Behind the scenes and at the premiere – The Hollywood Reporter

“How many of you remember ASL Barbie?” Deaf West Artistic Director DJ Coors fell off the stage at the Regency Village Theater in Westwood last Thursday night, referring to the sign language Barbie, which Mattel launched in 2000. “Her hand was permanently stuck in the shape of an ‘I love you’ hand. “. Can you imagine how difficult this is in real life? As if if she waved to a UPS driver, she would say, “I love you?”

The audience laughed as the chorus continued. “But seriously, that was a historic moment in those days. Barbie, who uses sign language, has been in every store for 20 years,” he said. “And tonight we’re celebrating a similar event: Children across the country will be able to listen to the ASL version of Barbie the film.”

Kors was speaking at the one-night-only theatrical screening of the film Barbie with ASL, which was held on the eve of its debut on December 15 on the Max channel. The show — which the service is hosting as a unique title alongside the non-American Sign Language version — is Warner Bros.’ first feature film. Displays American Sign Language as a language option. Although text captions are now a standard feature for all content on most video platforms, they often fall short of providing a full experience for many deaf audience members.

“American Sign Language is my first and most natural language,” said Leila Hanomi, American Sign Language performer Barbie with ASLTells Hollywood Reporter Through an interpreter. “Even though I am able to understand movies with English captions, there are still some things missing: tone, the meaning of some complex lines. It will never be fully accessible to me as a deaf person. I also think about deaf people who suffer from Linguistic deprivation. Signing is often the only way they can have full access to any kind of context.

The idea of ​​bringing ASL to Max through BarbieThe live streaming version originated from Product Manager Arturo Garcia and Product Designer Delaney Cunningham, who approached Senior Director of Project Management Angela McIntosh a few months ago with the proposal. The prospect of attempting such an endeavor with the highest-grossing film of the year ($1.44 billion worldwide, in Warner Bros.’s 100-year history) wasn’t a big deal, given the film’s embrace of inclusivity.

“Often, when you approach a large, cross-functional project like this on a tight timeline, it can seem a little intimidating. We felt like we got The right idea at the right time.” She adds that the first step was reaching out to deaf organizations and doing customer research to understand how best to implement the feature. “We pitched to people we knew about the product, and in every conversation we opened up another conversation. Eventually, the team reached out to content people and the studio. It was never a question of “yes” or “no,” it was everyone collaborating on the “how.”

With WBD’s VP of DEI and Yvette Urbina helping to guide the project, one of the key lessons for the accessibility product team was that the ASL interpreter should be deaf (people who know sign language are often hired for such positions). . . Spring awakening And New Amsterdam Star Sandra Mae Frank was initially chosen for the project, but when she became unavailable, she recommended her friend Hanomi, an Austin-based creator who covers songs in ASL (including an official collaboration with Tove Lo) and previously helped Deaf West consult with Disney on video Its own music ASL for Encanto“Surface pressure.”

Hanomi had about three weeks to prepare before traveling to Los Angeles in late October for three days of filming in front of a green screen. I worked with artistic sign language coach Jack Cook (who was a performer for… ASL rendering of Ant-Man(which was added to Disney+ in April) to convert the film’s dialogue into visual ASL, divided into 32 “chunks” that will each be filmed in a single take. Due to the number of characters, the production team considered using multiple interpreters, but after testing decided that only Hanomi would perform the entire film.

This required Hanomi and Cook to do creative work that went beyond simply translating dialogue. “With an audience listening, you can tell who is speaking because you can hear the difference in their voices,” Hanomi said. “With one person doing all the lines for multiple people, it is very important to clearly show the difference through turn-taking (aligning body position with the character on screen), body language, facial expressions, gesture style, and even my demeanor.”

As a result, Hanomi worked in… Barbie with ASL Compelling viewing even for non-deaf audiences and those who don’t know sign language. Like a one-woman orchestra and its conductor, she uses every part of her body to seamlessly transition between multiple Barbies and multiple Ken dolls in one (and often overlapping) exchange, losing none of the comedic or dramatic nuance and even adding visual cues for sound effects. It accurately conveys the mood and tempo of each of the film’s famous songs.

“People always ask me how I prepared for my role, but I have only played one role. I have just played an entire film. Barbie Star Margot Robbie told Hanaomi, whose day job is communications director at a deaf-owned marketing company, during Barbie with ASL Questions and answers after the examination. “It’s just a brilliant piece of acting.”

Just as the WBD product team received accessibility education for the launch Barbie with ASLshow live, and so did the company’s events team when it came to hosting the special premiere. “We learn how to do this by doing,” said Events President Gene Weinberg during a tour THR Before the doors opened last week.

In consultation with Deaf West and Respectability, the team had about a month to create a seamless experience for more than 800 guests – invited through community organizations for people with disabilities as well as schools for the deaf – to enjoy a night at the movies together in their homes. main language.

Max hired a total of 26 American Sign Language interpreters — including six speaking interpreters for people who are deafblind — to accompany event staff stationed at every touchpoint throughout the venue, starting in the parking garage and moving through check-in stations, concession stands and theater aisles, while… On-site readers and guides are also available for blind and visually impaired guests. Sixteen wheelchair spaces with companion seating are provided within the theater, along with 30 assistive devices for listening and audio description. The curbside drop-off and nearby parking lot are reserved for guests with limited mobility, along with 30 folding chairs on hand inside and outside the lobby and tiered seating at concessions tables and bathrooms for anyone who needs them. At ResponseAbility’s recommendation, Max added a staff member stationed outside the accessible bathrooms, because the doors have rotary handles instead of a simple “push-to-open.” Even printed materials – invitations, tickets, step and repeat – were reviewed for font size, color choice and visual contrast.

“We want everyone to feel (at home),” Weinberg said. For any accommodations not communicated in advance, her team provided a concierge desk upon arrival — the term “concierge” was also a conscious choice — to address any guest concerns, and Urbina led the staff through training before the event began. The first offer to adopt a position is available but not assumed. “Friendly but not imposing,” Weinberg said of the staff’s style. “Be available for anyone to say ‘I need help’ without asking if they need help.”

The effect was a joyful event where living with a disability became normal, with friends and family members talking excitedly to each other in sign language alongside people using wheelchairs, mobility canes and service animals.

For the program itself, all communication was conveyed simultaneously in three ways: spoken English, American Sign Language (projected on the big screen for anyone in the theater to see) and captioned text.

“The ASL picture-in-picture technology used with text captions is truly the gold standard for ensuring accessibility,” Delbert Witter, Vice Chairman of ResidentAbility, signed off during his opening remarks before the show, where Hanomi was seen separating the dolls with three name tags. : One for stereotypical Barbie (Ruby), one for alien Barbie (Kate McKinnon), and one for all the other Barbies.

As for Ken?

“He doesn’t get a name sign,” Hanomi laughed. “It’s just Ken.”