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Universal 
20 facts you might not know about 'Pitch Perfect' Updated January 06, 2025 | By Chris Morgan A cappella is an odd little avenue of culture. People who do it tend to be quite enthusiastic, but if you aren’t down with it, it can strike a dissonant chord. However, haters and lovers of a cappella found something to like about Pitch Perfect. It’s a small comedy that made a big impact. Here are 20 facts you might not know about Pitch Perfect. Just pretend we’re singing them without accompaniment.
1 of 20It was (sort of) based on a book
Universal Mickey Rapkin, a senior editor at GQ, decided to delve deep into the world of competitive collegiate a cappella. That yielded the book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for College a Cappella Glory. It inspired this movie, though the film's plot is quite different from reality.
2 of 20One of the teams from the book have a cameo in the movie
Universal Rapkin’s book primarily covers three teams. The Tufts Beezlebubs inspired the Treblemakers in the movie, while the Oregon Divisi inspired the Bellas. Then, there are the Virginia Hullabahoos. They didn’t inspire a team, but they do get a cameo.
3 of 20It was the screenwriter’s first film
Universal Kay Cannon is the sole credited writer of the screenplay of Pitch Perfect. It also happens to be her first credited screenplay. That being said, she was already an acclaimed comedy writer. Cannon was a writer for 30 Rock before Pitch Perfect came out.
4 of 20The director was also making his debut
Universal A combination of a first-time screenwriter and a first-time director? Clearly, expectations were high for Pitch Perfect at the studio, or they probably wouldn’t have let that happen. Jason Moore had directed episodes of TV shows like Dawson’s Creek and Everwood, but this was his first movie.
5 of 20The casting prioritized comedy
Universal The a cappella groups do a lot of singing and dancing, but the film is also a comedy. When casting, the production team decided the comedic chops were more important. Their goal was to cast actors who could handle the comedy and hoped they could handle the singing and dancing.
6 of 20Anna Kendrick was the first choice for Beca
Universal The de facto lead of Pitch Perfect, Beca, is played by Anna Kendrick. She was the one the producers wanted from the beginning. Elizabeth Banks, who also had a role in the movie, said there was “no other choice” but Kendrick. Producer Paul Brooks, meanwhile, was a huge fan of her work in Up in the Air. He called it “the most exquisite, elegant, balanced, sublime performance.”
7 of 20Rebel Wilson got the role in the room
Universal Wilson had gotten some attention for Bridesmaids, but Pitch Perfect was a more significant role for her. Apparently, her audition was so good that she immediately won her part. For her audition, she sang Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” while beating on her chest.
8 of 20Adam DeVine was cast off his TV show
Universal The comedy of Pitch Perfect isn’t always high-brow. Meanwhile, Comedy Central’s Workaholics was decidedly low-brow. DeVine was one of the stars and creators of that show, which Banks was a fan of. She said that she was watching Workaholics one night during casting and realized that DeVine would be perfect for the role of Bumper.
9 of 20DeVine was not prepared for his audition
Universal Apparently, some wires got crossed when DeVine was called in to audition. That, or DeVine has embellished the story of his casting a bit. He has said that he thought Pitch Perfect was a baseball movie and had not prepared a song for his audition. On the spot, he chose to sing the Full House theme song. Evidently, it worked.
10 of 20Banks stepped in when the actor they wanted couldn’t do it
Universal The role of Gail, one of the commentators for the ICCAs, was written with Kristen Wiig in mind. Alas, she couldn’t do it due to scheduling conflicts. Banks, who was producing already, stepped into the role. Wiig must have been quite busy, as Banks and John Michael Higgins filmed their scenes in one day.
11 of 20Banks and Higgins had worked together before
Universal This was not the first time Banks and Higgins played coworkers in a movie. The two also co-starred in the film Fred Claus. This was also not the first a cappella-related role for Higgins, who played a member of an a cappella group in the romantic comedy The Break-Up, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn.
12 of 20The actors got an education in a cappella
Universal Deke Sharon and Ed Boyer were featured in Rapkin’s book, and they both worked on the film, arranging songs and producing vocals. On top of that, they ran a month-long “a cappella boot camp” for the actors.
13 of 20The film was shot down South
Universal Barden is not a real college. Pitch Perfect was shot on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It stood in for Barden.
14 of 20Wilson did a lot of improvising
Universal Wilson relied heavily on her comedic chops while shooting. According to co-star Brittany Snow, Wilson improvised most of her lines. In fact, Wilson and DeVine improvised their entire storyline together, which wasn’t in the script.
15 of 20Ester Dean knew one song quite well
Universal During the Riff-Off, Ester Dean’s character Cynthia sings “S&M” by Rihanna. This was a song that she had some familiarity with. Dean is much more a musician than an actor. She's a prolific songwriter and has writing credit on “S&M.”
16 of 20Two cast members got together
Universal When filming Pitch Perfect, Anna Camp was married to Michael Mosley. However, they divorced in 2013. Soon after, she began dating Skylar Astin, her Pitch Perfect costar. The two married in 2016, but they divorced in 2019.
17 of 20'Pitch Perfect' was a box office success story
Universal This was a small comedy about competitive a cappella with a few known names but no big stars. As such, Pitch Perfect was made for $17 million. When it opened wide, it finished third at the North American box office. The audience kept coming out for the movie, though. Pitch Perfect finished by making nearly $115.4 million worldwide, a real coup.
18 of 20It won some awards
Universal Pitch Perfect was far from Oscar bait, but a couple of award shows were big fans. Namely, the MTV Movie Awards and the Teen Choice Awards. In particular, Rebel Wilson came out as a big winner. She took home Best Breakthrough Performance from MTV and Choice Movie Actress: Comedy from the Teen Choice Awards.
19 of 20The soundtrack was a hit and spawned a big single
Universal Pitch Perfect was successful at the box office and also successful on the soundtrack front. It reached as high as No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. On top of that, Kendrick’s performance of the song “Cups” was an unexpected hit. It reached as high as No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
20 of 20It spawned two sequels (and a TV show)
Universal Given the unexpected success of Pitch Perfect, a sequel was naturally greenlit. Pitch Perfect 2 came out in 2015, with Banks stepping in as the director. It was a huge hit, making $287.1 million worldwide. This led to Pitch Perfect 3, which may have shown signs of fatigue, as it earned $185.4 million. There likely won’t be another movie, but a TV spinoff starring DeVine’s character was announced in 2021.
Chris Morgan Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.
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