“She had us bewitched—and sometimes bewildered—with turns in the 40-Year Old Virgin, Role Models, Our Idiot Brother, and 30 Rock,” Men’s Health wrote.

“The studio execs were like, ‘People don’t want to see girls [in the bathroom].’ And I was like, ‘I’m writing from experience! You go to a club and you have to wait in a huge line, so people double up. And, yes, you think you’re only going to take a little pee, but sometimes some poops come out.’ We never got the pooping scene as right as they got it in ‘Bridesmaids.’”

The plot was very similar to Bridesmaids in the vein that a bride is forced to make her cousin into her maid of honor, needless to say it was never anything more than a script.

Banks joined DiCaprio on a trip to the Galápagos Islands to learn more about ocean conservation. And the vacation, she claims, changed her life.

In a recent interview in Self magazine, Banks claims that what she learned has altered the way she eats, shops, and lives.

“My trip to the Galápagos Islands in April was an amazing experience, says Banks. “I got interested in ocean conservation when it was presented to me in this very powerful way: When you go to Yellowstone and you see eagles and geysers and bears, you think, Thank goodness we don’t allow them to build a skyscraper here; thank goodness we’re conserving this land. We don’t do that with the ocean. Less than 1 percent of the planet’s oceans is preserved. That should change! I don’t think I’m the one who’s going to change the world, but hopefully, I can provide some momentum for change by sharing what I learned.”

The actress goes on to explain that she now tries to focus on things like consuming less, walking more, and eating the right kinds of foods.

I’m no scientist,” says Banks. “But it’s clear to me we’re putting too much pressure on the earth.”

According to Handelman, a former investment banker who spent his 20s working for Solomon Smith Barney and News Corp., “It was very important at the outset to establish our credibility as producers who could find material that is commercial and viable.”

Take “Surrogates,” a big-budget sci-fi thriller that stars Bruce Willis and opens Sept. 25 via Disney. Handelman (an admitted “comicbook nerd”) admired the graphic novel, so the couple started by courting its creator, Robert Venditti, who had always imagined Bruce Willis in the lead.

Then they pitched it to Mandeville’s Todd Lieberman, an old college friend from their days at the U. of Pennsylvania 17 years earlier (“Max started dating Elizabeth orientation week of our sophomore year,” Lieberman recalls).

Willis then bowed out of Oliver Stone’s Vietnam project “Pinkville” to “make our movie,” says Banks. “And Oliver subsequently had to make ‘W.’ in which I played Laura Bush, so I inadvertently created one of my favorite roles for myself.”

Since launching their Brownstone Prods. shingle two years ago, the couple have set up at least four more projects, including competitive a cappella comedy “Pitch Perfect” and “Expedition 6,” the true story of three astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station, both at Universal. They are also developing “America’s Most Hated Woman,” about atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair who lobbied against prayer in public schools, for Lifetime.

Only DreamWorks’ “Forever 21,” a “Working Girl”-style comedy with an ageism twist, is intended as a star vehicle for Banks, who sees producing as an extension of her craft: “I’m a trained storyteller. As an actor, we’re the last person to board the train that is a movie, but as a producer, I get to be there with the seed and watch it grow.”

P.O.V.

AGES: Banks: 35; Handelman: 36

HOME BASE: Los Angeles

INSPIRED BY: “We were impacted early on by Kennedy/ Marshall (who made “Seabiscuit” with Banks) as a husband-wife team who seem really grounded and are very respected,” Handelman says.

WEB: chooseyoursurrogate.com

The actress, who also stars in Eddie Murphy’s new movie, Meet Dave, says her fave red carpet dress is the Christian Dior sheath, seen here, which she wore to the Spiderman 3 premiere. “It was pretty and fresh, which is exactly how I wanted to feel that day,” explains Elizabeth, who also wore Dior jade and diamond earrings.

The vibrant ensemble looked stunning against her fair skin. “I’m really lucky. I don’t have circles under my eyes. I don’t have tired-looking skin,” says the star, who preserves her natural beauty by drinking lots of water. A Banks beauty tip: “I like cold compresses,” she adds. “If I’m in a rush, I’ll grab a soda can and stick it under my eyes.”

From My Style

New Movie: “What Was I Thinking?”

Actresses Leslie Mann and Elizabeth Banks will explore the comic side of bad relationships in “What Was I Thinking?,” a movie based on the nonfiction book of the same name.

The film will revolve around a woman who gets dumped during her engagement party. Her friends spring into action and whisk her away on a ski trip for healing and hedonism. Threading through their adventures on the trip are four flashbacks dealing in “worst ex-boyfriend” tales.

Mann (who happens to be married to Apatow) would play a woman who dates a lot but never seems to have serious relationships, while Banks is a woman on the rebound. Two other lead female parts have yet to be cast. (Source)

New Movie: “Forever 21″

Elizabeth Banks will star in and produce the workplace comedy “Forever 21.”

Mike Culbert and Mike Pellettieri wrote the screenplay for the DreamWorks Studios project, which is now looking for a director.

Banks’ most recent big-screen role was in the horror film “The Uninvited.” In 2008 she appeared in “W.,” “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and “Role Models.” She has just signed on to star with Leslie Mann in the comedy “What Was I Thinking?” (Source)

Elizabeth Banks is probably best known for her role as the showerhead-loving bookstore clerk Beth in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and her turn as Zach Braff’s girlfriend in Scrubs. In each of those roles, the 34-year-old Banks exhibited an open-hearted charm and a sly intelligence that belied the goofy-blonde stereotype of her characters, stealing every scene she was in. But rather than a one-trick comedic actress, Banks has proved real diversity in her roles; once you knew who she was, it turned out that she was everywhere — from the Spider-Man films to Seabiscuit to Slither. This month alone has given us two very different Bankses: first up, she channeled Laura Bush in Oliver Stone’s W., and this week, she returns to comedy (and sex) with her starring role in Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno, in which Banks and Seth Rogen play roommates who decide to cast, direct, and act in a porn to raise money. The film has already earned buzz for its raciness, Smith’s fights with the MPAA for an R rating, censoring of the posters in the U.S., and more (like an ongoing joke about a fecal mishap and a view of Jason Mewes’ goodies and well-groomed pubic hair ) — but it’s also a sweet rom-com about two roommates falling in love. On the eve of its release, Banks talked to Premiere about her affinity for Seth Rogen, playing Laura Bush, and her descent, in her next role, into evil.

Zack and Miri is about two roommates who make a porno in an attempt to escape their debt. Is this the ultimate recession film?
It’s a blueprint for how to get out of the economic crisis.

So it’s a service film.
It really is. We’re doing a solid for the American people. More than anything, I think, though, we’re supplying an outlet for escape from the current craziness that’s happening right now. If you want to go to the movies and laugh, this is your movie.

It does seem your economic plan involves sharing a camera with Seth Rogen — I heard he suggested you for the part of Miri.
He did, yeah, thank you.

This is the second time you two have played a couple onscreen — your characters ended up together at the end of 40-Year-Old Virgin — or the third if you count “I’m Fucking Seth Rogen,” the viral video you two made in response to Sarah Silverman’s “I’m Fucking Matt Damon.”
Oh that’s right, the video! I really consider Seth my acting soul mate, we have incredible chemistry. I would love to work together again and again and again. It probably won’t happen, but a girl can dream.

What was it like working with actual porn stars?
It was pretty great. I was so happy to have professionals to take care of that business. They were so comfortable and into it. Katie Morgan especially — she’s so funny in the movie, she’s led a very interesting life, and I think she does a great job in the movie.

There’s already been a lot of controversy surrounding the film — over the word “porno” in the title in particular. There was a story about a kid asking his dad what a porno was after seeing an ad for the film. What did you think about that?
I want to know if that kid has seen stories about the Rwandan genocide and also asked his dad about the genocide. I think there are way things worse going on in our world than having to explain to your nine year old — who can already read! — what the word “porno” means, which is in the dictionary, and the kid could look it up.

Seth Rogen again plays the underachiever man-child in this film. What do you think about that kind of character in a romantic comedy?
I think the great thing about Kevin Smith is that he makes Zack and Miri equals in this movie. I mean, they’re both equally losers. [laughs] They’re both equally lovable, they’re both equally on a path, they’re both equally in love. He really found a way to make a romantic comedy that is truly funny and in the same vein as these sort of dirty bromances. But he put the romance back into it.

You and Rogen did this experimental Tony Kaye short film called This is Not Sex. Can you tell me a little about the idea behind that?
In all honesty, I’m not really a fan of that film. It was the product of a photo shoot, and they also used live-action cameras as well as photo cameras. We were doing a really interesting photo spread for Mean Magazine, and while we shot the photo spread they shot video and edited it together. So it was not anything particularly conscious that we did. We were there to do a photo spread. And we had no say in the actual video.

That explains a lot.
It does. It mostly explains why it’s not funny.

You also just did W., in which you played Laura Bush. That seems like such a different role for you. How did you get the part?
[laughs] You sound so surprised, like, how the hell did you get that job? I literally just went and met with Oliver. I think Oliver Stone is very instinctual with his casting choices, and I think he just thought I had an essence that he was looking for to be Laura Bush. And we had a great conversation about it, and I knew I could do it. I went to drama school, and playing Laura Bush is one of those roles that drama school particularly prepares you for. Because it’s all about the research and the external work — you know, you really work from the outside in, in that you really need to get the hair and the makeup and the jewelry and the clothes and the shoes all correct and on the money, and then while I was worrying about all that and making sure the wigs worked and making sure I had all that done, I was doing my research into who this woman really is. And then hopefully, you bring that into it to make a three dimensional character.

What research did you do?
I mined as much biographical material as I could get my hands on. I read biographies, I watched tons of video, I downloaded interviews that she’s given and listened to them on my iPod nonstop. I went to her homepage. The First Lady has a great homepage, it kind of updates you on what she does on a daily basis.

You could easily have been pigeonholed as the goofy blonde, but your roles have been pretty diverse. How have you kept it fresh?
I have no idea. It’s partially out of my control. I really don’t know — I’m just responding to the best material and the best directors I can work with, really. When Oliver Stone calls you up and says do you want to be in a movie, you say yes. When Kevin Smith says do you want to be in a movie, you say yes. They’re hugely iconic directors and they have unique voices, and you know it’s not going to be boring. Those are going to be great jobs.

You’re next doing a remake of a Korean horror film and a David O. Russell comedy — also very different projects.
Very different, but the David O. Russell movie [The H-Man Cometh] I think is not going to happen. It’s pretty much fallen apart.

Oh, no. Well, tell me about the horror film.
Yeah, Uninvited. I wanted to explore a darker side of myself. I play a potential serial killer — you’re not really sure who I am. But I am the evil stepmother, sort of in the vein of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle — the Rebecca De Mornay character. You’re not really sure what my motivation are, or what my past is. [pauses] I was just interested in playing evil.

From Premiere

Today’s ‘HD Hottie’ is Elizabeth Banks, who stars tonight in high-def in Invincible on Starz Edge at 11 p.m. ET.

The 34-year-old actress, who was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, won several small roles in films such as Spider-man, Shaft and TV shows such as Sex and the City and Without a Trace. But her first big break came when she was cast as Jeff Bridges’ wife in the 2003 hit movie, Seabiscuit.

Following that film, Elizabeth reprised her role in Spider-man 2 and Spider-man 3 (also with Tobey Maguire from Seabiscuit) and has starred in Fred Claus with Vince Vaughn and was a regular for one season on NBC’s Scrubs.

So, here is Elizabeth Banks, today’s HD Hottie:

From TV Predicitions

Elizabeth Banks has starred opposite many a comedic leading man, including Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Vince Vaughn (Fred Claus), Eddie Murphy (this summer’s Meet Dave), and Seth Rogen (Kevin Smith’s upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno). But now she’ll soon get serious with her just-announced role as First Lady Laura Bush in Oliver Stone’s biopic W. And while the amusingly ironic juxtaposition of Zack and Miri Make a Porno with a film about George W. Bush is not lost on Banks, the actress is much more focused on perfecting her interpretation of Mrs. Bush. EW.com spoke to Banks about her involvement in this sure-to-be controversial film.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How do you research the sitting First Lady?
ELIZABETH BANKS: I’m reading — I have about six books. I have the A&E biography that they did, I have all of her speeches, anything that I could find. I just bought her episode of Charlie Rose. I have a lot on my iPod right now. I’m very interested in getting her voice. I feel like if I get her hair and her voice right, it will go a long way toward creating the character.

Does it make it harder that she’s so visible right now and everyone has an idea of what she’s like?
Look, we’re not making a documentary. I mean, it’s a fictionalization on some level, with elements of reality, because there are so many well-documented moments of their lives that will be in the movie. But I’m never going to be Laura Bush; I can only hope to have her essence, and I hope to do right by her. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the First Lady.

Do you know how you will play her right now, or are you still trying to figure that out?
No, I’m still trying to figure that out. I met Laura Bush once, which was very interesting. Back in 2003, the White House hosted a screening of Seabiscuit, and they were kind enough to invite all of us to the movie, and they hosted a little dinner. My husband and I both chatted with Laura and George. It was really fun and they were very cordial hosts.

Did you get a sense of her at that point?
I did. I have an impression of her that certainly is informing my portrayal.

Do you get a sense from Oliver Stone that this is going to be a polemic that goes after George W. Bush?
Oliver Stone is a dramatist first and foremost, a storyteller — a great storyteller at that — and he wants to portray true human beings.

Now what about your personal politics — are you a Democrat or a Republican?
I’m a registered Democrat.

Do you think it will be at all challenging to keep your political views out of your performance?
No, no. I’m really not looking at it from a political perspective, particularly. I think Laura is very even-keeled and a great supporter of her husband, which as First Lady and his wife is probably the right move. So I will be honoring that. I guess I would say that, overall, that’s my hope — that I honor Laura Bush with my performance.

It’s just very interesting because this is a biopic that’s being done during his term in office.
Yeah, I actually think that [the script is] not a particularly controversial take. I think the controversy is coming out of the fact that we’re making the movie while he’s still in office. But I really think if this movie were made 20 years later, it would stand up. I just think the movie overall will add to the legacy of President Bush. It will become part of the record, I suppose.

That’s got to be kind of daunting to think of it that way
Yes and no. PBS just aired [the Frontline report] Bush’s War and there was [the 2000 campaign documentary] Journeys with George, and there are all kinds of things. You know, I think this will be a small part of that record.

I had been told about an internal positioning statement from the production that says this movie will call into question all that you know about George W. Bush as a president. Does the script defend that? Because what you’ve said is that it’s not really controversial.
Well, that’s my opinion of it. I mean, controversy comes out of opinion — mine is that it’s not very controversial. Let’s put it this way, I’m sleeping well at night.

From EW.com

February 14, 2008 – Mini Bio: Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, actress and Babe of the Day Elizabeth Banks began her career appearing in television shows like Sex in the City, Third Watch and Law and Order, before she finally swung (pun intended) onto the big screen in the hugely-successful Spider-Man films. Banks starred as Daily Bugle receptionist Betty Brant in all three-blockbuster installments of the Spider-Man franchise, and though her role was relatively minor, her turn as Betty Brant helped catapult Banks to success on both the small and big screens.

After a supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can in 2002, Banks’ breakout role came in the hit comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin, where she nearly stole the show as Beth, the sex-crazed bookstore employee.

After starring turns in the football underdog movie Invincible and the over-the-top horror film Slither, Banks made a splash on the small screen once again with a recurring role in Scrubs, where she played the love interest of J.D. (Zack Braff). In her latest film, Banks plays opposite Rachel Weisz and Isla Fisher in the romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe also starring Ryan Reynolds.

Best Work:
Scrubs, The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Upcoming Projects:
Banks is slated to appear in a number of films, including A Tale of Two Sisters, The H-Man Cometh, and Starship Dave.

From IGN