Rebel Wilson Says Anna Kendrick Cried at Girl Group Test Screening

Anna Kendrick cried when the final song played.

Rebel Wilson said the reaction came at a small Los Angeles test screening of her new film Girl Group, held for the cast of Pitch Perfect to gather feedback, as she told Deadline’s TIFF Studio panel Deadline.

The tearful moment arrived during the finale number, an original song titled ‘Ride-or-Die’. Wilson shared the story while promoting the film in Toronto. She laughed as she told it.

Girl Group is directed by Wilson from a script she wrote with Alana Da Fonseca, according to Deadline. It follows a pop star who, after a downward spiral, puts together a new act from young up-and-comers.

Wilson said she turned to familiar ears for an early verdict. She invited the Bellas, the a cappella group at the centre of the Pitch Perfect films in which she starred, to watch the cut in Los Angeles.

She also kept a musical link behind the camera. Wilson said Girl Group used the same music team as Pitch Perfect, which handled vocals, arrangements and the staged performances Deadline.

The comments came on Deadline’s TIFF Studio panel for the film. Wilson appeared with co-stars Jennifer Coolidge and Randall Park, and choreographer Christopher Scott.

The film had its first screening on Friday, 11 Sept at Roy Thomson Hall. That venue is one of the main houses for the Toronto International Film Festival, which stages premieres and gala screenings each September.

On the business side, UTA and Live Nation Studios are acting as the US sales agents for the film, the representatives who sell distribution rights to buyers Deadline.

For fans, this means a clear line back to Wilson’s singing-group past. Girl Group is its own story about a pop comeback, not a Pitch Perfect sequel, but Wilson tested it on the people who lived that last sing-off with her.