THE LEGO MOVIE's Elizabeth Banks Still Plays with LEGOS
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Thursday, 06 February 2014 22:21
- Published: Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by Lupe R Haas
Elizabeth Banks builds awesome LEGO models with her two sons, but she doesn't get to admire them for long since her young boys have more fun demolishing them. THE LEGO MOVIE star talks motherhood and continuing the LEGO tradition.
The Hunger Games star voices Wyldstyle in THE LEGO MOVIE, the first animated movie inspired by the popular LEGO toys. The tough LEGO minifigure sets out to find the master builder who will rescue the LEGO world from Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell), and she happens to be Batman's girlfriend. Not a bad gig. Watch Trailer
During a press conference at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, CA, she opened up about the trials and tribulations of being a mother and why having children gives her a very good reason to play with LEGOS once again. As a child, she used to take the LEGOS from her sisters, and describes herself as a "bossy" sister.
The mother of two admits she joins her two young boys and builds her own LEGO models.
"I like to build things. I'll admit this about myself. I'll spend time with my sons on the floor and I'll build something that I think is cool. I present it to my kids and they immediately smash it. That's part of their process."
She understands boys will be boys, but it doesn't mean feelings aren't hurt. "They destroy it as if it means nothing," she jokes.
Since becoming a mother, the actress reveals how difficult parenting is. "Nobody tells you how difficult it is. Otherwise the human race would end," she muses but adds it's both"hard and joyful."
By the end of THE LEGO MOVIE, some parents may be feeling like the bad guy Lord Business constantly telling their offspring "No." We posed the question to Banks whether she feels like the bad guy with her kids when they constantly hear "no." She doesn't believe in the word "no." "Unless their safety is involved, "no" is not that useful when they are as little as my kids are," she says about parenting.
When it comes to disciplining her two boys ages, she always puts herself in their shoes. When one of the children spills a smoothie, their automatic response is to rub their hands in it. While she's internalizing a scream, she understands that their experience of feeling the sticky mess is a first time for them. She already knows what that feeling is like. On another occasion, her older son went for a two-legged kick to his infant brother's chest, of which the little one "bounced right back up," afterwards. "My kid is super tough," she tells CineMovie of her infant son. She could see in his older brother's eyes the satisfaction of his karate moves, but she did have to explain the consequences of his actions.
When it comes to their mom, Banks is cool in their book now that she's playing a LEGO. They refer to her mini-figure as "mommy LEGO" but what would really "blow their minds" would be to play "some kind of transportation vehicle," according to THE LEGO MOVIE star.
To us grown-ups Bank's Wyldstye is pretty cool and tough in our book, and in real-life Banks continues to prove she's a powerhouse in Hollywood. After producing the hit Pitch Perfect, she's ready to prove herself behind the camera, directing the sequel to Pitch Perfect.
THE LEGO MOVIE no doubt will be another hit for Banks when it opens February 7. As far as Warner Bros. is concerned, a LEGO MOVIE sequel is already in the works.
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