'Barbie' hits theaters July 21.
They can laugh about it now, but when Barbie director Greta Gerwig enlisted production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer to bring Barbie's Dreamhouse to life they never envisioned causing an international shortage of pink paint.
The trio opened up to Architectural Digest about the gargantuan effort, which drew inspiration from Palm Springs midcentury modernism. For starters, Gerwig wanted to "literally" create "the alternate universe of Barbie Land" as they aimed for "authentic artificiality" whenever possible.
So instead of opting for CGI when it came to the picturesque sky and San Jacinto Mountains backdrop, Gerwig wanted the backdrop to be hand painted.
"Everything needed to be tactile, because toys are, above all, things you touch," Gerwig told the venerable magazine.
And, in order to maintain the "kid-ness" of the Dreamhouse, the director said everything needed to be pink.
"I wanted the pinks to be very bright, and everything to be almost too much," she added.
And it was too much.
According to Greenwood, construction of the Dreamhouse -- which was erected at the Warner Bros. Studios lot outside of London -- had an excessive need for Rosco paint, which "caused an international run on the fluorescent shade."
"The world," said Greenwood as she laughed, "ran out of pink."
Last week, the third trailer to the upcoming Barbie film dropped, and it showed Margot Robbie, as the world-famous doll, and Ryan Gosling, as Ken, in Barbieland before their "best day ever!" comes to a screeching halt.
Barbie's star-studded cast also includes America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Hari Nef, Ariana Greenblatt, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Rhea Pearlman, Will Ferrell, and more.
Barbie hits theaters July 21.
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