Boxoffice - May 2019

CINEMACON RECAP
Filmmakers’ Roundtable & Luncheon
At CinemaCon’s Filmmkers’ Roundtable and Luncheon, directors Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels)
Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman), Olivia Wilde (Booksmart), and Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame)
spoke about some of their formative theatrical experiences—both as movie lovers and moviemakers.
ALL PHOTOS: MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY IMAGES
ELIZABETH BANKS
ON HER FIRST MOVIE
We went to the drive-in a lot as kids, which
we loved. We got to go in our pajamas and
sleep on the roof of the car and all that. But
the thing that made the biggest impression
on me, probably, was the first R-rated movie
that I got to see in a theater, which was
Flashdance. What a feeling! Because my mom
convinced herself that it was just about a ballerina
with dreams, and that it would be OK
to bring her 10- and 9-year-old daughters
to see. And we went to the Capitol Theater
in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, which is a mill
town, and we watched a steelworker become
a ballerina.
ON THE CINEMA EXPERIENCE
When I took Pitch Perfect 2 to my first
screening, it was like it was a rock concert.
It was gangbusters. So fun. I was throwing
up in the back, but the audience loved it. So
that was good. You always test it. You show
it to people. You make sure you’re not insane
before you put it into a theater. You make sure
that other people get it and understand what
you’re going for. So I knew the movie worked,
but I didn’t know it would be as exciting and
well-received as it was when it premiered.
60 MAY 2019