Current:Home > NewsDid the 'Barbie' movie really cause a run on pink paint? Let's get the full picture -AssetLink
Did the 'Barbie' movie really cause a run on pink paint? Let's get the full picture
View
Date:2025-04-18 13:21:35
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! (77)
Related
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Measles spread to at least 3 other states after trips to Florida
- A family's guide to the total solar eclipse: Kids activities, crafts, podcast parties and more
- West Virginia wildfires: National Guard and rain help to battle blazes, see map of fires
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor flexes its off-road muscles in first-drive review
- How true is the movie on Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress?
- Chick-Fil-A backtracks from its no-antibiotics-in-chicken pledge, blames projected supply shortages
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- New England battling a mix of wind, rain, sleet and heavy snow
Ranking
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- Domino and other U.S. sugar companies accused of conspiring to fix prices in antitrust lawsuits
- USMNT Concacaf Nations League final vs. Mexico: How to stream, game time, rosters
- Hardy souls across New England shoveling out after major snow storm
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Princess Kate has cancer. How do you feel now about spreading all those rumors?
- Nevada’s first big-game moose hunt will be tiny as unusual southern expansion defies climate change
- March Madness winners and losers: Pac-12 riding high after perfect first round
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is No. 1 with $45.2M, Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Immaculate’ lands in fourth
Adam Sandler has the script for 'Happy Gilmore' sequel, actor Christopher McDonald says
Book excerpt: Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zakaria
NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
A spring snow storm is taking aim at the Midwest as rain soaks parts of the East
Dynamic pricing was once the realm of Uber and airlines. Now, it's coming to restaurants.
West Virginia wildfires: National Guard and rain help to battle blazes, see map of fires