If there can be a Peeps movie, there can certainly be a Barbie one.
Deadline is reporting that Sony and Mattel have come to a partnership to produce a live-action Barbie comedy, with hopes to create a new franchise.
Though we were under the impression that a Barbie live-action comedy already existed in Legally Blonde, the move does make sense. Tapping into the young girl audience is always key, and Barbie has been one of the most popular toys marketed towards young girls for years.
Sony wants the movie to happen extremely quickly. Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal oversaw the deal herself, and this isn’t just a deal for a potential movie. The movie will get made, and soon.
Jenny Bicks has been hired to write the Barbie script. Bicks is most known for writing What a Girl Wants, writing on Sex and the City, and recently writing the Rio 2 script. Sony intends for her script to be completed in time for production to begin before 2014 comes to a close.
Sony reportedly wants their Barbie (the character) to be clever, and their pitch revolved around her as an almost modern day Mary Poppins, as Barbie will “use her personal and professional skills to step into the lives of others and improve them.” Sony will of course keep the accessorizing that Barbie is famous for, but they will also make sure a woman empowerment theme is present.
“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,” Sony’s Hannah Minghella said. “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.”