Elizabeth Banks takes the reins on ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ – Associated Press

Posted by Cups
May 15, 2015

In an interview with Associated Press, Elizabeth Banks talks directing Pitch Perfect 2, shooting the World’s performance in front of thousands of people and much more!

Check out some quotes:

“At one point, she went out on stage and started whipping them into a frenzy,” said Banks’ husband and producing partner, Max Handelman. But the crowd really lost it when she brought a few Bellas out, too.
“It was her connecting the fans with the girls and letting everyone know that this was a big deal,” said Handelman.

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As plans for a sequel started to take shape, though, the first film’s director, Jason Moore, signed on to the Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy “Sisters,” and suddenly “Pitch Perfect 2” needed a director.
Banks, known for roles in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “The Hunger Games,” had been thinking about directing for some time. She directed plays at the University of Pennsylvania, and had been taking on small projects over the past few years to learn as much as she could. Plus, as a producer and actor on the first film, Banks already knew the a cappella world and had the trust of returning cast like Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson.
“Right as I was raising my hand to do it, the studio said, ‘Why don’t you do it?'” she said.

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“I certainly did not plan for my feature directorial debut to be a giant musical,” she laughed. But she dove in and endeavored to make everything — costumes, performances and stakes — bigger. There’s even a cameo by “Pitch Perfect” superfans the Green Bay Packers.
“I feel that I have more to offer this business and that I was being underused,” Banks said of directing and producing. “I knew it would probably change my life. I also knew that I had to say yes. Women just don’t get offered these opportunities.”
For the over four-months-long shoot, Banks relocated to Baton Rouge with her husband and two sons and “lived like a monk.” She put in her 12-hours on set, spent as much time with her children as possible, and slept.
“I’m a wonderful multitasker…as are most moms that I know. That helps,” she said.