＠Photo by Suzie Hanover – © 2012 – Universal Pictures
Judd Apatow has shared his disagreement with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ (AMPAS) decision to include Barbie in the adapted screenplay Oscar category rather than the original screenplay race. The comedy’s script, which was co-written by director Greta Gerwig and her husband, Noah Baumbach, is based on the titular doll line by Mattel.
Apatow, who penned the scripts for such movies as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, expressed his thoughts on X/Twitter about the classification yesterday. He noted that “It’s insulting to the writers to say they were working off of existing material. There was no existing material or story. There was a clear box.”
Variety exclusively reported on Wednesday that Barbie will be considered in the best adapted screenplay category in the Oscar nomination race. The news comes after its filmmakers campaigning for the original screenplay classification.
Each awards body and voting group has its own subset of rules for movies in terms of which screenplay category they can submit for or ultimately be nominated in. Many films that include characters that appeared in earlier media – including previous Academy Award nominees Toy Story 3, Borat 2, Before Sunset and Before Midnight – were ultimately classified as adapted screenplays.
AMPAS specifically states that the Oscar category for Best Adapted Screenplay is for movies based on some sort of preexisting work – whether that be a play, a book or a sequel. The organization also notes that the Best Original Screenplay category is for purely new works created by the scribes, based on no source material other than their imagination.
The Writers Branch executive committee of AMPAS likely included the Barbie film in the adapted screenplay category because the eponymous character and her boyfriend, Ken, were pre-existing dolls. However, the Writers Guild of America has designated the movie to be an original work. Therefore, the comedy will remain in that category at the upcoming WGA Awards ceremony.
Gerwig, who became the first woman to helm a billion-dollar movie, has previously been nominated for three Academy Awards in her career. Her first two films, Lady Bird and Little Women, were also both nominated for their scripts; the former was nominated in the original screenplay category, and the latter was nominated in the adapted screenplay race. She also received a Best Director nomination for Lady Bird.
Eligible voting members of the branch will only be able to cast votes for the Barbie script. The official Oscar nomination voting will take place on Jan. 11.