Yahoo Movies Elizabeth Banks wanted to direct Thor: Ragnarok but didn't hear back from Marvel
Elizabeth Banks regrets saying this out loud, but here it is: She expressed an interest in directing Thor: Ragnarok — but then never heard back from Marvel.
The director and actress has revealed that she pitched herself for the job that ultimately went to Taika Waititi. "I wanted to break down some of the mythology around what kinds of movies women are interested in making," Banks told Variety of crafting her voice as a filmmaker in an interview published Wednesday.
But "nothing ever happened," she continued. "No one called me. Taika Waititi got the job. Rightfully so." Banks said she had an "attraction to the sensibility" presented in the film, which stars Chris Hemsworth. "That character being funny and knowing how good Chris is at making fun of himself — that's my vibe."
She added with a smile and grimace, "I brought up Thor. You're going to clickbait me in that f---ing article now. I never should have said it out loud." (Oops!)
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images; Marvel Studios Elizabeth Banks; Chris Hemsworth in 'Thor: Ragnarok'
Representatives for Marvel did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Banks was also asked if she ever reached out to new DC boss James Gunn — who directed her in the 2006 sci-fi horror film Slither — about a possible DC Studios project. She has not (yet), she said.
"I had a pitch for a Catwoman movie a while ago that I don't think will fit into the mandate right now," Banks said. "But maybe someday."
"I don't get approached that much about doing anything," she added. "But I'm open for business. That's the thing: I'm open for business."
With her new movie Cocaine Bear (out Feb. 24), Banks relished the opportunity to make a kooky story her own. "I can't do someone else's vision," she said. "I really want to bring my sensibility to things."
Based on a true story, the dark comedy trails a 500-pound black bear that consumes a significant amount of cocaine abandoned in a Georgia forest and embarks on a drug-fueled rampage, drawing an eccentric crowd of cops, criminals, and tourists into the mess. The late Ray Liotta, Brooklynn Prince, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Keri Russell star in the Banks-directed flick.
Universal Pictures 'Cocaine Bear'
"I knew when I read the script that I had the ability to make something truly unique," Banks told EW of the film back in December. "I felt a lot of sympathy for the 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.'"
"It just gave me a point of view and a purpose for making it," she added. "There's a real message here: We should not f--- with nature. Nature will win."
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