Current:Home > reviewsDid the 'Barbie' movie really cause a run on pink paint? Let's get the full picture -MacroWatch
Did the 'Barbie' movie really cause a run on pink paint? Let's get the full picture
View
Date:2025-04-19 03:06:40
As any Barbie fan knows, life in plastic is fantastic — and also very pink.
So much so, in fact, that the makers of the highly anticipated live-action movie say they wiped out a company's entire global supply of one shade of it.
"The world ran out of pink," production designer Sarah Greenwood told Architectural Digest early last week.
She said construction of the expansive, rosy-hued Barbieland — at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, England — had caused an international run on the fluorescent shade of Rosco paint.
Rosco is known for supplying the entertainment industry with products like scenic paints, color filters and other equipment, including certain tints specifically formulated for the screen.
And it's now painting a fuller picture of Greenwood's comments.
Lauren Proud, Rosco's vice president of global marketing, told the Los Angeles Times on Friday that "they used as much paint as we had" — but that it was in short supply to begin with during the movie's production in 2022.
The company was still dealing with pandemic-related supply chain issues and recovering from the 2021 Texas freeze that damaged crucial raw materials, she said.
The freeze affected millions of gallons of stockpile, as well as the equipment needed to replenish it, Henry Cowen, national sales manager for Rosco's Live Entertainment division, said in a 2022 interview with the Guild of Scenic Artists.
Even so, Proud, the company vice president, said Rosco did its best to deliver.
"There was this shortage, and then we gave them everything we could — I don't know they can claim credit," Proud said, before acknowledging: "They did clean us out on paint."
And there's no question about where it all went.
The main movie trailer reveals a larger-than-life version of Barbie's iconic three-story Dreamhouse (complete with a walk-in closet and kidney-shaped pool with a swirly slide), her Corvette convertible and a utopian beach town of cul-de-sacs and storefronts — all bright pink.
Director Greta Gerwig aimed for "authentic artificiality" on all aspects of the set, telling Architectural Digest that "maintaining the 'kid-ness' was paramount."
"I wanted the pinks to be very bright, and everything to be almost too much," she said.
Viewers will soon be able to see for themselves, when the movie — which is marketed to Barbie lovers and haters alike — hits theaters on July 21.
veryGood! (883)
Related
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Dangerous weather continues to threaten Texas; forecast puts more states on alert
- Nissan issues 'do not drive' warning for some older models after air bag defect linked to 58 injuries
- French prosecutor in New Caledonia says authorities are investigating suspects behind deadly unrest
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Wildfire near Canada’s oil sands hub under control, Alberta officials say
- Feds take down one of world's largest malicious botnets and arrest its administrator
- Iran says Saudi Arabia has expelled 6 state media journalists ahead of the Hajj after detaining them
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Sweden seeks to answer worried students’ questions about NATO and war after its neutrality ends
Ranking
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- The Latest | 2 soldiers are killed in a West Bank car-ramming attack, Israeli military says
- Top McDonald's exec says $18 Big Mac meal is exception, not the rule
- Chelsea hires Sonia Bompastor as its new head coach after Emma Hayes’ departure
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Brazil’s president withdraws his country’s ambassador to Israel after criticizing the war in Gaza
- An Iceland volcano spews red streams of lava toward an evacuated town
- Score 70% Off Banana Republic, 60% Off J.Crew, 65% Off Reebok, $545 Off iRobot Vacuums & More Deals
Recommendation
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Bebe Rexha Details the Painful Cysts She Developed Due to PCOS
Renewable Energy Wins for Now in Michigan as Local Control Measure Fails to Make Ballot
Massive international police operation takes down ransomware networks, arrests 4 suspects
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
Alabama inmate Jamie Ray Mills to be 2nd inmate executed by the state in 2024. What to know
Not-so-happy meal: As fast food prices surge, many Americans say it's become a luxury
Qatar’s offer to build 3 power plants to ease Lebanon’s electricity crisis is blocked