Fans of doll, Barbie, who celebrated her 63rd birthday this year, have been given a a glimpse of the much-anticipated big-screen debut of their favourite toy.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros released a second trailer for the film, which stars Suicide Squad actress Margot Robbie as the popular but divisive doll and Ryan Gosling as her boy toy Ken.
Directed by acclaimed actress and filmmaker Greta Gerwig, the starry cast also includes A-listers America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Dua Lipa and Helen Mirren, among others.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros also released character posters, offering more details on who some of the stars are playing. Lipa, for instance, is a mermaid, while Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan plays a diplomat. Rae's Barbie is a president, while The Umbrella Academy actress Ritu Arya is a Barbie with a Pulitzer Prize.
In December, Warner Bros released the highly-anticipated film's first teaser and offered a glimpse of what was to come.
“Since the beginning of time, since the first little girl ever existed, there have been dolls. But the dolls were always and forever baby dolls. Until …," says a narrator as girls are shown playing with dolls in a scene reminiscent of the opening scene of Stanley Kubrick's seminal 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
A giant Barbie then appears, wearing the striped swimsuit first seen when Mattel launched the toy in 1959, as the girls begin to destroy their outdated dolls.
The scene then cuts to Barbie's all-pink and colourful universe as glimpses of some of the film's other stars are shown, including Gosling, Rae and Liu.
When is 'Barbie' coming out?
The Barbie film is set to be released on July 21, 2023. Shooting began in London this year and wrapped in July.
Who is playing Barbie in the movie?
The titular character is being played by Australian actress Robbie, 31. The star has appeared in The Wolf of Wall Street, Bombshell and Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood. She also portrayed Harley Quinn in the Suicide Squad movies and its subsequent spin-offs.
Robbie was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar at the 2017 Academy Awards for her role as ice skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya.
But the film's huge cast means there will be many versions of Barbie.
A number of actors will also be playing humans, including Mirren, Ferrell and Ferrera.
Who is directing the Barbie movie?
Robbie has admitted she is aware of audience preconceptions about the film based on one of the world’s most famous blonds.
“It comes with a lot of baggage … and a lot of nostalgic connections,” she said in an interview with British Vogue last year. "But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack it.”
In a bid to bust those biases, producers brought Oscar-nominated writer and director, Gerwig, on board.
Gerwig, who wrote and directed the 2017 indie favourite Lady Bird, teamed up with her partner and fellow Oscar-nominee Noah Baumbach to write the movie. Baumbach wrote 2005’s The Squid and the Whale, as well as the acclaimed Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver film, 2019’s Marriage Story.
“People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’” Robbie told British Vogue. “And then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t.'”
Why has the Barbie film taken so long?
Rumours about a Barbie movie first began in 2014. Over the years, many famous actresses, directors and writers have been attached to the project.
Sex and the City writer, Jenny Bicks was linked to the film in 2014, but was later replaced by the Oscar-winning writer of Juno, Diablo Cody. With Cody on board, comic actress Amy Schumer signed on to star as the real-life doll, but dropped out in 2017 citing scheduling conflicts.
“The film has so much promise, and Sony and Mattel have been great partners,” Schumer told Variety. “I’m bummed, but look forward to seeing Barbie on the big screen.”
After Schumer left, Anne Hathaway was signed on to step into the rubber heels, after which Cody left the project. It was left to gather dust until Robbie came on board.
What other toy-based movies are in the works?
Barbie is merely one of a handful of movie projects being lined up that are based on toys created by Mattel, which made the doll.
Other toys in line to get the big screen treatment include, the Magic 8 Ball, Polly Pocket, Hot Wheels, the Masters of the Universe, dolls Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy, and the robot toy Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em.
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
