Tuesday saw the 2024 Oscar nominations announced, and amongst all the happy new nominees, there were of course the disappointments (and you know what we thought about some of those). For some, though, it was a day of mixed emotions –– America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling, two of the eight nominations for Barbie, were celebrating their nods in Supporting Actress and Actor, but also took time to spotlight the lack of same for the film’s director, Greta Gerwig and lead actress/producer Margot Robbie.
Gerwig, of course, was nominated in the Adapted Screenplay category (alongside co-writer Noah Baumbach) and both she and Robbie are included as producers on the movie’s Best Picture nod. But both Ferrera and Gosling, while happy with their results, took time out to praise their co-workers.
“I was incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated,” Ferrera says. “Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list.”
And here’s what she had to sat about Robbie: “What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable. One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did. She brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master.”
As for Gosling, he put out the following statement: “I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films. And I never thought I’d be saying this, but I’m also incredibly honored and proud that it’s for portraying a plastic doll named Ken. But 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. No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement. Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.”
