While I was in New York on my press trip for Marvels’ The Avengers, we had the chance to screen the movie “People Like Us” (Check out my movie review for the film HERE). I never would have imagined getting the opportunity to meet and interview Elizabeth Banks, who plays Frankie in the film but it happened and I was stoked!



Elizabeth has had quite the busy year so far! You may recognize her as Effie in “The Hunger Games” or as baby store owner/nursery book author Wendy in the film “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”. On Friday, 6/29 (tomorrow), you’ll get to see her as Frankie in the film “People Like Us” and that is why we sat down with her for an interview.

Read on to find out what she says about her role as Frankie and filming “People Like Us”
(Part 2 of the interview will cover her advice for Moms, The highlights of her career, accepting an award from some of the cast members from “Magic Mike”, Balancing motherhood and her career, PLUS Much More!)

Filming “People Like Us”:

Her reaction when she read the script for the 1st time

“I was on an emotional roller coaster when I first read it and I thought Frankie was so strong…she is covering so much weakness with fake strength but she really is a survivor and that’s what I latched into. I love that despite all her emotional baggage and despite her circumstances she is hopeful and she is going to make a good life for her kid that is her goal. You’re always looking for an action to play in a movie and creating a safe haven for her kid is a really strong action.”

Her thoughts on her role as Frankie

A great role is a great role. This role of Frankie, this was a great role and I think any actress would tell you that this is the type of role they want to play. She’s got many layers and she’s got a great life force inside of her and I am always looking for the life force.”

*How did you prepare for this role?

“Frankie is a struggling working mom and recovering alcoholic…

Click on “Read More” to read the rest of the interview…

My sister was a single mom for many years, she is remarried now, but I took a lot of inspiration watching her with my niece and nephew. I also went to AA many times and I was very inspired there. It really empowered me to be Frankie and it really taught me why Frankie was the person that she was”.

Frankie’s body language seems jittery, how did you go about creating Frankie’s mannerisms?

“Well Frankie, she is very uncomfortable… she has a lot of energy that has nowhere to go (since she is no longer self-medicating). I think she really feels like she is carrying around the weight of the world and she really just needs a break.” She then went on to say that “Alex the director and I used to talk about how if Frankie could have anything in the world she would just go to Hawaii by herself for a week and be alone, so we started to call Chris Pine’s character, Sam, Frankie’s Hawaii”

Frankie is a working single mom who sometimes had to leave her son by himself with neighbors checking in on him. Her thoughts on if she would have done anything different had it been her.

“In families, especially today in America, I don’t think that many parents have the choice to stay home and raise their kids. We all need help…It’s a really strong message in the movie that you need to find family wherever you can.”

On working with Alex, being that this was his First time directing a movie

“He did great, he really writes for film”. “I have worked with a lot of first time director but Alex is an old pro in the actual business and more importantly he is a great story teller. He is an amazing writer and he is responsible for some of the biggest movies in the last few years, Start Trek & Transformers. Being a great story teller, in my opinion, is one of the top pre-requisites for being a good director.”

On top of that, it is a very personal story for him. It’s based on events that happened to him in his life. He did fictionalize a lot of it, his sister is not a recovering alcoholic and she was never a bar tender but she went up to him at a party and said hey, I am your sister” when they were 30 years old.”

When asked how the chemistry was between the cast she responded with “How does it look?” “Does it look good?” when we answered “yes” she said “then we did our job”. She goes on to say that she has a lot of respect for her co-star Chris Pine and that this is an opportunity for him to prove that he is not just a pretty face.

The questions below may give away some parts of the movie, so you can read them now or read them after you have seen the film. Either way is fine with me as long as you read them 😉

What were your thoughts when reading the script on how it took Sam so long to reveal who he was?

“We really struggled with that in the story telling partially because you worry that you lose the audience but he I so broken and that’s part of what is going on. These 2 people are extremely damaged and it turns out they were damaged by the same guy and what a great connection to make and part of what is going on in the movie is that he doesn’t want to admit to all of that. He knew his father was a bad father but he didn’t know why and to have this added to the bag of badness is almost too much to bear. To realize that your dad was even worse than you thought and then to come to the realization that he was better than you thought. It’s a big turn to make.”

What do you think about the part in the movie where Frankie changes her mind about accepting the money for her son?

“She was letting her pride get in the way of a good decision and that is something that has been an issue for her in her life. It’s something also that going to AA, it helped me to understand why she would put that wall up, keep that wall up and why luckily she is able to get around it.”

What was the most difficult movie scene for you to shoot?

The make-up scene at the house after the big fight and before watching the video because he is apologizing and she doesn’t want to hear it. “Chris & I really went at it that day and I made him work for it” (she laughed, we laughed)

* What was your most memorable moment while filming?

“I really loved driving up the coast in that red convertible, it was awesome. The movie poster was from that day. It was very blissful day.” We had a lot of freedom that day; there were no cameras in the car so we were just hanging out.  “That and the Henry’s Taco scene because it was all improv”.

Don’t forget “People Like Us” will be in theaters tomorrow 6/29!

Synopsis:

“People Like Us”, a drama/comedy about family, inspired by true events, starring Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) as Sam, a twenty-something, fast-talking salesman, whose latest deal collapses on the day he learns that his father has suddenly died. Against his wishes, Sam is called home, where he must put his father’s estate in order and reconnect with his estranged family. In the course of fulfilling his father’s last wishes, Sam uncovers a startling secret that turns his entire world upside down: He has a 30-year-old sister Frankie whom he never knew about (Elizabeth Banks). As their relationship develops, Sam is forced to rethink everything he thought he knew about this family—and re-examine his own life choices in the process.