Blame it on The Lego Movie: the toys are taking over the multiplex.
Sony has announced plans to make a live-action comedy starring Barbie. There have previously been over two dozen animated adventures for Mattel’s iconic doll in the TV and direct-to-video market.
The big question hanging over the project is the target demographic. The Lego Movie became a huge hit in large part because it wasn’t just a kids’ movie; there was plenty of crossover appeal for adult audiences too.
Sex and the City and What a Girl Wants writer Jenny Bicks will pen the screenplay, while husband-and-wife team Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald will produce.
With Barbie sales in decline, the film has the potential to reinvent the girl of a thousand careers to help her stay relevant.
“We’ve always thought that the Barbie story had great potential, but a universe of possibilities opened up when Jenny, Walter and Laurie brought us their unexpected, clever and truly funny concept,” commented Hannah Minghella, Columbia Pictures’ president of production. “It captures everything that has made Barbie a classic for generation after generation while also standing on its own, establishing Barbie as a truly original screen character.”
We are wary of this to say the least — even with a script by the divine Ms. Bicks. Let’s just hope that the live action Barbie will not have her feet permanently in the upright position and that she looks like a human and not a “barbie doll.”
[h/t CBS News]
