Elizabeth Banks is known for acting in an array of projects ranging from The Hunger Games to Pitch Perfect, but she’s also a director in Hollywood. Banks has helmed big films such as Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie’s Angels (2019) and her upcoming movie Cocaine Bear is hitting theaters later this month. In honor of her new film, Banks recently had a chat with Variety and revealed she previously had an interest in working with both Marvel and DC.
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“I can’t do someone else’s vision,” Banks explained. “I really want to bring my sensibility to things.” The director explained that the last big franchise film she was “really interested” in directing was Thor: Ragnarok. “And nothing ever happened,” she explained, adding that “a call was made” about making a pitch, but it never got that far. “No one called me [back],” Banks revealed. “Taika Waititi got the job. Rightfully so.” She added of Thor, “I have an attraction to the sensibility … That character being funny and knowing how good Chris [Hemsworth] is at making fun of himself, that’s my vibe.”
She joked to the outlet about bringing up Thor, “You’re going to clickbait me in that f*cking article now. I never should have said it out loud.” She added, “I had a pitch for a Catwoman movie a while ago, but I don’t think it’ll fit into the mandate right now … But maybe someday.”
What is Cocaine Bear About?
The comedy/thriller was helmed by Elizabeth Banks and is based on the true story of a black bear who ate an incredible amount of cocaine. Sadly, the bear did not survive his experiment with drugs, but he did earn a name for himself in Lexington, Kentucky where you can see him on display.
“I felt a lot of sympathy for the bear,” Banks told EW about the real-life Cocaine Bear. “Like, wow, this bear – which, in real life, ended up dead after eating all this coke – ended up being sort of collateral damage in this War on Drugs. And I just thought, ‘Well, then this movie can be a revenge story for the bear.’ And it just gave me a point of view and a purpose for making it. Like, there’s a real message here: ‘We should not f*ck with nature, nature will win.’”
Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell (The Americans), Emmy-winner Margo Martindale (The Americans), Emmy-winner Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Kahyun Kim (American Gods), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project) and newcomer Scott Seiss.
Cocaine Bear is scheduled to hit theaters on February 24th.
