Being a creative person is a really personal process so there is no one-size-fits-all advice, that's kind of the first thing I'd say. Because everybody's goals are different. Everybody's talents are different. Some women that I'm talking to want to create a television show. Some women want to be a director. They want to use comedy in different ways, and I find that really fascinating. The main thing I would say is, start! Just do it. Keep going. When people come at you with the negativity and the nos, you've got to ignore it. Push through.
Elizabeth BanksMy number one advice to high school girls is birth control. You want to keep all your options open for as long as possible? Birth control.
Elizabeth BanksI think people respond to me as a down-to-Earth, girl-next-door person, because I am one of those people. That's something I don't have to act very hard at.
Elizabeth BanksYou know, women in Hollywood, we don't get action franchises and superheroes. The rom-coms that made Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Reese Witherspoon stars are out of favor right now- nobody is making them. In this business, if you are an ambitious person, you don't wait for people to hand you opportunities. You have to make a way for yourself.
Elizabeth BanksI'm very grateful to be in a position now where I have a lot more control to tell the stories I want to tell. I feel no obligation to tell any one story. I will tell you my interest mostly lies in telling stories about empowered women, but I don't feel it's an obligation. But I do feel like I am servicing a voice.
Elizabeth Banks