Director Elizabeth Banks has shared her experience on directing the film "Pitch Perfect 2."
Banks was the producer on the first "Pitch Perfect" film. She was also the actress playing commentator Gail Abernathy-McKadden, according to Independent. But, the sequel was a lot more exciting for Banks since this is her directorial debut.
Banks said she "felt daunted by the success of the first movie" but this did not stop her. "Pitch Perfect 2" was a more challenging film since it reportedly held 30 musical sequences and one huge outdoor festival that was held in Glastonbury.
When she started directing the film, she said she was warned about the complications and challenges that would arise. However, Banks was persistent.
"I kept saying, 'I don't care, it's going to look cool, we've got to do it," said Banks.
One of the most difficult parts of the film was shooting the public Glastonbury Festival.
"It took nearly a month" to build the Glastonbury stage , according to Gulf News. To add to that, more than 300,000 extras were present during the shoot.
The outdoor shoot was unnerving since it took four nights to complete. The crowd was a more difficult task since they have to hype them up for the entire shoot. To help the team, Banks stepped up to her director role and managed the crowd's energy.
"At one point, she went out on stage and started whipping them into a frenzy," said Max Handelman, co-producer of "Pitch Perfect 2" and Bank's husband.
"It was her connecting the fans with the girls and letting everyone know that this was a big deal," added Handelman.
Banks was open about the big impact she wishes to impart with her experience as director. She hopes that this will pave the way for women to step into the director's chair in Hollywood.
"I'm hopeful that making this movie - that was written by a woman, directed by a woman and stars a lot of women - I'm hoping that we inspire more women to go behind the camera and take leadership positions," Banks said.
"Pitch Perfect 2" will premiere on May 15, Telegraph reported.
