Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Randall Park Rips Hollywood For 'Taking The Wrong Lessons' From The Success of 'Barbie'

Randall Park Rips Hollywood For 'Taking The Wrong Lessons' From The Success of 'Barbie'
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images; Warner Bros. Pictures

The actor called out Mattel for their announcement of a swath of toy-based movies after the 'Barbie' movie's monster success.

By all measures, the Barbie movie has been a record-breaking phenomenon, and according to Fresh Off The Boat star Randall Park, Hollywood has learned nothing from its blockbuster success.

Greta Gerwig's film is quite literally historic after its most recent weekend's box office, which made it the highest-grossing movie domestically in the entire 100-year history of Warner Bros. Pictures, besting Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight—which held the top spot for 15 years.


Given that monumental success, you'd think the takeaway would be to release more movies for and by women, right?

But that is absolutely not the moral Hollywood seems to have gleaned from this summer's blockbusters, rushing to make more movies about toys. And while speaking to Rolling Stone, Park called out the industry for completely missing the point.

During an interview promoting Park's directorial debut Shortcomings, Park said of Barbie's impact on Hollywood:

"This industry is taking the wrong lessons."
"For example, 'Barbie' is this massive blockbuster, and the idea is: Make more movies about toys! No. Make more movies by and about women!"

Barbie's success came alongside the more subdued but nonetheless runaway success of Nolan's Oppenheimer, with the two films' simultaneous releases kicking off their own cultural phenomenon, "Barbenheimer."

That would seem to indicate that, at long last, we finally know what the movie-going public wants: more movies for and by women, yes, but also? Just good movies with good stories, good casts, and made by good filmmakers.

Oppenheimer's success is owed largely to the hordes of people who clamored to see both films, after all, with theaters all over the country having double feature events.

Instead, at least in Warner Bros.' case, they have elected to green light a whopping 14 other toy-themed movies using Mattel's products as centerpieces, including “Barney,” “Masters of the Universe,” “Thomas and Friends," and “American Girl."

There's also a Vin Diesel-led "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots" movie in the works and a "Polly Pocket" adaptation slated to be directed by Lena Dunham and to star Lily Collins.

On social media many people applauded Park for correctly identifying the problem in Hollywood.




The soft successes of some super-hero and comic book-themed movies suggest audiences are tiring of the constant reiterations of those genres.

Now Hollywood seems poised to have people screaming "enough with the toy movies!" in the coming years instead. Seems they'll just never learn.

More from Entertainment/celebrities

Billy McFarland
Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Billy McFarland Just Auctioned Off The Fyre Festival Brand On eBay—And McFarland's Reaction Says It All

You know Billy McFarland, the supposed impresario who went to jail when his tropical Fyre Festival music bash went up in flames and stranded hundreds of people on a completely deserted Caribbean island?

Well, the ultimate grifter is out of jail, and after yet another failed attempt at scamming people with a reborn Fyre Festival in 2024, he's now conned someone into buying the fest's brand—by auctioning it off on eBay.

Keep ReadingShow less
Barack Obama; Michelle Obama
IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson/YouTube

Barack And Michelle Obama Shoot Down Divorce Rumors: 'Don't Make Me Cry Now'

On Wednesday, former Democratic President Barack Obama appeared on the IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson podcast. In the almost one and a half hour episode, the former POTUS, FLOTUS, and Mrs. Obama's elder brother covered a number of topics.

But one that drew considerable attention was when the former first couple addressed rumors of a possible divorce in their future.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nick Offerman
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO

Nick Offerman Explains Why Ron Swanson Would Have 'Despised Trump' In Response To 'Dumb' Fan Theory

Speaking to IndieWire, actor Nick Offerman, best known for playing Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, put to rest "dumb" fan theories that the iconic character, a proud libertarian, would have backed President Donald Trump and his administration.

Offerman portrayed Ron on all seven seasons of the NBC sitcom, which aired 126 episodes from 2009 to 2015. He is protective of the character and has pushed back against efforts to co-opt Ron Swanson for causes the character would not endorse.

Keep ReadingShow less

Disturbing Facts People Wish They Could Unlearn

Why are humans gluttons for punishment?

Maybe it's just me.

Keep ReadingShow less
A young, pretty red-haired girl hides her mouth and looks sheepishly into the camera. She stands in front of a dark green background.
Photo by JJ Jordan on Unsplash

People Who Slept With Their Friend's Parent Explain How It All Went Down

The taboos of sex are often too tempting to resist.

One of the greatest pulls is the option to sleep with one (or more) of your friend's hot parents.

Keep ReadingShow less