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There were always question marks over which lessons that executives from toy making giant Mattel would learn from the roaring success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Some said it could show the power of giving a top indie filmmaker like Gerwig the budget, time and resources to make a piece of memorable – and at times subversive – cinema which drew on people’s childhood memories. However, it looks like executives have already decided to pick option B: create an intellectual property-driven movie machine, and crank out a film about every toy they can think of to boost profits. Because that’s what people liked about Barbie, right? Mattel wants to create a cinematic universe similar to that of Marvel, following the immense success of its first feature film – and they already have more than a dozen projects in the works. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Products that are already in line to get the Barbie treatment include “Barney”, “Polly Pocket,” and “Hot Wheels”. “Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe,” Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz told Variety. “It’s a very rich universe… It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.” “At the outset, we’re not saying, ‘Okay, let’s think already about movie two and three.’ Let’s get the first one right and make that a success. And if you do that, opportunities open up very quickly, once you establish the first movie as a successful representation of a franchise on the big screen.” “Successful movies lend themselves to more movies,” the CEO added. “Our ambition is to create film franchises.” Robbie Brenner, the Oscar-nominated producer in charge of Mattel’s new film division, said the company was hopeful Barbie would become a box office success, so that it would open the door for franchises like “Masters of the Universe” and “Hot Wheels". “Everybody hopes that when you create a movie that there is going to be a franchise,” Brenner told Variety. “That’s the hope — that it goes on and on and it’s a gift that keeps giving. But, in this day and age, you just want to get the first one right.” Here are the films Mattel wants to make next: Barney Produced by Daniel Kaluuya, the purple dinosaur is going to be made into a live-action movie. Brenner said: I don’t know that it’s necessarily going to be darker. It’s just going to be unique — more of like [Spike Jonze films] Being John Malkovich or an Adaptation." “Any movie that has Barney is not certainly going to be straightforward,” Brenner adds. Referencing the Seth MacFarlane comedies, she quips: “We’re not making Ted. You know what I mean?” The upcoming film will apparently be about “identity and finding who you love and who feels alienated” and “what does it all mean?” Brenner says the film will “be more adult and have adult themes — and sort of be a little bit off-kilter”. Polly Pocket Starring Emily In Paris star Lily Collins, the Polly Pocket dolls will be made into a film directed by Lena Dunham. Brenner said there is already a “great” script, and that Dunham and Collins would be “an amazing collaboration. Lena is so collaborative and rolls up her sleeves and really likes to roll around in notes and listen. She’s incredible”. “Lily is so smart and so specific and so productorial. It’s just been an incredible collaboration, so we are thrilled about it. Hopefully, we’ll be making that at some point in the future.” Hot Wheels This one will be produced by JJ Abrams – because the world needs yet another film about toy racing cars, of course. Abrams has described the adaptation as “grounded and gritty” and said the film will have “real characters that you can relate to, that are three-dimensional, that have emotional journeys”. She added: “Look at any JJ Abrams movie. All of his movies have an incredible story and incredible characters. That was something that was important to him — to make a movie that’s not just going to be fun and exciting, but that has real emotion and real stakes to it.” And plenty more… There is a film about Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, starring Vin Diesel, which could be absolutely bizarre, while another doll franchise movie, American Girl, is “in the works”. Magic 8 Ball will “probably be a PG-13 thriller,” Brenner said, while a Masters Of The Universe film about the superhero He-Man could also become reality. Other projects include Thomas The Tank Engine (yep, that’s right folks) and, in a surprise turn, Uno. How corporate executives think a film about the playing card game will turn out is anybody’s guess. But it’s going to happen. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Tributes have poured in for DJ Casper, who died aged at the age of 58 on Monday (7 August) after his battle with cancer. The Chicago legend – whose real name is Willie Perry Jr – was famed for his classic 'Cha Cha Slide' that topped the charts in 2000. Speaking to ABC7, he spoke about the success of the track, saying he never expected it to be an international phenomenon. "When I first did it, I did it as an aerobic exercise for my nephew at Bally's," Casper said. "From there, it just took off. Elroy Smith from WGCI grabbed ahold of it," he said. "I have one of the biggest songs that played at all stadiums: hockey, basketball, football, baseball; they played it at the Olympics," Casper said. "It was something that everybody could do." He went on to discuss his health after being diagnosed in 2016 with two forms of cancer, "renal and neuroendocrine, which is kidney and liver." "They went in to try to do surgery, and they found out the kidney was connected to the main artery, so they decided not to do it," he said, adding they decided to "just treat it" instead. "I used to weigh 236 pounds, and I think I'm about 60 pounds less," he said at the time. "If you know me, you know I'm not going to stop. I'm going to continue to go. I'm going to continue to go until I can't go." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The sad news has prompted a flood of emotional messages online, with one person writing: "RIP DJ Casper, whose 'Cha Cha Slide' has been an immeasurable and integral part of seemingly every inter-generational celebration I’ve ever attended." Another added: "DJ Casper brought joy to so many with the 'Cha Cha Slide'. His legacy will live on through the countless celebrations and events where his music continues to unite people in dance. My condolences to his loved ones." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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