Barbie shakes up Oscars by being deemed an Adapted Screenplay despite original classification

2023 was full of fantastic movies, and none were bigger than Greta Gerwig's Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

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However, despite campaigning for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar Nomination, Barbie has been deemed to be an adapted screenplay by the Writers Branch executive committee of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences, a committee that determines films' eligibilities in submitted categorizations.

According to a report from Variety, when official Oscar Nominations open next Thursday, January 11, Voters will only be able to vote for the script of the film as an adapted screenplay. There has been an ongoing debate for months as to whether Barbie will be an original or adapted screenplay after news came out that the film would be campaigning as an original work.

The film was originally declared an original work by the Writers Guild of America and will continue to be viewed as one for the upcoming WGA Awards on April 14, but it seems the Academy has its own rules and classifications. According to the Academy, Barbie did not meet the criteria for it to be considered a wholly original screenplay, hence its new categorization.

Barbie was directed by Greta Gerwig from a screenplay written by her and her husband, Noah Baumbach. During its theatrical run, it earned a worldwide gross of over $1.4bn, placing the popular doll atop the spot for the highest-grossing movie of 2023, with it also seemingly being an award favorite at upcoming events.

The film's original soundtrack has already been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards. Ryan Gosling also received his first Grammy nomination for "I'm Just Ken." When asked If he would perform the popular tune at the Oscars, the actor responded, "Well, I haven't been invited," but expressed his interest in performing should the Academy pay him for it.

As for other TV shows news worth looking into, Jack Black is rumored to be in talks about playing Minecraft's iconic character, Steve. Notably, Steve doesn't have a defined personality and is more of an empty vessel for players to project their ideals into, which leads to if these rumors are true about Jack Black playing Steve in an upcoming Minecraft movie, it would be interesting to see Jack's of portrayal of a character that everyone may see differently.

In other Jack Black news, the actor recently revealed that is currently the only one talking about a sequel to Super Mario Bros. Movie, which became the highest-grossing film based on a video game after just one of being released.

• Read more: Jack Black rumored to play Steve in upcoming Minecraft movie
• Read more: Jack Black has said there is 'radio silence' about a Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel

In other news, Samsung is ready to launch an "all-new mobile experience" at a new event in mid-January, which is expected to include AI.

• Read more: Samsung will unveil 'all-new mobile experience powered by AI' at new event in mid-January