Greta Gerwig refused to use CGI on ‘Barbie’ cast’s feet: ‘It’s a nightmare’

In the trailer for the highly anticipated film adaptation of Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’, one of the major plot points is the central Barbie doll (played by Margot Robbie) who suddenly loses her signature arched feet, to the horror of the other Barbies in Barbie Land . But that moment became almost terrifying for entirely different reasons, as the executives responsible for the film almost considered using CGI on the actors’ feet, before Gerwig quickly dismissed the idea.

Gerwig opened up about the making of the film during an interview on the Australian talk show “The project” (via Variety). During the interview, she talked about how she did the bowfoot scene that opens the trailer, revealing that she stopped discussions about using CGI on Robbie or the rest of the actors playing Barbie in the beginning.

“There was a big discussion early on,” Gerwig told the show. “Everyone was like, ‘Are you going to do all the feet in CGI?’ And I thought, ‘Oh god, no! It’s terrifying! It’s a nightmare.’ Margot has the most beautiful feet too. She has these beautiful ballerina feet. She should just hold on to that bar and do it just like that.

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Eventually, Robbie ended up arching her own feet; according to Time magazine story, the shot took eight attempts, and Robbie ended up holding a bar off-camera to steady himself as he walked.

As for why Gerwig wanted arched feet in the film, the director said it was part of her attempt to relive the experience of playing with Barbie dolls as a child.

“Even though it’s a huge film, it feels very personal to me,” said Gerwig. “It was made by so many people who cared. Even the Barbie logo we used is the logo I had as a child in the 80s. I was staying in the toy store…we had the wide boxes because their hair was really big. I wanted the (logo) that I liked.

“Barbie” comes out on July 21st. Gerwig directs from a script she co-wrote with her partner Noah Baumbach, and Robbie stars opposite Ryan Gosling as Ken. Other ensemble cast members include Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Dua Lipa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, John Cena, Michael Cera, Emerald Fennell, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Rhea Perlman and Helen Mirren as narrator. For more details on the upcoming comedy, check here.