Aca-Awesome Facts About the Pitch Perfect Franchise

December 27, 2017 | Scott Mazza

Aca-Awesome Facts About the Pitch Perfect Franchise


“You guys are gonna get pitch-slapped so hard, your man boobs are gonna concave” —Fat Amy

Get your popcorn ready pitches! The Bellas are back in the third instalment in the Pitch Perfect franchise. The first Pitch Perfect film came out of nowhere in 2012, and proved to be the little aca-film that could.

A flat-out fun franchise, these films always bring it when it comes to creative mashups, catchy tunes, and a lot of laughs, so expect more of the same in Pitch Perfect 3. So, before you aca-watch the entire aca-franchise in one day and start adding aca to every word you say, check out these facts about every Pitch Perfect film!


Pitch Perfect Franchise Facts

45. Adaptation

Pitch Perfect is loosely based on the book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin. One of the groups featured in the book—the Hullabahoos—even have a cameo in the film.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

44. Just Say What Comes to Mind

Rebel Wilson (Fat Amy) reportedly improvised the majority of her dialogue in the first film, but as the franchise went on she wasn’t the only one. Wilson claimed that the cast improvised a good chunk of the third film because they were so close with one another after working on three films in six years together.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

43. You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Kay Cannon—screenwriter for Pitch Perfect—initially had 17 songs for the riff-off scene in the script, but it ended up getting trimmed down to eight; the producers couldn’t afford to pay for all of the songs.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

42. No Boys Allowed

A good chunk of the male co-stars will not be appearing in Pitch Perfect 3. Adam Devine, Skylar Astin, and Ben Platt will not be reprising their roles as Bumper, Jesse, and Benji, respectively.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

Advertisement

41. Accuracy

Let this be a warning to anyone who works on a film with Devine in the future: If you ask him to throw something, expect him to hit his target. A cameraman on Pitch Perfect learned this the hard way. For the scene in the first movie where Fat Amy gets hit by a burrito, the cameraman told Devine to aim for him to ensure he got the shot, not thinking Devine would actually hit him in the face. Boy, was he wrong.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

40. True Story

Unfortunately for Cannon, the burrito scene wasn’t just a funny idea that popped in her head when writing the script. Apparently, this is something that happened to her when she was in college. While jogging down the street, her then-boyfriend drove by with his friends and thought it would be funny to hurl a burrito at her.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

39. Quick Paycheck

It only took Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, who play the commentators, one day to shoot their scenes for the first film.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

38. Say Anything but the Breakfast Club

In Pitch Perfect, the John Hughes classic The Breakfast Club plays a prominent role in the storyline involving Beca and Jesse, but this wasn’t always the case. An initial draft of the script had the film Say Anything as the one Beca and Jesse bond over. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see “In Your Eyes” working as well as “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” in the final mash-up song.

Classic Films FactsThe Breakfast Club,‎Universal Pictures

37. Quidditch

There must have been a few Harry Potter fans on the crew for Pitch Perfect, as there is a game of Quidditch going on in the background of the scene where Beca checks out the student fair on campus.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

Factinate

Sign up to our newsletter.

History’s most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Making distraction rewarding since 2017.

Thank you!
Error, please try again.

36. Worth Every Penny

It cost the producers of Pitch Perfect 2 $4.5 million for their 30 second ad during the Super Bowl. With a total film budget of $29 million, that works out to 16% of the budget for 30 seconds! The film did go on to gross over $280 million, though.

Gloria Vanderbilt FactsShutterstock

Advertisement

35. Don’t Mess With the Bellas

Like most sequels, Pitch Perfect 2 felt a lot like the first film, but Pitch Perfect 3 is said to be a mix of genres that blend the musical comedy with some action.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 3 (2017), Universal Pictures

34. Fat Amy–Action Star!

The majority of this action supposedly comes from Fat Amy, who goes from a cappella singer to aca-action star! Wilson even claims she performed her own stunts in the film, which include putting her martial arts training to the test and fighting bad guys, as well as performing a 20-foot jump 10 times.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 3 (2017), Universal Pictures

33. Bless Up

DJ Khaled appears in the third film and plays himself—not a caricature of himself, just simply himself. According to cast members, he was always on, super energetic, and made everyone laugh. He also didn’t bother with the script and apparently improvised the majority of his lines.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

32. Directing Credit

Banks didn’t take over as director until the second film, but she did help direct a part of the first film—sort of. During the scene in the frat house where the boys are in a hot tub, a fake porno can be seen playing on the TV in the background, which happened to be directed by Banks.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

31. Hoax

Flula Borg—who plays Pieter Kramer in the second film—initially thought his casting in the film was a hoax and someone was playing a prank on him.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

30. Too Much on Her Plate

Banks was set to direct the third film, but had to drop out; the filming schedule conflicted with her parental responsibilities and her increasingly packed itinerary. Banks wanted to help put together the best film possible, so she stuck with her minor role and handed off the directing duties to Trish Sie.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

Advertisement

29. Know Your Audience

Anna Kendrick revealed that she was told by the higher ups in the studio to wear outfits that were tighter and sexier for the third film. She fought hard against it, arguing that fans weren’t coming to the movies for the sex appeal but to watch a group of misfit women sing some songs and make people laugh.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

28. Demi Lovato

Wilson campaigned hard to get Demi Lovato as a Bella in the Pitch Perfect sequel, and even sent her an offer, but Lovato decided she wanted to focus her time on her music career and respectfully declined.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

27. Off by a Letter

In Pitch Perfect, Beca tells Jesse that the word "Vader" is actually German for father, which is close, but ultimately wrong. "Vader" is another word for father, but in Dutch, not German. The German word for father is actually "Vater," which is as close as it can get.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

26. Organic Relationship

The relationship storyline between Bumper and Fat Amy was spontaneous, as it slowly grew out of the interactions Devine and Wilson improvised in their scenes together.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

25. Quality Bonding Time

There’s no better way to get to know someone than when you’re stuck in an abandoned pool with them at three in the morning during winter, which is why the cast of Pitch Perfect deeply bonded with one another, according to Astin, during the early-morning filming of the riff-off scene.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

24. Cups

Even people who haven’t seen Pitch Perfect know the song “Cups” that Beca performs at her Bellas audition. Kendrick actually learned this song on her own—through Reddit—and auditioned with it. Once the producers saw her do it, they decided to put it in the movie.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

Advertisement

23. Sing us a Song

Everyone who auditioned for a role in Pitch Perfect had to perform a song to show that they could actually sing. Wilson went with “Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga, and Devine chose a TV theme song.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

22. John Cusack

Astin was cast in the role of Jesse because producers wanted someone with a John Cusack vibe to them, meaning he had to be “awkward but not a geek, and not so cool that you didn’t want to root for him.” I think any fan of the film will agree that Astin nailed it! Now all we need is for Cusack to play Astin’s dad in a sequel and we can die happy.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

21. An Adorable Gangster

It turns out a lot of celebrities were fans of the first Pitch Perfect film, and campaigned to be in the second one, but the award for the most adorable reason why goes to rapper Snoop Dogg. He was a fan of the first film, but the main reason why he asked to be in the sequel was because he knew his daughter, also a fan, would think it was cool.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

20. Dress to Impress

Wilson got to choose some of Fat Amy’s wardrobe in Pitch Perfect 3, so she went with clothes from her own clothing line: Rebel Wilson x Angels.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 3 (2017), Universal Pictures

19. There’s Something in Everyone’s Eye

Just because it’s written in the script and happens on the screen doesn’t necessarily mean it's all an act. According to the cast members, the tears the characters shed at the end of the third film are legit, as they’ve grown close with one another over the years and are not sure when they’ll all be together again.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 3 (2017), Universal Pictures

18. Boot Camp

To prepare for all of the choreographed singing and dancing in the first film, the cast had to take part in a month long singing and dancing boot camp.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

17. Keeping it Real

Accents can be tricky and very distracting when done poorly in movies. So it’s not surprising that Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore decided to have Wilson ditch a planned American accent for Fat Amy, and had her use her native Australian accent instead. Anyone who has seen Wilson’s short-lived TV show Super Fun Night knows he made the right call.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

16. Kristen Wiig

Banks' role was originally written for—and offered to—Kristen Wiig, but she had to decline, and Banks, then only a producer on the film, took her place.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

15. Packed House

A portion of Pitch Perfect was shot on the Louisiana State University campus, and a special screening of the film was held there. However, so many people showed up that only about half of those waiting in line got in. To make sure everyone got a chance to see the film, they decided to hold a second screening immediately after the first one.

Pitch Perfect Franchise facts Wikimedia Commons, Spatms

14. More Than Enough

The World Championship scene in Pitch Perfect 2 got bigger and bigger each day they filmed, as people flew from all over the world to be an extra in it. One day over 3,500 extras were being used!

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

13. Facebook Friends

Pitch Perfect screenwriter Cannon actually asked Wilson through Facebook to audition for the film.

Secrets Not Supposed to Know factsPexels

12. Bumper’s Audition

If you saw Pitch Perfect 2 but left the theatre or turned off the TV as soon as the credits began to roll, then you missed a scene that saw Bumper auditioning for The Voice. This scene was filmed during an actual taping of the blind auditions for the show, so they didn’t have to find any extras because there was already a full crowd in attendance.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

11. Wilson Takes One for the Team

No stunt double was used to film Wilson’s aerial acrobatics routine at the beginning of Pitch Perfect 2, but it wasn’t by choice. Wilson had to perform the stunt herself or they would’ve had to shoot an entirely different opening for the film because—according to Wilson—aerial acrobatic stunt doubles don’t come in her size.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

10. Ask and You Shall Receive

Never has the phrase "it doesn’t hurt to ask" rung any more true than when it comes to Green Bay Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari. Being a huge fan of the first film, he tweeted Banks asking her for a cameo in the sequel, and he got his request. He brought along four teammates and they got to participate in the riff-off.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

9. Tough Guys Can Sing too

Not only do the Packers nearly steal the movie with their rendition of "Bootylicious," they also actually sing it themselves too, and even received two song credits on the soundtrack.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 2 (2015), Universal Pictures

8. Let’s Play Ball!

Devine initially thought he was auditioning for a baseball movie because the title had the word “pitch” in it. He quickly realized that wasn’t the case, and even though he was completely unprepared, he still nailed the audition and got the part.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

7. Jack of All Trades

Ester Dean—who plays Cynthia Rose in the films—is also a musician who wrote several songs for other artists, including “S&M” for Rihanna, which Dean herself just so happens to sing in the riff-off.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

6. The Real Fat Amy

Cannon happens to be good friends with Amy Poehler, a super funny and talented actress known for her role as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation. When Poehler was pregnant, she referred to herself as “Fat Amy,” so Cannon decided to give Wilson’s character that name in honor of her friend.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

5. Exceeding Expectations

The sequel earned more money in its domestic opening weekend ($69 million) than the first one did in its entire domestic run ($65 million). The sequel ended up making $287 million total.

Guy Fawkes factsShutterstock

4. Having too Much Fun

Astin and Devine filmed a scene for Pitch Perfect 2 that never made the cut because they couldn’t keep it together. They kept laughing during every take, and the breaking point reportedly came after Devine ripped off his shirt and yelled at Astin with his eyes crossed.

Parks and Recreation factsShutterstock

3. Live Music

Generally, whenever there is a musical number in a film, the actors lip sync on set and record the actual singing in a recording studio. Pitch Perfect is no different, except for when it comes to Kendrick. Anytime she is seen singing alone on screen in the first film, she was singing live on set.

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsPitch Perfect 1 (2012), Universal Pictures

2. Keep Them Coming

It’s common for a film franchise to call it quits after the third film—excluding the Fast and Furious franchise, which will go on for eternity—and that seems to be the case for Pitch Perfect. The third installment is being touted as the Farewell Tour, but cast members say that they would love for this franchise to continue for as long as it can. Wilson is even pushing for a Fat Amy spin-off!

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

1. April Fools!

While filming the upcoming Pitch Perfect 3, panicked crew members had to scramble to help a bloodied Rebel Wilson when she fell down her trailer steps, but soon after she shouted “April Fools!” It had all been an elaborate prank, with fake blood and everything!

Pitch Perfect Franchise factsGetty Images

 

We hope you enjoyed these fun facts!

Sources:  12345678910111213141516171819202122


More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.