"If I cut the scene, I don’t know what this movie is about": Greta Gerwig on a Barbie scene that studio executives wanted cut

Greta Gerwig's much anticipated Barbie finally premiered in theatres around the world on July 21 and nothing has gone wrong for the Margot Robbie-starrer, with the film impressing fans and critics across the globe and earning a solid figure at the box office. The film follows the titular Mattel doll in her adventure outside Barbieland.

The film, alongside Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (which also released on July 21), was perhaps the most awaited film of the year, primarily because of its star-studded cast, comprising Emma Mackey, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Isa Rae, Will Ferell, and Ncuti Gatwa, among many others, along with the writer-director pair of Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.

However, this success of Barbie required some tough calls, and some important ones from Greta Gerwig, which she did faithfully. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Gerwig revealed one particular scene that she believed to be of utmost importance but was not received very well in the first cuts.

"I love that scene so much...And the older woman on the bench is the costume designer Ann Roth. She’s a legend. It’s a cul-de-sac of a moment, in a way — it doesn’t lead anywhere. And in early cuts, looking at the movie, it was suggested, ‘Well, you could cut it. And actually, the story would move on just the same.’ And I said, ‘If I cut the scene, I don’t know what this movie is about," Gerwig revealed.

Thankfully, Gerwig stuck with her vision, and the result is currently visible around the world. Barbie has already collected a whopping $22.3 million on its opening day and is far from slowing down.

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"To me, this is the heart of the movie": Greta Gerwig on the importance of the particular scene in Barbie

For those who have already seen Barbie, it will not be difficult to decipher which scene director Greta Gerwig is talking about in the said Rolling Stone interview. For those who haven't, it will be a soothing surprise. Gerwig was absolutely invested in this particular scene and went to lengths to explain why she needed it more than anything else in the film.

Talking to Rolling Stone about this particular scene, Greta Gerwig elaborated:

"That’s how I saw it. To me, this is the heart of the movie...The way Margot plays that moment is so gentle and so unforced. There’s the more outrageous elements in the movie that people say, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe Mattel let you do this,’ or, ‘I can’t believe Warner Bros. let you do this.’ But to me, the part that I can’t believe that is still in the movie is this little cul-de-sac that doesn’t lead anywhere — except for, it’s the heart of the movie."

With the film's heart in the right place, it was always going to impress fans. Barbie managed to grab a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score, alongside its great commercial success. It is, in fact, only lagging behind Avengers: Endgame in terms of opening day collection, reports suggest.

The more important factor is that the film has just come out, and it will be here for a long, long time.

Barbie's compatriot, Oppenheimer, also did remarkably well at the box office and received widespread critical acclaim.