Elizabeth Banks says Hollywood once gave her a brutally sexist warning about directing men. She made sure to ignore it.
Banks appeared on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ while promoting her Peacock comedy series ‘The Miniature Wife’ and was asked about moments in her career when she had been made to feel small.
Her answer went straight to the power dynamics behind the camera. “I was literally told because I direct films that, ‘You can’t direct men. They won’t follow you,’” Banks said. Then she pointed to one major counterexample. “And then I directed Ray Liotta, who played Henry Hill in ‘Goodfellas,’ and I think I nailed it. Check. It’s all good.”
Banks Has Directed Major Studio Films
Banks has built a directing résumé that makes that old warning look especially weak. She directed ‘Pitch Perfect 2,’ which became a major hit with $287 million worldwide. She also directed the 2019 reboot of ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ which grossed $73 million, and the 2023 dark comedy ‘Cocaine Bear,’ which earned $90 million worldwide. ‘Cocaine Bear’ also featured Ray Liotta, one of the exact kinds of male Hollywood veterans Banks was supposedly unable to lead.
The actress, director, and producer has been candid before about how the industry talks about women behind the camera. Her frustration was especially clear after ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ which she felt was boxed in by the media as a “girl movie.”
She Says ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Was Misread
Banks told ‘The New York Times’ in 2022 that she wished the film’s marketing “had not been presented as just for girls.” She later told ‘Rolling Stone’ that the media seemed most interested in framing the film as a feminist manifesto.
“So much of the story that the media wanted to tell about ‘Charlie’s Angels’ was that it was some feminist manifesto,” Banks said. She pushed back on that framing. “I just loved the franchise,” she said. “There was not this gendered agenda from me.” Banks said the reaction ended up limiting both her and the film’s audience. “That was very much laid on top of the work, and it was a little bit of a bummer,” she said. “It felt like it pigeonholed me and the audience for the movie.”
Banks Wanted The Movie Marketed To Men Too
Banks also recalled asking why the movie was being pushed mainly through female-focused partnerships.
One proposed partnership involved Drybar, the blowout chain. Banks did not object to it, but she wanted broader marketing too. “I was like, ‘Alright… but could we have an ad during the baseball playoffs?’” she said. “It’s not only this one thing.”
She said the experience showed her how Hollywood often sees projects starring women. “It was interesting to see how the industry sees things that star women,” Banks said. “It was a real lesson for me.” When Kelly Clarkson asked whether being told she could not direct men made her more determined to prove otherwise, Banks kept it simple. “Yeah, of course!”
