Elizabeth Banks Didn't Realise Her Film Skincare Is Based On True Events: 'I Never Heard Of It'

Elizabeth Banks is all set to hit theatres with her upcoming thriller, Skincare. Directed by Austin Peters, the film delves into the life of a renowned aesthetician who is determined to launch her own skincare line. The trailer for the film was recently unveiled, showing the actress stepping into the shoes of Hope Goldman. However, little did she know that her new film was actually inspired by a true story. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Elizabeth Banks revealed that it was “way later into the process” of making it that she realised the fact.

“I didn’t know it at all. I had never heard about it. I was just all in on Hope Goldman and this character and the sort of milieu of LA,” she said.

While the film is said to be loosely inspired by celebrity facialist Dawn DaLuise, Banks found the character similar to one of her previous facialists, Matty. “She was very much this Hope Goldman character in my mind, in that she had her own little place on 3rd Street in LA, and she was recommended to me by an agent. So when I read the script, that’s what I was thinking. I was like, I’m going to base it on Matty,” she added.

Notably, DaLuise was arrested in 2014 on suspicion of ordering a hit against a rival beauty guru. She spent ten months in prison before being found not guilty. Following the film’s trailer release, DaLuise even claimed that it was based on her story, further adding that she was on her way to signing a deal with Netflix for a documentary. “It could rob me of my ability to tell my own story,” she told Page Six.

About Skincare

The film’s story revolves around Hope (Banks), who plans to launch her own skincare line, competing with rival Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Mendez). However, a series of disturbing events led her to suspect someone’s involvement in sabotaging her business. With her new friend Jordan (Lewis Pullman), Hope pursues a dangerous mission to find her enemy.

“He’s one of those sorts of young men who take advantage of older women, and I find that in L.A., those people exist. They’re kind of all creeping around in Hollywood,” she said about Pullman. Skincare will be released theatrically on August 16, 2024.