Greta Gerwig Says Sylvester Stallone Inspired Ken in the Barbie Movie: ‘Ryan Gosling Loves Him’

Greta Gerwig cited Sylvester Stallone as a surprising inspiration behind Ken in the film Barbie movie.

Speaking on a panel after a special screening Barbie at the Directors Guild of America theater in West Hollywood on Friday, the director and screenwriter, 40, revealed that Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of Ken in the hit film is based on Stallone, 77, after she and Gosling bonded over their love for the action star.

“Ryan Gosling also loves Sylvester Stallone,” said Gerwig, who was joined on the panel by composer Mark Ronson and performer Dua Lipa. “We had to think about it and talk about it for so long, and he and I really did. His faux mink comes from Sylvester Stallone’s amazing outfits.”

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Stallone inspired Ken’s look in ‘Barbie,’ director Gerwig says.

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Stallone famously wore a fur coat in what became one of his staple looks in the 1970s and 1980s. It also became a signature look for Ken after he took over Barbieland in the Barbie movie.

In addition to Ken’s style, Gerwig said Stallone inspired the character’s journey in the film on the board.

“When I think of decorated men, I think he’s probably the best,” she continued. “And I feel that Ken was nothing more than a man in search of decoration. So that was a really pivotal moment where we were like, yeah, that’s Sly. And we talked about certain moments that we really loved in his movies.”

The director said Stallone also influenced “our way” on the song “I’m Just Ken” — written by Ronson, 48, and collaborator Andrew Wyatt, and performed by Gosling, 42, in the film.

It’s unclear if Stallone knew all of this when he was in the movie. But Gerwig said on the panel that he got in touch with her after that. “He was involved in it, which was a great honor for me,” she said.

Elsewhere on the board, the director listed musical films Fat (1978) and Saturday night fever (1977) and “pop-driven films” as influences on music in the Barbie.

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“Something that Mark and I talked about right away was my love of discus. And he contributed to a really wonderful documentary about the Bee Gees that I really loved,” Gerwig explained. “And I thought about the obvious Saturday night feverbut also Xanadu which is such a wonderful camping thing. And also, Fatwhich is a disco musical but it’s about the 1950s and it has this quality that it happens in the moment, but every time.”

“And I thought that was kind of the essence of what I wanted to achieve,” the director said.

Talking about the inclusion of disco artist Lipa, 28, in the lineup Barbie soundtrack, Gerwig added, “There’s no one else who captures that spirit of a crisp, brilliant disc more. I was like, is this possible? Let’s do it.”

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Source: HIS Education