Diablo Cody, who rose to fame in 2007 thanks to her script for Juno, has been tapped to rewrite Barbie for Sony. Barbie will be a scathing, black comedy that takes a look at the toxic influence of unfair expectations on young girls, in an inventive, genius way.
(Oh, wait. What’s that? Oh, it’s a live-action movie based on the toy? Oh.)
Okay, well scratch that. Cody will be rewriting Barbie, based on Mattel’s fashion doll, which the studio thinks will be the start of a global franchise. The first draft was written by Jenny Bicks (What A Girl Wants). Cody was reasonably tapped for the job so that she can bring a bit of an edge to the project. “Diablo’s unconventionality is just what Barbie needs,†says co-producer Walter Parkes. “It signals we’re going for a legitimately contemporary tone. We’re bringing her on because she had great ideas, but even more importantly, she truly loves Barbie.â€
Apparently, the producers are thinking of The LEGO Movie in their approach for Barbie, since that film found a way to be cool, relevant, and fun despite it seemingly being a movie about toy building blocks.
