Elizabeth Banks has returned to the stage of the raucous college comedy that cemented her career as a producer and her box office appeal.
Banks’ Brownstone Productions will produce “Betas,” a film set in the viral world of sorority rush culture. The film will be directed by Sammy Cohen (“Don’t Be Invited to a Bat Mitzvah”) and written by Ilana Wolpert (“Anyone But You”).
Banks revitalized the campus genre with the “Pitch Perfect” series, which grossed nearly $600 million worldwide, and served as rush chair for her own sorority (Tri Delta) at the University of Pennsylvania.
Banks, Max Handelman and Alison Small will produce through Brownstone. Kimberly Carver (HBO Max’s “Julia”) will serve as executive producer. Distributors and production schedules are still unknown.
Brownstone is enjoying first-look deals with both Universal Pictures and Universal Television. Earlier this year, Variety reported that Banks and Handelman would produce “Pitch Perfect: K-Pop Idol,” another spinoff from the a cappella world, for Peacock. Brownstone is also developing the series “Crash” from Peacock writer and executive producer Addison McQuig. The show is said to have been inspired by the 1995 episode of The Jenny Jones Show, titled “Revealing Secret Same-Sex Love”. The logline states that the film “weaves a stirring tale of ambition, heartbreak, and murder set in the insane world of tabloid talk shows.” The company has previously produced series such as Banks’ 2019 version of Charlie’s Angels, the gonzo horror hit Cocaine Bear, and Aidy Bryant’s Shrill for Hulu.
Screenwriter Wolpert is represented by UTA and the law firm of Ginsburg Daniels Callis. Mr. Cohen is represented by UTA, Range, and Jackoway Austin. Carver is with Myman, Greenspan, and Fox. Brownstone is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
