() — With her crazy new movie “Cocaine Bear,” Elizabeth Banks knew she wanted to “do something muscular and masculine.”
in a new interview with Variety Published Wednesday, Banks, who directed and co-produced the film about a drug-addicted bear on a killing spree, recounted how difficult it was to convince some powerful Hollywood powerhouses that a woman could direct such a film.
“I wanted to dispel some of the myth about what kind of movies women are interested in making,” Banks explains. “For some strange reason, there are still executives in Hollywood who say, ‘I don’t know if women can do technical things.’ There are people who say, ‘Women don’t like math.’ It’s something that persists.”
Elizabeth Banks, here in Los Angeles in November, talks about the challenges of making her new movie “Cocaine Bear.” Credit: Emma McIntyre/WireImage/Getty Images
Banks acknowledges that the new film, based on a true story from the 1980s about a drug delivery gone wrong in which a bear swallowed cocaine, is “a huge risk,” adding that “it could end my career.” “.
Part of the concern stems from the lackluster box office results of original comedies, which have made the industry less attracted to the genre.
But Banks is confident that the insanity of the concept, plus the bloody terrifying aspect of a cocaine-addicted bear tearing people to shreds, will make people go to the movies.
“I love gore. I grew up on ‘Evil Dead,'” Banks told Variety. “The gore is part of the fun.”
The premiere of “Cocaine Bear” is scheduled for February 24.
