An Evening with Elizabeth Banks: An SF Sketchfest Tribute

SF Sketchfest thrilled to pay tribute to multi-talented actor, director, and producer Elizabeth Banks, who will sit down for an in-depth conversation, moderated by Michael Ian Black.

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Actor, producer, writer and director Elizabeth Banks is known for roles in both comedy and drama, as well as film and television. Her work includes stand-out performances in projects including "The Hunger Games" franchise, "Love & Mercy", and "The Lego Movie". Banks is also a four-time Emmy nominee for her recurring roles in "30 Rock" and "Modern Family" as well as her host role on ABC's "Press Your Luck". Most recently, Banks can be seen in Amazon's TV adaptation of "The Better Sister" alongside Jessica Biel, based on the best-selling novel of the same name. The series aired on Prime Video to the highest viewership of any new series on the platform. She will next be seen in Peacock's "The Miniature Wife", opposite Matthew Macfadyen, playing spouses locked in a surreal power struggle after a technological accident. Banks will also serve as Executive Producer on the series. Additionally, she will soon be seen in the upcoming feature "Dreamquil", opposite John C. Reilly, a dark comedic drama that follows two strangers whose lives collide in unexpected ways over the course of a single night. Banks will also be seen starring as Karen Read in a limited series for Prime Video Television set around the Karen Read trial. She will also serve as Executive Producer on the Warner Bros. TV series.

In 2023, she directed and produced Universal's hit comedy-thriller "Cocaine Bear", which surpassed box office expectations. That same year, she starred in Apple TV+'s "The Beanie Bubble" alongside Zach Galifianakis and Sarah Snook. In 2022, she led the feature drama "Call Jane" opposite Sigourney Weaver, which premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance and the London Film Festival. She also appeared in "Skincare" and "A Mistake".

In 2020, Banks portrayed Jill Ruckelshaus in FX/Hulu's Emmy-nominated "Mrs. America". In 2019, she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in "Charlie's Angels" and reprised her voice role as "Wyldstyle" in "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part", the sequel to the 2014 box-office hit "The Lego Movie" opposite Chris Pratt. The first film grossed more than $469 million world-wide. She also returned as Effie Trinket in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2" (2015), and appeared in "Magic Mike XXL", Netflix's "Wet Hot American Summer" revival, and hosted "Saturday Night Live".

Her other feature credits include "Love & Mercy", "People Like Us", "Every Secret Thing", "Little Accidents", "Walk of Shame", "W", in which Banks garnered critical-acclaim for her role as "First Lady Laura Bush"; her breakthrough role in the Academy Award winning film "Seabiscuit", in which she starred as "Marcela Howard" opposite Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges; Haim Saban's "Power Rangers", Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can", "Magic Mike XXL", "Our Idiot Brother", "The Details", "Zack and Miri Make a Porno", "What to Expect When You're Expecting", "Man on a Ledge", "The Next Three Days", "Role Models", "Meet Dave", "Invincible", "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", "Fred Claus", "Sisters", "Slither", "Walk of Shame", "Heights", "The Baxter", "The Trade", "Ordinary Sinner", "The Uninvited", "Daltry Calhoun", "Sexual Life", John Singleton's "Shaft", Columbia Pictures' three blockbuster hit franchise "Spider-Man" as journalist "Betty Brant", and the cult hit "Wet Hot American Summer".

Banks earned three Emmy Award nominations for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" for her performance as "Avery Jessup" on "30 Rock" and her guest appearances as "Sal" on ABC's "Modern Family". Banks was also nominated for her host role on the hit ABC reboot of "Press Your Luck". She also appeared in a recurring role as "Dr. Kim Porter" on NBC's "Scrubs". Banks reprised her role as Lindsay in Netflix's "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" and "Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later".

Her theater work includes roles with the American Conservatory Theater, the Guthrie Theater, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

On the production side, Banks made her directorial debut in 2015 with "Pitch Perfect 2" which was the highest opening weekend for a musical in history, the biggest opener for a first-time feature film director, and the second-largest opening for a female director. It also garnered her the Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year award at the 2015 CinemaCon Awards. She made her commercial debut directing a 2017 Superbowl television ad for detergent brand Persil. Also in 2017, Banks starred in and produced "Pitch Perfect 3". She produced the "Pitch Perfect" franchise through her production company Brownstone Productions, along with her husband Max Handelman.

With a first-look film deal at Universal across both film and TV, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman's Brownstone Productions' slate currently includes multiple film, television and digital collaborations across various networks and studios, including Universal, Sony Pictures Animation, Disney, Amazon, Legendary, Lionsgate, Fox, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu and Peacock. Following the previous slate which included the "Pitch Perfect" franchise, "Cocaine Bear" at Universal, "Bottoms" at MGM's Orion Pictures, and "Charlie's Angels" the current film slate includes "Dreamquil" starring Elizabeth Banks and John C. Reilly in post-production and "Foreign Relations" starring Glenn Powell and Nick Jonas at Amazon Studios. On the television side, Brownstone produced the critically-acclaimed series "Shrill" at Hulu, "Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin", which was Peacock's biggest-ever comedy launch, and the Emmy-nominated hit game show, "Press Your Luck" on ABC. Upcoming television projects include "The Miniature Wife", "The Delicacy", "Pitch Perfect: Idols" and "Pitch Perfect: Summer Hits Different" at Peacock; "Pitch Perfect: K-Pop Idols" and "Crush", under their first look deal with Universal Television and the adult comedy animated series "Bedrock" at Fox, with Banks voicing the role of "Pebbles".

In 2021, Banks signed a multi-project development and first-look deal with Audible, hosting her first podcast "My Body, My Podcast". The six-episode autobiographical series explores topics around sex and sexual health. Banks is Co-owner and Chief Creative Officer of Archer Roose Wines, a leading female-owned luxury canned wine company that has distribution deals with Target, Kroger, Sprouts, JetBlue, Total Wine, Princess Cruises and other major retailers across the country. Banks also serves as the first US ambassador for skincare brand No7 and is co-owner of Boston Legacy, a U.S.-based women's professional soccer team committed to advancing gender equity and expanding visibility for female athletes.

Originally from Massachusetts, Banks earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater. In 2024, she returned to Penn to deliver the university's commencement address. She is an advocate for reproductive rights and arts education, serving organizations including the Center for Reproductive Rights (as Chair of its Creative Council), Planned Parenthood, LA's Best, Temple Israel of Hollywood, Turnaround Arts, The First Lady's Reach Higher Initiative, Heifer International and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Turnaround Arts. She currently resides in Los Angeles.