Meryl Streep Has High Praise for ‘Barbie,’ Saying It “Saved the Movies Last Summer and All of Our Jobs”

It’s high praise from the Queen of Hollywood: as Barbie potentially begins its awards season sweep with tomorrow’s Golden Globes, Meryl Streep is praising the film, saying it “saved the movies last summer and all of our jobs,” Variety reports.

Her comments harkened back to Steven Spielberg’s comments last year, when he thanked Tom Cruise for saving the movie business with Top Gun: Maverick (Spielberg told Cruise “You saved Hollywood’s ass, and you might have saved theatrical distribution. Seriously, Top Gun: Maverick might have saved the entire theatrical industry”). Streep said at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards that the 2023 savior film is Barbie, which was the highest-grossing movie of the year with a staggering $1.4 billion in ticket sales (it’s also the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film of all time). 

Streep took the stage at the awards after Billie Eilish and Finneas accepted an award for their work on the Barbie soundtrack. “I just want to say to Billie and Finneas that you have delivered the Barbie love bomb,” Streep said. “You’ve saved the movies last summer and all of our jobs. You’ve delivered joy to countless generations and genders of people, and you should surf that wave, kids, until you’re old and deserve to be jaded like me.”

Barbie is currently nominated for nine Golden Globes and also received a record-breaking 18 Critics' Choice Award nominations, Variety reports. The Barbie soundtrack earned 12 Grammy nominations and the original songs “What Was I Made For?” “Dance the Night,” and “I’m Just Ken” are on the shortlist to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song. Despite the overwhelming success, Margot Robbie—who plays the titular role in the film—is skeptical about there ever being a Barbie 2. 

“It’s funny, that knee-jerk reaction in this day and age for everyone to immediately ask about a sequel,” she told Variety. “I don’t think it was like that 20 years ago. This wasn’t designed to be a trilogy…I don’t know what more could even look like. We want to make more films that have the effect that Barbie has. I don’t know if it has to be Barbie 2. Why can’t it be another big, original, bold idea where we get an amazing filmmaker, a big budget to play with, and the trust of a huge conglomerate behind them to go and really play? I want to do that.”

And, if Robbie has it her way, she’ll be that amazing filmmaker—the actress and producer told Variety that she wants to direct, and that her experience working with directors is why she wants to do it herself. “As an actor, I get to work with so many brilliant directors and watch them do it—it’s like having a front row seat to the best masterclass in the world,” she said. “So it’s really tempting to keep doing that. But directing is a dear ambition of mine.”

It might not happen immediately, though. She previously told Variety in 2022 that directing was “not something I’m in a rush to do,” as she was fulfilled with acting. “I love so much that, as an actor, I get to see how so many other directors work and how they do it,” she said. “And it’s so helpful.” 

In the new Variety interview, Robbie said that her plate was full of producing jobs that kept her busy. “The tricky thing is, as much as I say I’m strict about saying no as a producer, I also get so excited with all the things that I could produce that it ends up taking up all my time,” she said.