Pitch Perfect (film series)
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''Pitch Perfect'' is an American
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...
created by
Kay Cannon Kay Cannon (born August 22, 1974) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actress. She is best known for writing and producing the ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial debut with the comedy film '' ...
, loosely based on the non-fiction book ''Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory'' by Mickey Rapkin. Jason Moore directed
the first film ''The First Film'' is a 2015 British documentary film about cinema pioneer Louis Le Prince, made by David Nicholas Wilkinson. It argues the case that Le Prince, rather than the Lumière brothers, was the true inventor of moving pictures, making ...
,
Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perfe ...
directed
the second ''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the origin ...
, and
Trish Sie Patricia Mary Sie ( ''née'' Kulash; born October 11, 1971) is an American film and music video director, best known for directing the films '' Step Up: All In'' (2014) and ''Pitch Perfect 3'' (2017), as well as music videos, particularly for t ...
directed
the third is a light novel series, that has also been made into manga and anime series by Ryo Hoshino and illustrated by Ariko Ito. The anime series goes under the name . According to the New York Comic Convention, ''The Third'' has been licensed by ...
.
Paul Brooks Paul Brooks is a British-born film producer. Brooks has a Humanities degree in English/Philosophy/Psychology and Sociology from the University of London. He then went into real estate development before moving into film. In 1992 he executive ...
,
Max Handelman Max Handelman (born May 3, 1973) is an American sportswriter, producer, and blogger. He co-wrote the book ''Why Fantasy Football Matters: (And Our Lives Do Not)'' with Erik Barmack. Handelman is married to actress Elizabeth Banks. Handelman co-fo ...
, and Banks produced the films. The film series features an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...
, including
Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Satellite Award, five Teen Choice Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award a ...
,
Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...
,
Anna Camp Anna Ragsdale Camp (born September 27, 1982) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as the villainous Sarah Newlin in the HBO vampire drama ''True Blood'' (2009, 2013–2014) and Aubrey Posen in the musical comedy '' ...
,
Brittany Snow Brittany Anne Snow (born March 9, 1986) is an American actress. She rose to prominence after appearing in the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light'' (1998–2001), for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress and was nominated for two ...
,
Skylar Astin Skylar Astin Lipstein (born September 23, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He became known for portraying Jesse Swanson in the musical films ''Pitch Perfect'' (2012) and ''Pitch Perfect 2'' (2015). He originated the role of Georg in the Broa ...
,
Adam DeVine Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series ''Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Par ...
,
Ben Platt Benjamin Schiff Platt (born September 24, 1993) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of ''The Sound of Music'' (2006) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (201 ...
,
Alexis Knapp Alexis Merizalde Knapp (born July 31, 1989) is an American actress. She portrayed Stacie Conrad in the ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017), Alexis in the party film '' Project X'' (2012), and appeared on the first season of the TBS come ...
,
Hana Mae Lee Hana Mae Lee (born September 28, 1988) is an American actress, model, comedian, and fashion designer. She is best known for playing the role of Lilly Onakuramara in the musical comedy ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017) and the role of S ...
,
Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actress. Dean has also written songs for many artists, with numerous Top 10 hits, including No. 1 hits for Rihanna and Katy Perry, earning the name " ...
,
Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hailee Steinfeld, various accolades, including a Peabody Award, and nominations for an Academy Award ...
,
Chrissie Fit Chrissie Fit (born April 3, 1984) is an American actress. In 2007, Fit rose to prominence after she was cast as the character Mercedes Juarez in the medical drama, ''General Hospital''. She also played the roles of CheeChee in the DCOMs ''Teen Be ...
,
John Michael Higgins John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963) is an American actor and comedian whose film credits include Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, the role of David Letterman in HBO's '' The Late Shift'', and a starring role in the American versio ...
, and Banks; while the television series stars DeVine. The series is distributed by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. The first film was a
sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...
. It received positive reviews and was financially successful, grossing over $115 million against a $17 million budget. A sequel was made and released in 2015, to greater financial success, grossing over $287 million against a $29 million budget. The series has since gained a
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
, grossing $565 million worldwide, and the second film is the highest grossing musical comedy film of all time, beating ''
School of Rock ''School of Rock'' (titled onscreen as ''The School of Rock'') is a 2003 comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin, and written by Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, and Sarah Silverman. Bl ...
''s record.


Films


''Pitch Perfect'' (2012)

Beca Mitchell (
Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Satellite Award, five Teen Choice Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award a ...
), a rebellious and unwilling freshman at Barden University, joins a disgraced all-female a cappella group, The Barden Bellas, directed by uptight senior student Aubrey Posen (
Anna Camp Anna Ragsdale Camp (born September 27, 1982) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as the villainous Sarah Newlin in the HBO vampire drama ''True Blood'' (2009, 2013–2014) and Aubrey Posen in the musical comedy '' ...
). The film follows the unlikely new formation of The Barden Bellas which has to struggle to win at the collegiate a cappella competition.


''Pitch Perfect 2'' (2015)

Set three years after the first film, The Bellas are the leading a cappella group with Beca as the leader until Fat Amy (
Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Tou ...
) accidentally rips her pants during a performance, effectively suspending the group. They could be reinstated if they win an international a cappella competition, where no American team has ever won. With new members, tough competition, and doubts everywhere from almost everyone, they try to regain their glory, only to find it harder than it looks with their focus being split up and losing their harmony along the way.


''Pitch Perfect 3'' (2017)

Two years after the second film, the now graduated Bellas find themselves split apart and struggling with their real life jobs. However, after a brief reunion, Aubrey comes up with an idea to perform for the USO tour, which will reunite them for a series of shows. The Bellas go overseas for the USO where they find out that they are actually competing with other bands on tour to be the opening act for
DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...
.


Television series


''Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin'' (2022)

In September 2021, it was announced that a television series based on the film series had been ordered at
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
for a 2022 release, with
Adam DeVine Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series ''Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Par ...
reprising his role as Bumper Allen. It will be written by
Megan Amram Megan Amram (born September 3, 1987) is an American comedy writer, producer, and performer. She is most known for her work as co-writer and producer for the NBC series ''The Good Place''. Amram created and starred in the comedy web series, ''An E ...
, who will also serve as executive producer and showrunner and
Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perfe ...
serve as executive producer. In March 2022,
Sarah Hyland Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having small roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and ''Blin ...
,
Jameela Jamil Jameela Alia Jamil (born 25 February 1986) is a British actress and presenter. She began her career on Channel 4, where she hosted a pop culture series in the T4 strand from 2009 until 2012. She then became the radio host of ''The Official Cha ...
and Lera Abova were announced to be joining the cast alongside
Flula Borg Flula Borg (; born 28 March 1982) is a German actor, comedian, musician, DJ, and internet personality who is also known simply as Flula (sometimes stylized as f, u, a) or DJ Flula. He lives in Los Angeles. Borg's acting career includes roles in f ...
, who is reprising his role as Piëter Krämer from the second film.


Development of the first film


Development and production

The film is based on Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book ''Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory''. Rapkin, senior editor at ''GQ'' magazine, spent a season covering competitive collegiate a cappella. He followed the Tufts University Beelzebubs, the University of Oregon Divisi (the loose inspiration for the Bellas), and the University of Virginia Hullabahoos, who have a cameo in the film. Rapkin's book mainly covers the singing, groupies, partying and rivalries. Two members of the a cappella community,
Deke Sharon Deke Sharon (born December 12, 1967) is an American singer, arranger, composer, director, producer and teacher of a cappella music, and is one of the leaders and promoters of the contemporary a cappella community. He has been referred to as "th ...
, who founded the International Championship of College A Cappella, and Ed Boyer, both in Rapkin's book, were brought on board to arrange songs, produce vocals and act as on-site music directors, where they ran a month-long "a cappella boot camp". The film was shot throughout campus and inside buildings at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Elizabeth Banks is a co-producer and a co-star in the film.


Casting

The casting department included Justin Coulter, Rich Delia, Allison Estrin, and Michael Roth. One of the producers, Paul Brooks, stated "First and foremost, we were looking for actors who had comedic instincts and thought we'd get lucky with terrific actors who happened to be funny and can actually dance and maybe sing. It turns out we did get lucky with our cast!" According to producer Elizabeth Banks, "The character Beca required someone who was grounded, who has a strong point of view on the world, who is funny and empathetic and someone who we can all relate to and root for." Of Kendrick she said, "Anna is all those things, and there was no other choice." Fellow producer Brooks said "I saw Anna in ''Up in the Air'' and thought it was the most exquisite, elegant, balanced, sublime performance. Anna was our first choice for the role of Beca." When casting the character of Jesse, Max Handelman said "We were looking for a young John Cusack-type guy. We needed to find someone who was kind of awkward but not a geek, but not so cool that you're not rooting for him." Skylar Astin was chosen for the role. Of Astin's audition, Banks said the chemistry between Skylar and Anna when they read together prior to shooting was "clear and they were able to riff off each other." Rebel Wilson was recognized for her performance in the comedy film ''Bridesmaids'' upon auditioning for the role of Fat Amy, which she won instantly. Moore recalled Wilson singing Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory" while beating "on her chest with her fists." He said, "I didn't even hear the end of the song because I was laughing so hard. There's this beautiful openness to the way Rebel approaches everything, and that's what works great for the character. She's fearless." Adam DeVine was personally chosen by Banks and Handelman for the role of Bumper after they saw him on the television series ''Workaholics''. Banks said that she and her husband are "big ''Workaholics'' fans," and after watching one night during the film's casting, they saw DeVine and "immediately thought" he would be a good choice for Bumper. He initially declined because he was not a singer. DeVine eventually surprised Banks and Handelman with his vocal skills. Anna Camp was chosen for the role of Aubrey. Producer Max Handelman said, "Elizabeth and I were huge fans of Anna's from ''True Blood''. Aubrey is set up as the antagonist for Beca, and Beca's already a bit hard-edged, so it was so important to find an actress who could play Aubrey as someone who could marshal the crazy but also was sympathetic."
Kelley Jakle Kelley Jakle is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She played the role of Jessica Smith in the Pitch Perfect (film series), ''Pitch Perfect'' series (2012–2017) and appeared on the The Sing-Off (season 1), first and The Sing-Off (seaso ...
was brought in as a "ringer" due to her past experience as a two-time ICCA champion with the
SoCal VoCals The SoCal VoCals are the first of nine a cappella groups from the University of Southern California. Founded in 1996, the group's signature achievement is being the only a cappella group to win five titles in ICCA, which it accomplished in 2008, ...
and had also appeared on two seasons of
The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' was an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a ...
.


Cast and crew


Cast

:Note: A light grey cell indicates a character who did not appear in that film or the television series.


Crew


Reception


Critical response


Box office performance


References


External links

;IMDb links for ''Pitch Perfect'' films * * * * {{Elizabeth Banks 2010s musical comedy films American musical comedy films English-language films Universal Pictures franchises Film series introduced in 2012 Trilogies Films adapted into television shows Jukebox musical films