The actress maintained a rather positive outlook despite the notable absence of her and director Greta Gerwig in the Best Actress and Best Director categories for the 96th Academy Awards.
Speaking at a special SAG screening on Tuesday, Robbie expressed gratitude to the Academy for 8 nominations, stating, “There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed.”
She acknowledged being “beyond ecstatic” for the nominations received by Barbie, including Best Picture, Supporting Actress for America Ferrera, Supporting Actor for Ryan Gosling, Costume Design, Production Design, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
Addressing the absence of Gerwig in the Best Director category, Robbie stated, “Obviously I think Greta should be nominated as a director because what she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing, what she pulled off, it really is,” she said and added, “But it’s been an incredible year for all the films.”
Despite her exclusion in the acting category being one of the most prominent snubs, Robbie believes the film’s impact transcends individual recognition. “I just suspect it’s bigger than us. It’s bigger than this movie, it’s bigger than our industry… Everyone getting the nods that they’ve had is just incredible, and the Best Picture nod.”
Robbie reflected on the overwhelming reactions from audiences and acknowledged the vocal uproar from fans, but maintained a positive perspective, attributing the film’s success to its ‘cultural impact’. Robbie said, “People’s reactions to the movie have been the biggest reward of this entire experience, whether it’s having a moment like that, or whether it’s listening in the bathrooms, or whether it’s seeing what people are writing online, or even just seeing how much pink I can see in this room right now.”
“I’ve never been a part of something like this,” she continued. “Not like this. I’ve done comic book stuff and that gets a big reaction, but this felt very different. It still feels very different. And I can’t think of a time when a movie’s had this effect on culture. It’s amazing to be in the eye of the storm.”
“We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact. And it’s already done that, and some, way more than we ever dreamed it would. And that is truly the biggest reward that could come out of all of this.”
She added that she is “beyond ecstatic that we’ve got eight Academy Award nominations, it’s so wild.”
While Robbie stayed humble, co-stars like Ryan Gosling spoke out in support of her and director Gerwig. Gosling emphasized their crucial roles in the film’s success, stating, “There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.”
America Ferrera, who received a career-first Oscar nomination for her role as Gloria, also shared that her nomination was tinged with disappointment due to Robbie and Gerwig’s snubs. “I was incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated,” Ferrera said in a statement to Variety.
‘Barbie’ went on to become the highest-grossing film ever from a female filmmaker at the domestic box office, as well as the top-earning worldwide film of 2023, with nearly $1.5 billion to date.
Barbie – Official Trailer
