FILE - This March 12, 1998 file photo shows producers Laurie MacDonald, left, and Walter Parkes during the ShoWest Awards ceremony in Las Vegas. The couple are partnering with Mattel to create a live-action movie focused on the iconic Barbie doll. In a release issued on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, the companies say the film, to be written by Jenny Bicks, will be a comedy. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
April 23, 2014 - 12:34 PM
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Barbie is coming alive.
Sony Pictures, Mattel and Parkes+MacDonald/Image Nation have partnered to create a live-action movie focused on the iconic doll.
The companies said Wednesday the comedy will be written by Jenny Bicks ("What a Girl Wants") and produced by husband and wife team Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald ("Men in Black 3").
Executive producers will be Parkes+MacDonald president Marc Resteghini and Julia Pistor for Mattel's Playground Productions.
Sony sees the film as a global franchise and plans to go into production by the end of the year.
It's the second collaboration for Sony and Mattel. The companies are currently developing the film adaptation of "Masters of the Universe," based on Mattel action figures.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014