Elizabeth Banks discusses her career, production company

Actor Elizabeth Banks spoke about her experience as a female director during an early screening of her upcoming film Charlie’s Angels at Wallis Annenberg Hall Wednesday. Stacy Smith, director of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, moderated the discussion. 

Banks said she dreamt about the movie, which is set to premiere Nov. 15, pitched it and ultimately wrote the screenplay. 

“The writing came after we went through a couple drafts and really there was a key moment where all the writers we were working with were men,” Banks said. “These guys came in and they just weren’t getting it, like the tone I was going for.”

She wrote a draft after that, which served as the main backbone for the movie. 

Banks said she had been interested in directing at an early age and even directed plays in college. However, she was frustrated that there were not many opportunities for women working off-screen.

“There was just not as much going on for women,” Banks said. “I thought I either have to believe that I am not as good at this job as [male actors] are, or I have to recognize that the system is against me. I chose the system.”

The experience led Banks to direct several projects, and she co-founded Brownstone Productions and made her big-screen directorial debut with “Pitch Perfect 2.” 

She believes that changes are taking place in Hollywood, but she said all industries need to address problems that prevent women from taking on leadership roles in different industries.  

“This is something that we all have to be talking about and thinking about now,” Banks said. “In Hollywood, we have the spotlight on us, and it’s especially important because we help create culture, and we help create the culture that creates the system that keeps women out of power.” 

She explained that during a conversation with fellow director Jay Roach, Roach acknowledged how the caregiving role placed on women to look after and take off from work to help family members.

“He was the first man in the industry that I had been speaking to about directing who acknowledged this to me,” Banks said. “He said, ‘I have never had to think about  — because I have a wife who takes care of my children, I have never had to think about about leaving town … because my family is taken care of, and I know that will not be the same for you.’”

Sydney Loew, a sophomore in the Iovine and Young Academy, said she enjoyed hearing Banks’ advice about the entertainment industry.

“I thought Elizabeth Banks had amazing advice for people entering the entertainment industry and she’s really cool,” Lowe said. “In her movies, she’s such a charismatic character, she always plays these quirky, fun people and in life she is quirky and fun, which just made the event awesome.”