Elizabeth Banks is bringing one hell of an anecdote to the big screen. The director of the upcoming “Charlie’s Angels” reboot will star in Paramount Players’ adaptation of Daily Beast feature “When Prince Made a Chambermaid His Queen for a Day,” Deadline reports. Chris Lee’s story recounts the 1986 Win A Date With Prince contest and the experience of its winner, Lisa Barber, a hotel cleaner from Sheridan, Wyoming.
Warner Bros. originally devised the call-in contest in order to promote Prince’s film “Under The Cherry Moon.” Hosted by MTV, the contest saw the 10,000th caller accompany the rock star to a “Cherry Moon” premiere in her hometown, followed by a concert by Prince and The Revolution.
While the “Queen for a Day” film will use Lee’s article as its basis, “the movie will be about how the event changed the lives of two very different women – the Manhattan PR exec responsible for the event’s success and the shy, awkward contest winner from Wyoming, whose town becomes the unexpected nexus of all things Prince for one unforgettable night.”
No word on whether Banks will play the PR exec or Barber. As for Prince, the late artist will not be a character, but “his presence will hover through the film.”
Banks will produce with Max Handelman via their Brownstone shingle. Newcomer Flora Greeson has been brought on to rewrite producer Josh Stolberg’s original script.
You can see Banks next in the Melissa McCarthy-led puppet comedy/murder mystery “The Happytime Murders,” out August 24. Her take on “Charlie’s Angels” will hit theaters September 27, 2019. Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott (“The 33”), and Ella Balinska (“Midsomer Murders”) are the new Angels, and Banks will take on the role of their associate Bosley. Banks’ myriad producing projects include the Hulu adaptation of Lindy West’s memoir, “Shrill.” The Aidy Bryant-starrer was officially ordered to series earlier this month.