They Told Elizabeth Banks She Couldn’t Direct Men — She Nailed It

Here’s a fun fact from Hollywood that shouldn’t still be a thing, but apparently is: Elizabeth Banks, who’s directed blockbuster movies and iconic actors, was once seriously told she couldn’t direct men. Yes, you read that right. It came up on her recent visit to The Kelly Clarkson Show while she was out promoting her new series, The Miniature Wife. Banks was pretty candid about some not-so-subtle misogyny she’s run into as a director, and she’s got receipts (or, at least, some very satisfying come-backs).

‘You Can’t Direct Men’. Really?

Banks explained to Clarkson that, when she started directing, someone in the business more or less told her point blank:

“You can’t direct men. They won’t follow you.”

Now, if you’re imagining that she just ignored that and moved on, you’d only be half right. Banks decided she’d prove them wrong in the most direct way possible—by actually, you know, doing the job. She pointed to working with Ray Liotta (yeah, that Ray Liotta, Henry Hill from Goodfellas). According to Banks, she “nailed it,” and she feels like she’s checked that box. You can almost hear the sarcasm: all good, got my man-directing merit badge.

Is That Motivation? You Bet.

Clarkson asked her if being told women can’t direct men just motivated her to do exactly that. Banks didn’t hesitate. No surprise there—she’s always been outspoken about Hollywood’s lack of imagination where gender is concerned.

She also made it clear that, while she’s proud to be among female directors, the group is still tiny and could really use a growth spurt. Banks’s take: “We need more storytellers from all sorts of perspectives. And, by the way, way more people in the audience, too.” She says she gets real satisfaction from making sure women actually have agency in the stories she tells, which sounds like a pretty reasonable goal in 2024 (and yet still needs to be said out loud).

When Charlie’s Angels Got Weirdly Gendered

In 2023, talking to Rolling Stone, Banks pointed out another flavor of industry weirdness: people kept framing her take on Charlie’s Angels as some sort of female empowerment manifesto, whether she wanted that or not. The pitch she heard was: “You’re the first female director of Charlie’s Angels!” (with exclamation point energy) as if there was this massive, ancient tradition. Her response? Uh, guys, there’s only been the original TV show and the McG movies. Let’s keep it in perspective.

Banks’s own view is pretty straightforward: She just wanted to make a fun movie about characters she digs. There was no secret gender agenda. But, as Banks said, “You realize how the media can frame something, no matter how you framed it yourself.” She directed an action movie starring three women, and suddenly it’s a watershed moment for feminism in cinema. Was it special? Sure. Was that the only thing going on? Not really.

TL;DR: Elizabeth Banks Isn’t Here For Your Outdated Playbook

• Banks was directly told people wouldn’t accept a woman directing men.
• She went and directed Ray Liotta—zero issues to speak of.
• Banks thinks there’s still not nearly enough women in the director’s chair, and she wants to fix that.
• She’s not a fan of being branded “the female director” just for showing up to work, especially on movies like Charlie’s Angels where the franchise had barely any history in the first place.
• Her actual goal: Stories that give women real agency and don’t just check diversity boxes for PR.

Is it all a little bit eye-roll worthy that we’re still having these conversations? Absolutely. But at least Banks is calling it out and demolishing the dumb arguments along the way.