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Lily Collins from ‘Emily in Paris’ will star as Polly Pocket in Mattel’s upcoming movie about the doll..
The Barbie movie is breaking box office records — and another Mattel doll is coming to the big screen
On Wednesday, Variety published an interview with Barbie executive producer and Mattel executive Robbie Brenner, who spoke to the status of 14 additional Mattel properties the company hopes to bring to movie theaters as followups to the Greta Gerwig–directed film’s success.
These projects were at various stages of development and pre-production before the ongoing writers and actors strikes halted development on most Hollywood productions.
When the film was first announced, Dunham told the press, “Polly Pocket was responsible for countless hours of childhood escapism for me—Polly gave me a tiny world of magic and autonomy to narrate, so it’s pretty poetic to be tackling these same ideas now as a director collaborating with the brilliant Lily Collins, Robbie Brenner, Mattel, and MGM. I’m so thrilled to bring to bear both my love of this historic property and also my deep-seated belief that young women need smart playful films that speak to them without condescension.
“It’s been an amazing collaboration. Lena is so collaborative and rolls up her sleeves and really likes to roll around in notes and listen. She’s incredible,” Brenner added. “Lily is so smart and so specific and so productorial. It’s just been an incredible collaboration, so we are thrilled about it. Hopefully, we’ll be making that at some point in the future.”
Other Mattel film projects with directors, actors or notable producers attached include the Daniel Kaluuya-led Barney movie, a Hot Wheels film produced by J.J. Abrams, a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie starring Vin Diesel, and a Major Matt Mason movie starring Tom Hanks.
What’s it about?
The plot is totally under wraps, but Robbie Brenner, who runs Mattel Films, called the script “great” and told Variety of the project, “It’s been an amazing collaboration. Lena is so collaborative and rolls up her sleeves and really likes to roll around in notes and listen. She’s incredible. Lily is so smart and so specific and so productorial. It’s just been an incredible collaboration, so we are thrilled about it.” It’s being characterized as a family comedy.
Properties Mattel intends to one day bring to the big screen include American Girl, Magic 8 Ball, UNO, Wishbone, Thomas & Friends, and Masters of the Universe, among others, but one property — Polly Pocket — appears to be the closest to a fully realized project.
Lena Dunham is expected to direct a Polly Pocket movie from a script she also wrote, with Lily Collins set to star in the movie, based on Mattel’s group of miniature-sized dolls and accessories.
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