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Charlie's Angels' Elizabeth Banks didn't want the movie to be "campy"

From Digital Spy

Charlie's Angels director Elizabeth Banks has opened up about the challenge of striking the right tone in the new movie, saying she didn't want to make a "campy" film.

Starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and newcomer Ella Balinska, the new Charlie's Angels will see the Townsend Agency expand internationally, with multiple teams of highly-trained Angels taking on some of the toughest missions from around the world.

And, when a young systems engineer blows the whistle on a dangerous technology, the Angels are called into action.

Photo credit: Sony Pictures
Photo credit: Sony Pictures

Related: Kristen Stewart says new Charlie's Angels movie will be a "woke" version

"The blend of action and comedy I think is always a little scary," director and Bosley star (one of them, anyway) Elizabeth Banks told Digital Spy.

"I set out to make an action movie first, but that was a lot of fun. I think it is funnier than people expect it to be. Finding that right tone was the most important thing to me.

"I think that Charlie's Angels generally right now, in the zeitgeist, feels kitschy and winky and campy. I really wanted to ground it. I really felt like the whole franchise needed… the action needed to feel real, that there were real stakes for the characters, but also balance it with what people expect from Charlie's Angels.

"I wanted the energy of the movie to feel very inclusive," she continued. "I wanted to sort of say the Angels can come from anywhere.

"Charlie is not just a man anymore, but more of a movement. Charlie is more of an idea. That was an overarching theme in the film."

Photo credit: Columbia Pictures - Sony Pictures
Photo credit: Columbia Pictures - Sony Pictures

Banks has also promised that a few deleted scenes from the movie will make it to the DVD, promising a lot of great bonding moments between the film's three leads.

"I just approved a bunch that would go on the DVD," she admitted.

"There's a great scene between Ella and Naomi that you see a little bit in the marketing materials that I really loved that really spoke to their connection in the movie.

"They built such a great threesome over the course of the film anyway that it didn't feel like we needed that, but I love watching them bond."

During the chat, Banks also opened up about Kristen Stewart's character Sabina Wilson, saying she didn't want to "label" the character after rumours that Sabina would be the first LGBTQ+ Angel in the franchise's history.

"I just felt like she's almost the way Kristen is. I don't feel there is a label that fits her," Banks explained.

"The only thing that was important to me was to not label it as anything. It's fine if the media wants to label it, I think that's okay, but I didn't do that. I just let her be herself in the film. Yeah, I know, and I am."

Charlie's Angels will find its way into UK cinemas on November 29, following its release in the US next Friday (November 15).


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