There were always question marks over which lessons that executives from toy making giant Mattel would learn from the roaring success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Some said it could show the power of giving a top indie filmmaker like Gerwig the budget, time and resources to make a piece of memorable – and at times subversive – cinema which drew on people’s childhood memories. However, it looks like executives have already decided to pick option B: create an intellectual property-driven movie machine, and crank out a film about every toy they can think of to boost profits. Because that’s what people liked about Barbie, right? Mattel wants to create a cinematic universe similar to that of Marvel, following the immense success of its first feature film – and they already have more than a dozen projects in the works. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Products that are already in line to get the Barbie treatment include “Barney”, “Polly Pocket,” and “Hot Wheels”. “Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe,” Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz told Variety. “It’s a very rich universe… It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.” “At the outset, we’re not saying, ‘Okay, let’s think already about movie two and three.’ Let’s get the first one right and make that a success. And if you do that, opportunities open up very quickly, once you establish the first movie as a successful representation of a franchise on the big screen.” “Successful movies lend themselves to more movies,” the CEO added. “Our ambition is to create film franchises.” Robbie Brenner, the Oscar-nominated producer in charge of Mattel’s new film division, said the company was hopeful Barbie would become a box office success, so that it would open the door for franchises like “Masters of the Universe” and “Hot Wheels". “Everybody hopes that when you create a movie that there is going to be a franchise,” Brenner told Variety. “That’s the hope — that it goes on and on and it’s a gift that keeps giving. But, in this day and age, you just want to get the first one right.” Here are the films Mattel wants to make next: Barney Produced by Daniel Kaluuya, the purple dinosaur is going to be made into a live-action movie. Brenner said: I don’t know that it’s necessarily going to be darker. It’s just going to be unique — more of like [Spike Jonze films] Being John Malkovich or an Adaptation." “Any movie that has Barney is not certainly going to be straightforward,” Brenner adds. Referencing the Seth MacFarlane comedies, she quips: “We’re not making Ted. You know what I mean?” The upcoming film will apparently be about “identity and finding who you love and who feels alienated” and “what does it all mean?” Brenner says the film will “be more adult and have adult themes — and sort of be a little bit off-kilter”. Polly Pocket Starring Emily In Paris star Lily Collins, the Polly Pocket dolls will be made into a film directed by Lena Dunham. Brenner said there is already a “great” script, and that Dunham and Collins would be “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. Hopefully, we’ll be making that at some point in the future.” Hot Wheels This one will be produced by JJ Abrams – because the world needs yet another film about toy racing cars, of course. Abrams has described the adaptation as “grounded and gritty” and said the film will have “real characters that you can relate to, that are three-dimensional, that have emotional journeys”. She added: “Look at any JJ Abrams movie. All of his movies have an incredible story and incredible characters. That was something that was important to him — to make a movie that’s not just going to be fun and exciting, but that has real emotion and real stakes to it.” And plenty more… There is a film about Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, starring Vin Diesel, which could be absolutely bizarre, while another doll franchise movie, American Girl, is “in the works”. Magic 8 Ball will “probably be a PG-13 thriller,” Brenner said, while a Masters Of The Universe film about the superhero He-Man could also become reality. Other projects include Thomas The Tank Engine (yep, that’s right folks) and, in a surprise turn, Uno. How corporate executives think a film about the playing card game will turn out is anybody’s guess. But it’s going to happen. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet have gone viral after recent clips of both of them dancing at a birthday party have appeared on social media. The Dune 2 co-stars both attended a "Freaknik"-themed birthday party for Zendaya’s assistant, Darnell Appling which appeared to have took place outside in Los Angeles’ Pan Pacific Park. In some of the clips, Zendaya had a smile on her face as she joined in with the large crowd who were all line dancing along to Beyoncé’s “Before I Let Go." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The Eurphoria actor sported an effortlessly cool casual look with white crop top, baggy blue jeans and gold hoop earrings, styling her hair in a side part. Meanwhile, Chalamet wore a baggy white T-shirt with a blue-and-white NBA jersey on top, along with lime-green basketball shorts, a beige baseball cap, black sunglasses, Batman-themed socks, and colourful trainers. The Bones and All actor can been seen enjoying himself as he danced in the middle of a group circle. The two stars momentarily sported custom shirts for the birthday celebration, which read (per a fan account), "Darnell's Freaknik '23 shirt," Entertainment Tonight reported. With Zendaya starring on Disney's dance-based show Shake It Off, and Chalamet's moves in Call Me By Your Name, it isn't the first time the pair's dancing has gained attention. Fans of the showbiz pals shared their excitement at seeing the new videos and images from the birthday bash. Both Zendaya and Chalamet have spoke warmly about their friendship since shooting the first Dune film together. Zendaya has said she and Chalamet will be “friends for life," while Chalamet also feels the same, noting how Zendaya has practically like family him. "She's really become a sister. I’m so grateful to count her as a partner and a sister and a friend," the actor said during an interview with Variety. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Elliot Page claims he had sex with Juno co-star Olivia Thirlby "all the time" while filming the 2007 indie dramedy. In his hotly anticipated memoir Pageboy, the Canadian actor opened up about his past relationships. One of which included Thirlby, who he felt "taken aback" by the moment he saw her. Page said that while the pair were both the same age, she seemed "so much older, capable, and centred," with chemistry that pulled him in. The Umbrella Academy star went on to describe Thirlby, who played Page's best friend in the film, as "sexually open," which was "far removed" from where he was at the time. They spent most of their time together shooting for the film, with Page recalling the time Thirlby "looked directly at me and said point-blank, ‘I’m really attracted to you.'” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "At that we started sucking face, it was on" he claimed in the memoir. "I had an all-encompassing desire for her, she made me want in a way that was new, hopeful." Page went on to candidly detail that Thirlby was the first person to make her have an orgasm. He continued: "Her hotel room, in our trailers at work, once in a tiny, private room in a restaurant … We thought we were being subtle. Being intimate with Olivia helped my shame dissipate. I didn’t see a glint of it in her eyes and I wanted that — done feeling wretched about who I am." Page came out as gay in 2014. In another section of his book, the 36-year-old detailed an incident at a birthday party two months later in which an A-list Hollywood actor said: "You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist. You are just afraid of men." The chapter, titled 'Famous A**hole at Party', goes on to add the male then reportedly told Page: "I’m going to f*** you to make you realise you aren’t gay." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Donald Trump's dangerous lies about the 2020 election, which saturated right-wing media after the presidential contest and led to the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, have finally put the disgraced former president in serious legal jeopardy.