Elizabeth Banks names her favourite movie: “I love how epic it is in scope”
Switching from actor to director is not always the most straightforward line to walk. History is littered with examples of those who did well in front of the camera but found it a whole different kettle of fish once they stepped behind it.
You only need to watch William Shatner’s Star Trek V to get a good example of this. Or any of James Franco’s 39 films. But thankfully, Elizabeth Banks is not a name on that list as, despite still being fairly early on in her directorial career, she helmed the absolutely insane Cocaine Bear, which qualifies her as a success no matter what else she does.
If you haven’t seen the film yet, then you should, it’s very much a ‘does what it says on the tin’ movie, in that it tells the story of what happens when a fully grown American black bear has too much (or any) cocaine and goes on a murderous drug-addled rampage searching for more gear.
Not many directors would be brave enough to get into the hot seat to lead such a film, but Banks was one of them, and she did a fine job too. To her eternal credit, Banks was aware enough to know that a movie with that kind of premise could well end her directing career before it had really begun, but decided to take the gamble regardless.
It paid off in a big way, with the movie taking in $90million at the box office against a budget of around $30m. It was also notable for being one of Ray Liotta’s final roles, and the film is dedicated to his memory.
Banks threw herself into the project, telling Variety on release that: “I don’t recommend anyone do this, but if you go down the internet hole of looking at actual animal attacks on humans, it’s f**king gnarly as s**t. I love gore. I grew up on Evil Dead. The gore is part of the fun of the ride.”
Although Banks was an established and successful actor, her few directorial efforts up to that point had been a mixed bag; Pitch Perfect 2 performed very well, but a Charlie’s Angels reboot had flopped badly, something for which Banks took responsibility.
Her taste in films is certainly varied, aside from being a fan of those aforementioned zombie flicks with Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise, she flits from sprawling westerns to musicals when selecting her five top films, plus a stone-cold Quentin Tarantino classic.
So, what is Elizabeth Banks’ favourite film?
Top of her list is the 1956 Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor epic Giant, a film that also starred James Dean in a role for which he received a posthumous Oscar nomination for ‘Best Actor’, having sadly died the previous year in a car accident.
Said Banks: “(My) Number one is Giant. Starting off with the incomparable James Dean. I love that movie. I love how epic it is in scope. I love that it’s about a woman who is coming into her own and thinks she’s going into one situation and, of course, has to dominate and overcome. For me, for my money, if I had to choose between Giant and Gone with the Wind, I’d go Giant every time.”
Giant certainly lived up to its name, both in scope and in ticket sales, with the $35million it recouped at the box office standing as a record until it was beaten by Christopher Reeve’s Superman in the ’70s.
Banks also picked 1994’s seminal crime caper Pulp Fiction, saying: “It was just so fresh and amazing, and the storytelling, you know, changed cinema forever. I just loved it. And it brought back John Travolta. Every character was incredible, and I loved its really dark sense of humor.”
That dark sense of humour is definitely something Banks can identify with; for one thing, Cocaine Bear is really, despite being ridiculously gory, supposed to be a comedy. And despite the fact that it tears people limb from limb, she also found some empathy for the marching powder-fuelled monster mammal.
She explains: “I really felt like this is so f**ked up that this bear got dragged into this drug run gone bad and ends up dead. I felt like this movie could be that bear’s revenge story.”
