Who was going to tell Greta Gerwig that her latest film, Barbie, which was a phenomenon in movie theaters this summer, was going to leave the Oscars crestfallen? There was already a stir in Hollywood when neither the filmmaker nor her main protagonist, Margot Robbie, were nominated for awards.
Things were no better last night, when the feature film only won one award out of the eight it was up for, best song for What was I made for, by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas. The Californian singer made history by winning her second Oscar at just 22 years old. The first, she won with No time to die, from the soundtrack of the James Bond saga.
His summer opponent, Oppenheimer, which tells the biography of the creator of the atomic bomb, had better luck by becoming the big winner of the night, with seven awards, including best film, actor and director, which consecrates Christopher Nolan at the top of Hollywood. Despite his extensive career and multiple nominations, this is the first statuette for the British director.
Beyond the catastrophe experienced at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the film of the famous Mattel doll has reasons not to decline. Its main consolation is the box office, which grossed more than $1.44 billion worldwide. A milestone for a film with a notable feminist discourse and with a director who comes from independent cinema and who has been demonstrating for some time that she is willing to break several records along the way.
The second reason for the production and its team to remain calm and cheerful is Ryan Gosling. Although he has not won an award either, the actor raised the entire audience with his performance of I’m just Ken, for which he had the collaboration of Slash, legendary member of Guns N’ Roses; Wolfgang Van Halen, son of Van Halen; and Josh Freese, new Foo Fighters drummer after the death of Taylor Hawkins.
The balance has tipped to one side in the Barbenheimer phenomenon, but Gerwig and her cast show that they are not willing to let the party end.
