Legendary director Werner Herzog was asked by Piers Morgan on the latter’s “Uncensored” talk show to weigh in on the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, but Herzog was no expert on the matter. The “Grizzly Man” and “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” filmmaker never got around to seeing Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb epic, and he seemed to be chilled to the bone after watching only 30 minutes of Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Mattel comedy.
“I have not seen ‘Oppenheimer’ yet, but I will do it. ‘Barbie,’ I managed to see the first half hour,” Herzog said. “I was curious, and I wanted to watch it because I was curious. And I still don’t have an answer, but I have a suspicion – could it be that the world of Barbie is sheer hell? For a movie ticket, as an audience, you can witness sheer hell, as close as it gets.”
Herzog did not elaborate, but it sounds like he was not criticizing Gerwig’s movie and instead theorizing that Barbie Land in the film and living in Barbie Land is “sheer hell.”
“I don’t know yet, Piers Morgan, give me a moment to watch the whole thing,” Herzog said. “I have to watch the whole thing first.”
“Trust me, let me spare you the horror,” Morgan fired back. “I watched the whole thing and it is hell. I completely concur with your initial assessment after half an hour. And I would definitely recommend you don’t put yourself through the rest of it.”
Herzog is the latest auteur to make headlines by speaking about “Barbie.” Oliver Stone went viral last month when critical comments he made to City A.M. about Gerwig’s movie last summer resurfaced online.
“Ryan Gosling is wasting his time if he’s doing that shit for money,” Stone said. “He should be doing more serious films. He shouldn’t be a part of this infantilization of Hollywood. Now it’s all fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, including all the war pictures: fantasy, fantasy.”
Stone latter issued an apology on social media, saying he “had little to no knowledge” of the “Barbie” movie when he made his original comments. He eventually watched the movie and “appreciated the film for its originality and its themes.”
“I found the filmmakers’ approach certainly different than what I expected. I apologize for speaking ignorantly,” Stone added at the time. “’Barbie’s’ box office greatly boosted the morale of our business, which was welcome. I wish Greta and the entire ‘Barbie’ team good fortune at the Oscars.”
“Barbie” is up for eight Oscars this year, including best picture.
