Elizabeth Banks Video Interview On ‘The Next Three Days,’ Russell Crowe
Elizabeth Banks takes questions from Uinterview.com users about working with Russell Crowe in The Next Three Days.
Q: What would you do if a loved one was wrongly accused?
BANKS: I hope I’m never tested in this way, but if I were I don’t know if I could be brave enough to plan a break-out. I would probably go the route of Betty Anne Waters, who went to law school and figured out how to, you know, be her family member’s lawyer. I’d probably go that route maybe. I don’t know; I don’t think I’m brave enough to break someone out of prison, but I’m really glad Russell Crowe is the type of man who could do that. [Laughs.]
Q: What was your favorite memory of working with Russell Crowe on the movie?
BANKS: Gosh, we had so much fun on this film. I think it was really fun to be with someone who has been in a lot of action movies and is used to all the stunt work and the running and the driving. Russell was such a trooper and did everything and sort of took me along, literally, for the ride. I think my favorite day shooting with him, and also the scariest day for me, was we shot a scene when we’re driving through a tunnel. And at one point he said, Hey, take the wheel," while we were shooting in a tunnel with a car full of people. And I gave him this look, like, Are you crazy? But I didn’t really have a choice. So I did it, and I’m really glad that he trusted me with all of our lives, and it worked out fine, but it was very scary and really fun at the same time.
Q: I wanted to know if you did any research into prison life, and if you considered getting corn-rows for the part?
BANKS: I did. We were lucky enough to shoot this film at the Allegheny County Jail, where my character is actually imprisoned. So shooting there was really helpful and it was also great to sort of meet inmates, and I was able to sit in a cell and I wore all prison-issue clothes. And just, all my conversations with the people in the jails — we had the real warden play a warden in the film, so it was very real to me. Every day I had the walls of that place — that’s where we were, and it was a very sobering experience. I met a couple of women who I thought, okay, if I were in here with these two, they'd be my friends and they’d help me make it through. I definitely found a couple of people who I thought, okay, I could get through this.
Q: My follow-up question is: what was the most challenging action scene for you?
BANKS: For me, honestly, the most challenging part about making the movie was all the running. I think the first day we had to run down these corridors and I had to leap off this loading dock, and I immediately rolled my ankle — Day One. So from then on out it was just a consistent sort of, Okay, I’m gonna run on this ankle," even though it was a little busted up. But it worked out fine.
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I hope I'm never tested in this way, but if I were I don't know if I could be brave enough to plan a break-out. I would probably go the route of Betty Anne Waters, who went to law school and figured out how to, you know, be her family member's lawyer. I'd probably go that route maybe. I don't know; I don't think I'm brave enough to break someone out of prison, but I'm really glad Russell Crowe is the type of man who could do that. [Laughs.]
Gosh, we had so much fun on this film. I think it was really fun to be with someone who has been in a lot of action movies and is used to all the stunt work and the running and the driving. Russell was such a trooper and did everything and sort of took me along, literally, for the ride. I think my favorite day shooting with him, and also the scariest day for me, was we shot a scene when we're driving through a tunnel. And at one point he said, Hey, take the wheel," while we were shooting in a tunnel with a car full of people. And I gave him this look, like, Are you crazy? But I didn't really have a choice. So I did it, and I'm really glad that he trusted me with all of our lives, and it worked out fine, but it was very scary and really fun at the same time.
I did. We were lucky enough to shoot this film at the Allegheny County Jail, where my character is actually imprisoned. So shooting there was really helpful and it was also great to sort of meet inmates, and I was able to sit in a cell and I wore all prison-issue clothes. And just, all my conversations with the people in the jails -- we had the real warden play a warden in the film, so it was very real to me. Every day I had the walls of that place -- that's where we were, and it was a very sobering experience. I met a couple of women who I thought, okay, if I were in here with these two, they'd be my friends and they'd help me make it through. I definitely found a couple of people who I thought, okay, I could get through this.
[On the corn-rows] You know, I think we were trying to avoid those stereotypes. We gave up my blonde hair because they do not allow L'Oreal Preference in prison and that was sort of as real as I wanted to go. I let a lot of gray hairs grow in too, which was sort of shocking.
For me, honestly, the most challenging part about making the movie was all the running. I think the first day we had to run down these corridors and I had to leap off this loading dock, and I immediately rolled my ankle -- Day One. So from then on out it was just a consistent sort of, Okay, I'm gonna run on this ankle," even though it was a little busted up. But it worked out fine.
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