Bridgerton showrunner Shonda Rhimes threw shade at the Barbie movie and said people “tried to make the movie way harder” than it was in a barbed new interview.
Rhimes, 54, who is gearing up for the May 16 premiere of Bridgerton’s third season, initially responded “no comment” when asked for her thoughts on the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling blockbuster before saying let go of the film’s “feminist manifesto”.
She told Variety: “OK, here’s what I’m going to say. If you’re waiting for a Barbie movie, then I thought this was great.
“But I think a lot of people expected a lot more, and then tried to do a lot more. There was nothing wrong with the movie; I thought it was totally delightful. But the importance that people gave to a film about Barbie really interested me.
“I heard the song I’m Just Ken in my house every day because one of my kids sings it all the time. But yeah, I think people wanted it to be some kind of feminist manifesto, which it doesn’t need to be.
Bridgerton showrunner Shonda Rhimes threw shade at the Barbie movie and said people were “trying to make the movie way more” than it was in a barbed new interview (photo by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the film)
Rhimes, 54, who is gearing up for the May 16 premiere of Bridgerton’s third season, initially responded “no comment” when asked for her thoughts on the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling blockbuster before saying let go of the film’s “feminist manifesto”.
Rhimes was speaking about the film after producing the Netflix documentary, Black Barbie, which explores the impact of three black women at Mattel responsible for the debut of Black Barbie in 1980:
She said: “I think there’s something really powerful about that. I played with these dolls when I was a child. We also had a very exciting opportunity to add to this documentary and provide a lot more content and context. We added interviews; we’ve been inside Mattel.
The interview comes days before the premiere of the new season of Bridgerton, featuring Nicola Coughlan, 37, getting hot and heavy with her love interest Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton, 31.
Nicola has already announced that the third series will be even steamier than the previous two, which became famous for their racy moments.
But although she admitted she was initially nervous about having her own intimate scenes, the Derry Girls star said she and Luke got to the point where they could relax, even naked .
In February, the couple spoke to AP about the show’s sex scenes, with Nicola saying: “There’s such vulnerability in these scenes and it’s also a very important part of the story – they’re an important part of the narrative.
‘But [Luke] Made me feel really taken care of. Like we really have each other’s backs and can laugh about it too. To the point where we were just lying under a blanket going, “We’re really relaxed now.”‘
She told Variety: ‘OK, here’s what I’m going to say. If you’re waiting for a Barbie movie, then I thought this was great. “But I think a lot of people expected a lot more, and then tried to do a lot more.”
Luke laughed and echoed, “Yeah, in the middle of the day you relax and you’re like, ‘I don’t care if I’m naked.’
Nicola added: “We were having the best time. They asked us do you want to get up and we were like, ‘No, no, I’m fine. I’m comfortable.’
Speaking to Teen Vogue, Nicola confirmed: “Yeah, so it’s really funny. It’s true.
“It’s a testament to the fact that we just got to a point where we were so comfortable together. We had just finished the big, most intense, most involved sex scene….and we felt relieved.
She added that logistically it also made sense to only wear a tiny amount of “not even real clothes” so they could return to work immediately.
Luke also told the publication that the fact that he and Nicola already knew each other and had worked together for several years helped them feel less nervous about filming steamy scenes because they could support each other.
He said: “After shooting [romance] scenes with Nicola and with actors I might meet on the same day, I think a lot of people think it’s better not to know the person.
“But I actually think it’s a lot easier to have a really strong friendship with someone and trust them.
The third season of Rhimes’ Bridgerton starring Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton premieres on Netflix on May 16.
“We could support each other in whatever way we needed to on set, and also just laugh about it.
“I’m really glad we got to share it together. It was like having a really close friend while you’re going through something that can be quite intimidating.
Earlier this month, Nicola said she found filming the sex scenes “enjoyable and stimulating”, revealing they even broke furniture on the way.
