of Ken wearing a faux mink coat was a collaborative decision that stemmed from a mutual admiration for Sylvester Stallone and his iconic style choices in movies.
Through text exchanges with Gosling, they decided that Ken should have a flamboyant fashion sense, leading to the idea of the character donning the memorable faux mink coat.
"We share deep love of Sylvester Stallone and he wore wonderful coats. We were texting back and forth so we decided that Ken should have a 'faux mink'," she added.
A deleted dream ballet and the power of unbridled creativity
Gerwig elaborated on a deleted scene featuring a musical number where Ken engages in a dance duet with the faux mink coat, symbolizing a transformative journey for the character.
She disclosed, "There's a big musical number, 'I'm Just Ken'. He starts out, 'I'm just Ken'. It sort of becomes a musical dream ballet. One of Ryan's ideas was that he would have a dance duet with his mink and the mink would be fighting him and love him and then eventually defeat him and he would be birthed anew out of the mink. And somewhere there's a rehearsal footage of this. It's in the vault."
While this particular scene didn't make it into the final cut, Gerwig emphasized the importance of fostering an environment where creative ideas could flourish, allowing for experimentation and exploration during the filmmaking process.
As the interview concluded, Gerwig expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to work on 'Barbie', emphasizing the collaborative spirit and the excitement generated by the creative contributions from the entire team, including the inventive concepts that didn't ultimately make it to the screen.
