It might be hard to imagineBarbiewithout the climactic"I’m Just Ken"scene, but according to music producerMark Ronson, the song initially played a much smaller role in the hit film.
“It went from being this song that was maybe gonna be played somewhere in the film to this song that they built this epic battle around,” said Ronson, 48, ina new behind-the-scenes featurettetitled “Musical Make-Believe,” released asBarbiehits streaming.
When directorGreta Gerwigtapped him to write a track forRyan Gosling’s Ken, Ronson recalled, “I instantly knew what the Ken song should be.”
Once he delivered an initial version to the director, 40, “Greta’s like, ‘We love that song — actually, can you make it longer?’ " he said.
“So we’re essentially scoring 11 minutes just around the Ken song,” Ronson added.
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Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ryan Gosling and Ncuti Gatwa inBarbie(2023).Warner Bros
Warner Bros
Gosling, 42, compared the sequence to “the telephone game from the real world.”
Ryan Gosling inBarbie(2023).Warner Bros
Ronson previously said in an interview withVanity Fairthat when Gosling first heard the demo of the “I’m Just Ken,” he was such a big fan that he not only agreed to sing the track but alsorequested to perform it on-screen.
While the producer was worried about how Gerwig would react to the tune — he said he didn’t want her to think he was “trying to provide the funny” — she agreed with Gosling. In fact, she liked the ballad so much that she rewrote a pivotal scene to ensure he could belt it in the film.
After Gosling recorded vocals for the song, Ronson told the outlet he realized the actor (whose musical resume includes hisOscar-nominatedLa La Landperformance, analbum with his rock duo Dead Man’s Bonesand a stint as a Mouseketeer) was a “vocal powerhouse.”
“He really got [that] it had to walk this line of not being funny or parody,” Ronson said. “But obviously, the song is also kind of ridiculous at times. So he was really amazing, and when he really did start hitting the big notes, I was like, ‘This dude is a vocal powerhouse!’ "
Barbieis in theaters and now available to stream,and will hit IMAX theatersfor a one-week limited engagement beginning Sept. 22.
source: people.com
