Elizabeth Banks quotes:

I'm a good role model. I have an amazing marriage, and it will be long lasting. I think I'm a good mom. I could run for office, no problem, because there are no skeletons in my closet.

I have very fond memories of the Eagles from my experience with 'Invincible' and my college days in Philadelphia. But I am a Massachusetts girl and a Pats fan.

I've learned all my hair and makeup tricks on the set, and I incorporate all kinds of things when I'm getting ready, and I'm big on blotting papers. I get a very shiny forehead, which I like to call my inner glow coming out.

Hunger Games' is a tried-and-true tale about a totalitarian society. It's more similar to China than America, but it's also similar to Nazi Germany and anywhere where the populace gets semi-brainwashed into serving the agenda of a very few.

I work out with our trainer, Jocelynne Boschen of Alpha Sport L.A., hike a lot, and eat healthy. I love cooking so prepare a lot of my own food and avoid processed foods. No fast food. No soda.

Pitch Perfect 2,' those scenes are super fun. It's just me and John Michael Higgins, and we've been friends for so long, we just have the best time. Anything I do with him is some of my favorite stuff.

Honestly, I am hoping to influence young people, and Twitter's a great way to encourage them to lend their voice to the conversation. Any time you can show young people that you support gay friends and that there are gay people in the world who are lovely, happy, singing, and in love, it opens their minds.

I think the hardcore fans can expect exactly what both 'The Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire' delivered: 'Mockingjay' is going to be as faithful a rendition of Suzanne's Collins's world and books and characters as we can put out!

Predicting what content is going to fly is like looking into a crystal ball. I try not to say, 'Yeah, 'Bridesmaids' opened the door to make more movies about women.' I mean, did it? I don't know; where are they?

It's okay to lose. Losing teaches you something. Having to try and going through the trials and tribulations to actually overcome, to get there to win, to triumph, that's what makes life interesting.

I went to drama school. I'm classically trained; I studied Shakespeare, blah blah blah. But I always preferred to do Oscar Wilde, or Shakespeare's comedies over his dramas.

I grew up in a very small town, but it happened to be in western Massachusetts, where there were a lot of gay people. I remember my aunt going to a gay wedding when I was 11, and I thought it was the coolest thing.

I play Rock Band, which is Guitar Hero times ten. You can play with four people, so when you have parties, you have a real band. Nobody ever wants to sing, so I'm always the one throwing down on the mic.

My favorite event each year is the Yankees-Red Sox series. Love seeing passions run hot among the fans, especially when both teams are in the running for the playoffs.

I suppose the best advice I ever got, frankly the advice that changed my life, came from my uncle who told me to go to drama school and study acting instead of taking a job, because he said the job would always be there.

What I love about Twitter specifically is that reciprocity is not guaranteed, nor expected. In other words, I can go one way. I can put things out. I don't have to respond to everybody.

I grew up sort of lower working class. And I just didn't want to have the money struggles that my parents had. You know, I could just - as loving an environment I grew up in - and I grew up in a great home, a very loving home - but, you know, we had that stress. We had that stress in our life.

I had an audition for Mary Jane Watson in 'Spiderman' and ended up playing Betty Brant in that series. I auditioned for Amy Adams' role in 'Catch Me If You Can' and, you know, ended up playing the bank teller. So there were a lot of times early on where I felt like I was always sort of the bridesmaid, never the bride - never quite right.

Portion control is a real problem. My husband and I always split one appetizer and one entree. I'm sure waiters hate us.

My father is a huge horse racing fan, so I was introduced to the sport long before 'Seabiscuit.' But the role made me an even bigger fan. Horse racing is one of my favorite sports.

It's not good to put in a magazine what I weigh because it's too little. People freak out when they hear what I weigh. They think, 'Oh, you're too skinny.'

Someone told me that having a baby is like having your heart walking around outside of your body, and I didn't understand it until I had a baby. Now, like, everything he does literally crushes my heart. In a great way. And then if he's in pain, it's like my whole endeavor is to make sure he's not in pain.

I hope I'm Jessica Tandy, you know. I hope I'm onstage, and I fall over at 85 or something with everyone applauding thinking that it was a joke, you know, 'There she goes again,' and I'm just gone. I've gone to Heaven.

My father always made an amazing meatloaf, and I've inherited his skill. Leftover meatloaf in a sandwich? Come on!

I have such a respect for comedy. It's a lot harder than doing drama, in my opinion; you have to have sort of an innate sense of humor. There are rules to comedy you can learn. But ultimately, it really does require a certain point of view on the world, and that really does appeal to me.

My acting gives me my self-worth.

I have a gay cousin who came out to my parents before he came out to his own. So I benefited from having a very open, supportive family, and I want to pass that on.

The great thing about Twitter is, you get a lot back, and I read through a lot, and I want my fans to know that I do read a lot, and it's why I do respond or retweet clever posts, and I'm constantly amazed by the cleverness of people on Twitter.

I think people respond to me as a down-to-Earth, girl-next-door person, because I am one of those people. That's something I don't have to act very hard at.

Violence against women is real and something I feel passionately about, and the gateway to all that is wolf whistling. It's allowing a man to impose his will on a woman who is just trying to walk down the street and live her life. It's all about unwanted versus wanted attention, and, of course, there's a fine line.

These properties that get made into movies, some are easier than others. When they first said, 'Yeah, they're making a movie out of Lego,' I said, 'Lego what? What does that even mean?' And it's such a good concept.

I like my coffee light.

I only know the lyrics to songs that I listened to between the ages of 11 and 15.

Your funny gets developed pretty early on. Comedy requires that you understand as much as possible about the viewpoints of all people and everything that's going on around you. It genuinely requires a true point of view, a real sense of your own view of things in the world.

If I ever complain about yachting around the Mediterranean with Madonna, who I just idolized as a child, I should be slapped across the face.

I love working with a stylist but I also love having personal relationships with designers. A stylist is great for pulling together an entire outfit, accessories included, and for shaking me out of my comfort zone.

When I was in college I was accused of being a goody two-shoes. But every goody two-shoes has a bad side.

You know, women in Hollywood, we don't get action franchises and superheroes. The rom-coms that made Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Reese Witherspoon stars are out of favor right now- nobody is making them. In this business, if you are an ambitious person, you don't wait for people to hand you opportunities. You have to make a way for yourself.

I'm not trying to have Jake Gyllenhaal's baby. I'm not a major fashionista. I'm not going through a lesbian phase. I'm just normal. I'm just really freakin' normal.

I am not afraid of much. I kill all the spiders in my house, and I'm planning to go skydiving. I am into girl power, and I'm very self-sufficient.

So knowing that you can actually help yourself stay healthy over a long shoot where you get no sleep and what you eat really matters. It really mattered that there was a juice bar. You know?

I got Twitter identity theft.

I mean time management is a big factor in my life. I'm a very organized person. You can only do one thing at a time, so that's the main way I do everything. When I'm with my kids, I'm with my kids. When I'm directing a movie, I'm directing a movie. When I'm making Magic Mike, I'm making Magic Mike. So you just really have to fragment and focus.

I love stories about misfits and underdogs.

I'm really interested in making movies that people see: I've made a lot of independent films and it's really depressing when no one sees them.

I love Prada shoes. I cannot get enough of them. Or Valentino.

When I was coming up, it was the golden age. It was Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan, and Reese Witherspoon was starting. You really had, 'Who is America's Next Sweetheart?' every couple of years. And then this sort of bromance slacker thing took over.

One predictor for divorce is contempt, which to me is just another word for disrespect.

I love physical comedy. I love Oscar Wilde, I love Shakespeare comedies, I love improv.

I played softball. I was on an all-star team. I traveled with the team. I loved it.

I don't stay in my trailer. I like to sit in video village, probably to the annoyance of some producers and directors, because they really love to talk about actors, and they can't in front of me.

You have got to have an agent. It's a business. But I think there is a way to be artful and commercial at the same time.

I'm afraid of a cappella. I don't read music, and I have a hard time harmonizing. Basically, I'm a melody singer only.

I'm very genetically blessed; I cannot deny it, but I work hard at keeping myself together. Yes, I have nice cheekbones and skinny legs, but I can't take any credit for it.

Klutziness is endearing. I like imperfection.

Most men I know rely on women to do all the literal dirty work.

I like entertaining people. I want to make big entertainment.

Normally for photo shoots I get a full wax, some tanning, a facial.

No matter what, I'm in a very small club. There are very few women who have directed studio-level commercial films - very few.

I can hang with the dudes because I love beef and baseball and driving fast and flirting. I understand where men are coming from, and I'm interested in typically male endeavors. But I can also wear the short skirt and cheerlead.

I do this system called TRX. It was developed by a Navy SEAL and is basically a simple cord that you can wrap around something anywhere, anytime, and you use your body weight as resistance. We installed one in our home gym, but you can also attach it to a tree. It's very easy to travel with.

Comedy often comes at the expense of others, and to do that smartly, you don't want to make fun of vulnerable people. You want to make fun of people in power, and so you need to really understand the dynamics of power.

I was an early adopter of the 'Hunger Games.' I read them before they were best sellers - I was on the pre-order wait list for 'Mockingjay' on Amazon.

I actually think that secrets are just a part of human nature and that everybody should have some.

I love improv. I do it with my co-star John Michael Higgins in both 'Pitch Perfect' films.

I really find that when I get on an airplane, I never drink anything but water, and I drink a ton of it. I like to sit in the window, but I'm always climbing over people to go to the bathroom. I'm that seatmate. But ya gotta do it. All about the water.

People ask me how I stay thin, and I'm like, 'When you go to the grocery store, buy more bananas than cookies.'

I think it is really important to put out what you want so the world knows what to give you.

I am never embarrassed by something that makes people laugh.

Sex is always funny. I don't find it sexy, I find it really horrifying. But it's an act that we need. And that need, that desire, is what makes it really funny.

It's really hard to stay healthy over the long term of making a movie so that's why those things matter when you're trying to keep your health, literally.

My number one advice to high school girls is birth control. You want to keep all your options open for as long as possible? Birth control.

I'm not interested in making movies only with female protagonists. I think it's ridiculous to think that a female director can't direct men. That makes no sense to me.

I'm actively looking for things to direct again. I had such an amazing experience on this. I really am spoiled.

I'm sort of the bossiest sister.

I love the finality of film. When you make a movie, you know the beginning, middle, and end.

It's pretty easy to hear what people are physically responding to versus what's just flat as a pancake in the room when it comes to jokes.

As an actor myself, the opportunity to sing and dance and be dramatic and be funny - it's really irresistible to actors. You get to show all sides of your talent.

I'm lucky to have worked with great actors, my whole career.

I really just drew off of where we are now, with reality TV. You can't help but see a lot of it. You choose to watch some, but with some, you just can't help but hear it and see it. It's just piercing in your brain. That piercing is what I was tapping into , with whatever they were doing to pierce into the minds of everybody. It takes a certain kind of person to shut your mind off to the consequences and just try to get results. That's what I was going for - results.

I really enjoy the direct dialogue with the fans. I'm very cognizant of my audience. I'm a trained storyteller and entertainer, and I know I wouldn't be able to work at the level I work at if people didn't enjoy what I did.

The great thing about Twitter is, you get a lot back, and I read through a lot, and I want my fans to know that I do read a lot, and it's why I do respond or retweet clever posts, and I'm constantly amazed by the cleverness of people on Twitter. I just think it's a really great tool to communicate with fans and influence conversations and raise awareness about things I'm interested in, that I think deserve some attention.

There's never enough money, there's never enough time, there's never enough reliable help around, anything you plan always goes wrong - it's just hard to be human, isn't it?

As an actor, you go through life thinking "This stop is the last stop," so you just put your heart and soul into everything and do your best work.

I do want to work on a larger scale with bigger budgets partially as a way to prove that women can do that, for sure. I definitely feel a bit of a responsibility to do that.

I imagine, in the future, life expectancy is long and they use crazy plastic surgery. Who the hell knows what's going on?

It's really fun to watch yourself disappear in the movie every day

I'm perfectly happy to have the reputation as a comedian. I love comedies, I would love to be doing more comedies. But I also feel like I hit the limit on playing the girlfriend type in a lot of rom-coms that aren't actually rom-coms, but guy movies that happen to have girls in them.

I'm always reaching to find something that will challenge me and make me do my best.

You have got to have an agent. Its a business. But I think there is a way to be artful and commercial at the same time.

Every once in a while I play a true idiot, and they're really fun to play.

When you live in a leading lady's body, which I do, you have to constantly prove that you are funny.