Rebel Wilson invited some of her Pitch Perfect co-stars to a test screening of her latest directorial effort Girl Group.
In her new musical comedy, the Australian actress plays a former girl group star from the early 2000s who is forced to coach a bunch of teen girls to make them into a group for a record label competition.
Wilson, who also directed and co-wrote the film, invited her Pitch Perfect co-stars, including Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow, to a test screening to get their opinion on her new movie.
"I really wanted their feedback because we worked together for seven years doing these movies. And even though we had the Pitch Perfect music team also on Girl Group, I really wanted their input, because one-half of them are directors now as well, with Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow. They're all crushing it," she explained to Deadline.
"And so, they know musicals, like me, inside and out, and because I had such a wealth of material, I just wanted their opinions and their input."
Wilson knew she had made "something special" when Kendrick started crying at the film's final musical number.
"Anna Kendrick, who's probably the hardest one to crack, cried during the finale number Ride-or-Die, and I was like, 'Yes!'" she recalled. "If I could get Anna Kendrick to cry, who's been in the musical theatre world since she was like that big, I knew I had something special."
Wilson, Kendrick and Snow starred alongside each other in three Pitch Perfect films between 2012 and 2017. Kendrick and Snow each have one directorial feature under their belts so far - Woman of the Hour and Parachute, respectively.
Girl Group, Wilson's second outing as director, also stars Sheridan Smith, Jennifer Coolidge, Nicole Scherzinger and Randall Park.
The film, which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), also stars real girl group stars Ashley Roberts, Melanie Chisholm and Shaznay Lewis as members of Wilson's fictional band.
