In the ‘Hunger Games’ movies, Elizabeth Banks’ pink-haired character Effie Trinket had a memorable catchphrase: “May the odds be ever in your favor.”
In real life, the odds weren’t in Banks’ favor as she turned her attention to producing and directing.
After playing roles in many, many movies--including ‘Wet Hot American Summer,’ ‘Spider Man,’ ‘Seabiscuit’ and ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’--Banks was ready to expand her portfolio. Her company produced the sleeper hit ‘Pitch Perfect’ and she ended up directing the sequel.
More recently she launched the new Hulu series ‘Shrill,’ based on the Lindy West memoir of the same name, and she co-wrote and directed a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot that will be out in the fall. That track record puts her in an elite group of women hyphenates making big commercial projects.
Even before Banks really got started in the business, it seems clear that she had her eyes on the prize. She tells us about passing on a soap opera early on, and what she learned from other actresses she consulted for career advice.
Plus, she weighs in on Kevin Tsjuihara’s departure from Warner Brothers, and tells us why ‘Charlie’s Angels’ was ready for a reboot.