“Barbie” Not Admissible as Original Screenplay for Oscars

We want to start by pointing out there are compelling arguments on both sides of this debate. In short, the Academy has decided Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach‘s screenplay for the billion-dollar “Barbie” movie is not eligible to be considered as an original work. Instead, when Oscars voting for members opens on January 11th, “Barbie” will be considered an adapted work.

Every awards body is allowed to set their own terms of what is and what is not admissible in certain categories. (Ergo the ongoing argument about”Orange is the New Black” being told they could not campaign as a comedy by the Emmys back in 2015, etc..)

That said, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) already said the “Barbie” screenplay is absolutely an original work. An example of this would be Barry Jenkins‘ “Moonlight,” which was also deemed original by the WGA, but moved to adapted by the Academy. What’s interesting about that particular case is there was an unpublished play that followed the same story.

Sure, the Mattel doll could be considered existing IP, but, the story depicted in the film starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera is not part of that legacy, technically.

Warner Bros. Pictures had been running their For Your Consideration (FYC) campaign for the film with the assumption it would be considered an original work.