Sharon Stone recalls failed “Barbie” movie pitch that got her 'thrown out of the studio' in the '90s

"They were like, 'Why would you take this American icon and try to destroy it?'"

Seems it took about a Kentury for movie execs to come around to an empowering Barbie film.

Sharon Stone has shared that she tried to develop a flick about the Mattel doll in the 1990s but that she was tossed out of the studio for her pitch.

“I went to the studio to try and make Barbie in the 1990s with a producer, a friend of mine, and I had the then-CEO of Mattel on my side," she recalled on a new episode of the Fly on the Wall podcast. "We got thrown out of the studio. They were like, ‘Why would you take this American icon and try to destroy it? What is wrong with you?’ I got a lecture and an escort to the door.”

"What kind of angle would you take on Barbie back then?" David Spade, the podcast's cohost, asked. "I wouldn't even know what to do."

"We had it so the opening scene would be Barbie pulling up to Mattel in her Barbie car, and secret service come out, and their feet are as big as the car,” Stone replied. “They escort her into Mattel, and everybody falls aside because she’s the most important member of Mattel. All the big people are chasing her around and kissing her ass because she’s the queen of Mattel, and it’s about the power of being Barbie and what Barbie could do in the world because she’s so powerful."

"But they didn’t think Barbie should be powerful," Stone added, later noting that the movie execs who rejected the pitch are no longer with the company.

Stone is not the only star who tried to get a Barbie film off its flat feet and on to the screen. Amy Schumer, Anne Hathaway, and Diablo Cody have all been vocal about their attempts — and have praised Barbie director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie for bringing their creative vision to the masses.

The 2023 record-breaking summer blockbuster snagged eight Oscar nominations at this year's ceremony, picking up one win for Best Original Song, for "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish and Finneas.

Earlier this year, Stone left a comment under America Ferrera's Instagram post that marveled at "how far we've come" and thanked the Barbie star and Oscar nominee as well as her collaborators for their "courage and endurance."

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