A smooth comeback

Anna Kendrick will again be seen as Beca in Pitch perfect 2. She recounts her experience of working in an all-women production and with funnyman Keegan-Michael Key

•  What did you think of Kay Cannon’s script for Pitch perfect 2IJ

It was nerve-racking at first because we were given the script a week before rehearsals. It was one of those things where if there was something we didn’t like, we couldn’t do anything about it.  Kay, in my opinion, is a total genius and this script was even better than the first one.

•   How different was this script from the first oneIJ

I remember Elizabeth (Banks) calling me and saying the script wasn’t ready but when I read it, I thought it was great because she knows all of us and knows how to write for our voices. It was packed with jokes and even more solid than the first one. Her script and her wit were the reasons I signed on for Pitch Perfect in the first place.

• When we first meet Beca in the sequel, what is going on in her life and careerIJ

Beca has an internship at Residual Heat, a record company, and her boss is Keegan-Michael Key, who is hilarious and so much fun to work with. She’s trying to think about the future, while trying to divide her energy between the Bellas and her new job.

• Where are the Bellas atIJ They seem to be in a bind at the beginning of the movie.

They’re trying to win back favor, so they decide to compete against the German team at the World Championships of A Cappella. They are trying to redeem themselves.

•  The German A Cappella team is the Das Sound Machine. They’re pretty daunting adversaries, aren’t theyIJ

They’re so good. We’re this group of ten women and we identify predominantly as actors who sing and dance, but the majority of DSM was made up of dancers who lip-sync, while the two leads are actors. In rehearsal, I knew there had to be some serious ‘movie magic’ to make it look like the Bellas are better than DSM. I mean, I want to watch them go on tour and do that dance. They’re just so dynamic and exciting to watch.

• What do you think about the choreography in Pitch perfect 2IJ

AJ Jones choreographs to everyone’s strengths. So for the Bellas, he’s choreographed for people who don’t have a dance background and tried to make us look as good and as professional as possible. For DSM, he came up with the most insane choreography.

•  Tell us about your most memorable experience during the shoot.

We had been shooting the opening number for a week, and it starts messing with your head because you’re doing the same dance for 14 hours for five days. On the very last day, they finally did this piece in the end where they dropped a bunch of balloons from the ceiling, and something snapped inside all of us. We essentially turned into kittens chasing laser pointers; we were running around and smacking each other with balloons. Our mental stability was so fragile. And our pleasure centers, which clearly hadn’t been accessed in five days, just exploded. I was so happy. I don’t think I’ve experienced joy like that since I was five years old, and it was all because of multi-colored balloons.

• Given that the movie is a about sisterhood, how did you all arrive at that level of bondingIJ

There are definitely times when we’ve spent literally every waking hour together for two months, but just when you think you can’t be around the same ten people for another day, we’d have a weekend and it was like, “What do you guys want to doIJ You want to hang outIJ” It’s a weird dynamic.

•  If you had to create your own set list for the International Competition, which three songs would you select and whyIJ

I would select The Wait because I love that song. Then Crazy Youngsters by Ester Dean, which was my actual choice for the finale of this movie. And just for fun, Yellow Submarine.

•  How was it working with Elizabeth who  directed and produced Pitch perfect 2 and played GailIJ

She’s certainly got better legs than Jason Moore. When I found out Jason wasn’t doing it, I was a little upset because he had created the first movie and helped me create Beca. So for the first couple weeks on the sets, I kept forgetting he wasn’t there. Since Elizabeth only produced the first one, I would sometimes get confused when she would be directing a scene. It was an adjustment, but I think she did a fantastic job.

• Tell us something about your scenes with Keegan-Michael KeyIJ

It was a real pleasure to work with Keegan, and I just got to do another movie with him where he came in for one day, created this incredible character, and brightened everyone’s day. He has such a great energy and he’s so focussed and hard-working. It was really great to have him, especially because during the last two days of shooting a film, you start to run out of steam. Keegan was so fantastic, not only with improv, but also just with his on-set demeanor, which was a real treat.

• The movie is about powerful women with a woman director and a woman writer — is there a change happening in HollywoodIJ

That would be great and I certainly hope so. It’s important to vocalise these positive things in order to give people the confidence to continue to make it happen. And in the case of this movie, it’s a step in the right direction. 

(Pitch Perfect releases India on Jule 3)