Elizabeth Banks

Look, I’m no stranger to college acapella groups. When I was an undergraduate, a ragtag group of choir kids — myself most definitely included  —  organized the first men’s acapella group in the modern history of the university, and a quick Google search shows that the group is still alive and well to this day (no, I won’t tell you the name of the university or the name of the ensemble, so don’t bother asking). So am I pretty much as cool and influential as the Bellas in the Pitch Perfect movie series? Why, yes. I’d like to think so, yes.

Pitch Perfect has become of the unlikeliest (and therefore more welcome) Hollywood franchises in recent years. The series combines the college hijinks of something like Animal House with the competition of an underdog sports movie like The Bad News Bears, and throws in just a dash of Christopher Guest comedy. The first movie was a particular delight, and while the second film didn’t quite recapture the magic, I’m hoping the third film, Pitch Perfect 3, will wrap up the series with style.

It’s only taken sixteen years, but Wet Hot American Summer is finally taking us Ten Years Later. The whole Camp Firewood gang is back for the Netflix sequel series trailer, which now sets an August premiere.

A celebrity ritual no less time-honored than the public callout, the public apology is a vital part of being and remaining famous. Think of it like an annual physical, but for your public profile: say something wild enough to grab some headlines and ensure that your name’s sticking in the population’s heads, let it sit for a short while, and once the time is right, issue a dignified apology to show humility and self-awareness. It’s a rich Hollywood tradition, and Elizabeth Banks is the latest personality to run this gauntlet. But when you come at the king, and most especially when that king is literal King of Hollywood Steven Spielberg, you best not miss.

As noted in a new item at Variety today, Sony has been on something of a roll when it comes to getting female talent behind the camera. They’ve put together a respectable slate of films directed by women: Catherine Hardwicke was tapped to translate narco thriller Miss Bala for American audiences, Broad City mastermind Lucia Aniello wrote-directed the upcoming bachelorette-shenanigans comedy Rough Night, Michelle MacLaren landed the Sam Claflin-led thriller Nightingale, and perhaps most intriguingly of all, Elizabeth Banks has taken her next directorial project with a reboot of Charlie’s Angels. And for the latter two, today brings concrete news of impending developments.

The joy of the Power Rangers TV series was how campy it was. It was pure fun to watch teenagers jump around in nerdy spandex suits, fly giant robot machines, and fight ridiculous monsters (one was called Mr. Ticklesneezer, another was, I kid you not, Chunky Chicken). To make a modern Power Rangers movie you can either embody that wacky spirit, scrap it for a gritty reboot, or try to do both with middling results. Saban’s Power Rangers takes the latter route, updating the ‘90s series as an edgier, darker origin story with shards of silliness. The problem is, Power Rangers is never quite sure if it wants to distance itself from the source material or embrace it.

You know that Power Rangers movie that still seems to be happening, despite there being absolutely no reason for it to be? You know how Elizabeth Banks is playing the villain? You know how the villain is Sexy Rita Repulsa (which is something I never thought I’d ever type unless I was looking for bad Halloween costumes)? The mind continues to boggle at every turn with this movie, and it’s honestly impossible at this point to predict whether it will be good, bad, or so bad it’s good. But Elizabeth Banks is a talented actress who’s clearly not afraid to put on a lot of weird makeup and outfits for her characters, as evidenced by all four of the Hunger Games movies. Lionsgate released a new image of her Rita Repulsa, complete with evil scepter.

‘Pitch Perfect 3' has finally found its director, and she seems like a perfect fit.

HBO criminal justice drama The Night Of may not have captivated audiences to the scale of, say, True Detective, but nonetheless drew notable praise. That is, save for one major plot twist involving the series’ lead female role, one actors Jessica Chastain and Elizabeth Banks took to task over Twitter.

Casting Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa in the Power Rangers movie reboot is definitely one of the more interesting choices in recent memory, and if nothing else, it’ll be fun watching the actress chew some scenery as the famously outrageous villain. While we wait to see her in action, Lionsgate has debuted another new photo of Banks as Rita Repulsa, and she looks like she’s trapped in a glass case of emotion.