Elizabeth Banks on the Charlie's Angels reboot and equal pay in Hollywood

Elizabeth Banks, the writer, director, producer and star of the new Charlie’s Angels reboot, has opened about how she does not feel she owes anyone an explaination on her fertility choices, on working the system for herself and on getting paid on NET-A-PORTER’s digital title, PORTER. “I liked getting paid,” Banks says simply, referring to having worked since she was 12 years old. “It’s OK to want money in the way that your male colleagues want money.”

The actor has considerable credibility both in front of and behind the camera, having featured in the Hunger Games franchise, W. and 30 Rock, and with Pitch Perfect, which she produced as well as starred in, and then with Pitch Perfect 2, her directorial debut – the film made $69 million at the box office on its opening weekend, setting a record for a first-time director. It remains the highest-grossing music comedy film of all time.

Now, she’s added a fourth string to her filmmaking bow with the forthcoming reboot of Charlie’s Angels, which she has written, on top of producing, directing and starring in: “It was a great business decision, in my opinion, to put together the existing IP with something I really wanted to make,” Banks continues.

Banks is hugely proud of the narrative within her reboot of Charlie’s Angels: “I told the studio and my collaborators: ‘I want to make a movie about women working, and I do not want to tell a story about the boyfriend they don’t see enough, or the mother they don’t call enough, or the cat they don’t feed.’ Those are ridiculous tropes in women’s movies, and you do not see James Bond worrying about calling his f***ing mother.”

However, Banks insists that she never set out to make a political point: “I’m not here to re-teach feminism to young women. I am here to empower them and to have them see themselves in a movie, which happens far too infrequently, especially in the action genre.”

Nonetheless, she predicted a backlash to her version, due in no small part to the fact that she – a woman – wore so many hats in the making of it: “To demand that I’m going to write, direct, produce and act in this

movie is a ridiculously egocentric statement to make, and women are often not allowed to have that kind of ambition. So I’m assuming there’ll be a backlash at some point.”

Her Charlie’s Angels cast includes Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott (who recently starred as Jasmine in Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin) and British newcomer Ella Balinska. On Kristen Stewart (who plays Sabina), Banks admits she wasn’t the most obvious choice: “She knew this was an opportunity to change the trajectory of the opportunities she was being given in Hollywood, and I wanted to do that for her. As a producer, I make movies that star women all the time, and she was not on the list [of potential stars]. I felt that needed to be changed.” Banks adds: “[She] doesn’t play their [by which she means Hollywood’s] game.”

Looking back at her earlier career, Banks wasn’t exactly struggling, but neither was her career scaling in the way she’d hoped: “I looked at the male peers I came up with [including Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper, both of whom she has worked with in the Wet Hot American Summer franchise], and they were going off to play superheroes and making millions of dollars. I either had to believe I wasn’t as good as they were, or that the system was rigged against me and they had a lot more opportunity than I did. I had to work the system for myself, because it was not going to give me what I wanted.”

In 2002, Banks formed a production company with her husband, Max Handelman: “When I first started producing, everybody was just, like: ‘Who? The blonde actress with the small boobs? She wants to do something? And her husband? OK. Good luck.’”

She and Handelman met on their first day of college and have been together ever since: “Twenty seven years. It’s the thing I’m most proud of. I do think people grow together or they grow apart. We definitely grew together. We were constantly making decisions that kept us close.”

Their two sons, Felix, 8, and Magnus, 7, were born via surrogacy, as Banks is unable to carry children, a fact about which she has always been open. However, until recently, she says: “Women’s reproductive issues were things you would whisper about in small circles.” Now, “there’s #ShoutYourAbortion and IVF Facebook groups. I definitely think I’m still judged for what I’ve done and that people don’t understand my choices, but I don’t feel I owe anybody any explanation. And, if my story helps people feel less alone on their journey, then I’m grateful for that.”

Interview highlights:

Elizabeth Banks on writing, producing, directing and starring in Charlie’s Angels: “It was a great business decision, in my opinion, to put together the existing IP with something I really wanted to make. I’m very pragmatic. You either have to embrace or reject how the system works. I’m an artist with patrons, so you have to take what they want into consideration.”

Elizabeth Banks on predicting some kind of public backlash on the statement of writing, producing, directing and starring in Charlie’s Angels: “To demand that I’m going to write, direct, produce and act in this movie is a ridiculously egocentric statement to make, and women are often not allowed to have that kind of ambition. So I’m assuming there’ll be a backlash at some point.”

Elizabeth Banks on her mother working and watching the original 1970s TV series starring Farrah Fawcett: “My mother worked my whole life, so it never occurred to me that I wasn’t going to be a professional woman. But it was the first time I saw women really doing a job that only men did, and succeeding at it.”

Elizabeth Banks on making Charlie’s Angels a film about women working: “I told the studio and my collaborators: ‘I want to make a movie about women working, and I do not want to tell a story about the boyfriend they don’t see enough, or the mother they don’t call enough, or the cat they don’t feed.’ Those are ridiculous tropes in women’s movies, and you do not see James Bond worrying about calling his f***ing mother.”

Elizabeth Banks on empowering women through her films: “I’m not here to re-teach feminism to young women. I am here to empower them and to have them see themselves in a movie, which happens far too infrequently, especially in the action genre.”

Elizabeth Banks on Kristen Stewart not being the obvious choice as Sabina in Charlie’s Angels: “She knew this was an opportunity to change the trajectory of the opportunities she was being given in Hollywood, and I wanted to do that for her,” says Banks of the 29-year-old Twilight star. “As a producer, I make movies that star women all the time, and she was not on the list [of potential stars]. I felt that needed to be changed.”

“[She] doesn’t play their [by which she means Hollywood’s] game.”

Elizabeth Banks on getting paid and being OK with wanting the same as male counterparts: “I liked getting paid. It’s OK to want money in the way that your male colleagues want money.”

Elizabeth Banks on the parts she was landing when she was starting out in acting: “I’m very all-American, as it turns out. I sold a lot of Whoppers.”

Elizabeth Banks on comparing herself to her male peers earlier in her career: “I looked at the male peers I came up with [including Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper, both of whom she has worked with in the Wet Hot American Summer franchise], and they were going off to play superheroes and making millions of dollars. I either had to believe I wasn’t as good as they were, or that the system was rigged against me and they had a lot more opportunity than I did. I had to work the system for myself, because it was not going to give me what I wanted.”

Elizabeth Banks on when she first started producing: “When I first started producing, everybody was just, like: ‘Who? The blonde actress with the small boobs? She wants to do something? And her husband? OK. Good luck.’”

Elizabeth Banks on her 27-year marriage to Max Handelman: “Twenty seven years. It’s the thing I’m most proud of. I do think people grow together or they grow apart. We definitely grew together. We were constantly making decisions that kept us close.”

Elizabeth Banks on being committed in her marriage: “[We are] a little traditional when it comes to marriage. I think there are people that go into marriage thinking: ‘If it doesn’t work, I’ll get divorced.’ That’s not me. You’re going to have bad moments. You’ve committed to something. Do you value it or don’t you?”

Elizabeth Banks on dragging her husband into the film industry: “He worked an 80-hour week; I was traveling all the time in a career that requires me to film on location for up to six months of the year. Forming the company really was about trying to combine our professional and personal goals.”

Elizabeth Banks on reproduction issues and not owing anyone an explanation: “Women’s reproductive issues were things you would whisper about in small circles.” Now, “there’s #ShoutYourAbortion and IVF Facebook groups”. She pauses. “I definitely think I’m still judged for what I’ve done and that people don’t understand my choices, but I don’t feel I owe anybody any explanation. And, if my story helps people feel less alone on their journey, then I’m grateful for that.”

To see the full interview, head to Porter or download the NET-A-PORTER app for iPhone, iPad and Android