See Margot Robbie All Tied Up In Ribbons
Margot Robbie is set to star in Babylon, her second period piece film of 2022 loosely inspired by real events, and by the looks of this picture, she will look fantastic in it. An Instagram fan account called babylonupdates recently posted a picture of Margot Robbie in character as Nellie LaRoy, an aspiring actress in the Hollywood of the early 20th century. In this image, Margot Robbie’s hands are tied together with a blue ribbon in a cat’s cradle while she gazes directly at the camera.
Babylon will star Margot Robbie alongside Academy Award winner Brad Pitt and Diego Calva, along with an enormous ensemble cast. The plot involves various members of the Golden Age of Hollywood as the industry transitions from silent film to these new-fangled “talkies” (which seem to be sticking around, surprisingly). Judging by the trailers released for the film so far, Babylon is less of a documentary about technological changes in film history than a drug- and sex-fueled vision of Hollywood as a constant party.
Margot Robbie’s character, Nellie LaRoy, seems to be a newcomer to Hollywood, committed to the traditional “break into the industry by any means necessary” track, while Diego Calva plays Manny Torres, an assistant who is low on the totem pole in Los Angeles. Brad Pitt plays Jack Conrad, a successful silent film star who probably is not exactly ready for the changes that will soon sweep the industry.
In addition to Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, Babylon will star an enormous roster of actors, including Fargo’s Jean Smart as gossip columnist Elinor St. John (likely modeled on Hedda Hopper), Spider-Man’s Tobey Maguire as waxy-skinned film director James McKay, and Olivia Wilde as Brad Pitt’s character’s ex-wife. On top of those fictional characters, Babylon will also feature several real-life Hollywood figures, like legendary MGM producer Irving Thalberg (Max Minghella) and actress Marion Davies (Chloe Fineman), also known as the longtime mistress of American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
The other historically-themed Margot Robbie movie of 2022 is Amsterdam, which starred the actress with Christian Bale, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, Taylor Swift, Anya Taylor-Joy, and many others. Rather than the intricacies of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Amsterdam is focused on a conspiracy of business tycoons attempting to overthrow the United States government; the movie was highly promoted as being based on true events, though very fictionalized and starring original characters.
Amsterdam was an enormous box office flop when it was released in October, with 20th Century Productions losing nearly $100 million on the David O. Russell film. Hopefully, Babylon will not suffer the same fate, lest we lose the burgeoning subgenre of “ensemble cast historical movie with fictional characters.”
In addition to Amsterdam and Babylon, Margot Robbie will soon be starring in Barbie as the title character alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken and Will Ferrell as a villainous fictional Mattel CEO. The film is directed by Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote the screenplay with her partner, White Noise filmmaker Noah Baumbach.
