‘Pitch Perfect’ will be in select theaters across North America on Friday, September 28, 2012 – one week earlier than expected. This early release of the new movie from Gold Circle Films and Universal Pictures will precede the musical comedy’s wide release, which continues as previously scheduled on October 5.

The decision to open the film in select theaters early resulted from a number of factors, led by the wildly positive moviegoer feedback for ‘Pitch Perfect’ from early screenings and indicators of a very engaged core audience avidly anticipating its release. Universal is promoting Pitch Perfect with the most extensive screening campaign in the studio’s history.  Over the past few weeks, hundreds of screenings of Pitch Perfect across the country have consistently received raucous audience response.

Those screenings have also created regular spikes in social-media conversation that far outpace similar films at the same stage. Fizziology, the leading social-network monitoring company, notes that the sentiment for Pitch Perfect in social media conversation is more than 90 percent positive. Just last week, following the airing of a single television ad for the film in the mid-season finale of ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars,” three separate topics related to ‘Pitch Perfect’ became trending topics on Twitter: the film itself, the character of “Fat Amy” and the song “No Diggity” that was featured in the spot.

Universal hopes to further galvanize the growing positive buzz for the film with this early release strategy, giving early audiences of core fans the opportunity to accelerate the velocity and expand the reach of the word-of-mouth for ‘Pitch Perfect’ after they see it starting on September 28.

“You have to be willing to break the rules for a film that you deeply love, and supporting ‘Pitch Perfect’ in this unorthodox way is a result of our passion for the movie and confidence in its reception,” said Nikki Rocco, President of Distribution, Universal Pictures.  “After every screening, we’ve seen levels of reaction similar to how audiences responded to American Pie and Bring It On, other comedies for a young audience that grew into great success stories for Universal.”

“The social conversation surrounding ‘Pitch Perfect’ on Twitter, Facebook and blogs has been loud and incredibly positive,” said Ben Carlson, President, Fizziology. “We have measured these types of metrics around every major movie in the last three years, and this film is one of the strongest comedies that we’ve seen this far ahead of release.”

About ‘Pitch Perfect’

Beca (Anna Kendrick) is that girl who’d rather listen to what’s coming out of her headphones than what’s coming out of anyone’s mouth. Arriving at Barden University, she finds herself not right for any clique but somehow is muscled into one that she would never have picked on her own: alongside mean girls, sweet girls and weird girls whose only thing in common is how good they sound when they sing together, in the new out-loud comedy ‘Pitch Perfect’.

When Beca takes this acoustic singing group out of their world of traditional arrangements and perfect harmonies into all-new mash-ups, they fight to climb their way to the top of the cutthroat world of college music competitions. This could wind up either the coolest thing they’ll ever do or the most insane, and it will probably be a little of both.

Loaded with new takes on old favorites, to hits of right now that are seamlessly mixed together, mashed-up and arranged like you’ve never heard before, ‘Pitch Perfect’ is directed by Jason Moore, who opened our eyes to the very misbehaved life of puppets in the surprise Broadway sensation Avenue Q.

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Universal City, California, U.S.A. – Universal Pictures announced that it has begun the search for new talent to appear in “Starships,” the official music video for ‘Pitch Perfect’, the studio’s upcoming musical comedy that hits theaters on October 15. With the chance to join the film’s cast and Internet music sensation Mike Tompkins in the video, amateur musicians and dancers are encouraged to submit their best vocals; signature moves; beatbox; and/or guitar, bass, synth and back-up sounds to accompany this cover of Nicki Minaj’s worldwide smash.

With multiple options for participation, fans may submit their entries at www.pitchperfectmovie.com/musicvideo. Those selected for the project will have their video showcased on both the Blu-ray DVD of ‘Pitch Perfect’ and Tomkins’ YouTube channel, which currently has more than 550,000 subscribers.

“Pitch Perfect celebrates everyone out there who is following his or her true passion,” said the film’s director, Jason Moore. “Mike Tompkins embodies passion for music, and we’re thrilled to be able to partner with him on this project. I can’t wait to watch the undiscovered talent that I know we’ll find.”

“When Universal approached me with the idea to make a video for ‘Pitch Perfect’, I knew it would be a fun partnership,” noted Tompkins. “Making music has driven me since I was a kid, and I know there are many others out there who love it as much as I do. I’m looking forward to seeing what we are able to create together.”

This is the first time Tompkins has collaborated with filmmakers, talent and a studio on the official music video for a movie. Tompkins, represented by Maker Studios—a next-generation talent-first music company—is best known for creating his own unique twist on music covers using only his voice and mouth. As his popularity rose, he was noticed by some of the biggest names in entertainment and has since collaborated as a producer and writer with Timbaland and been featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, NBC’s TODAY show and PerezHilton.com, among others. Tompkins and Alana Da Fonsecaarranged this new a cappella version of “Starships,” which was written by Nicki Minaj, RedOne, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub and Wayne Hector.

All submissions must be received by August 22, 2012. Please visit www.pitchperfectmovie.com/musicvideo for entry details and terms and conditions.

About ‘Pitch Perfect’

Beca (Anna Kendrick) is that girl who’d rather listen to what’s coming out of her headphones than what’s coming out of you. Arriving at her new college, she finds herself not right for any clique but somehow is muscled into one that she never would have picked on her own: alongside mean girls, sweet girls and weird girls whose only thing in common is how good they sound when they sing together, in the new out-loud comedy ‘Pitch Perfect’.

When Beca takes this acoustic singing group out of their world of traditional arrangements and perfect harmonies into all-new mash-ups, they fight to climb their way to the top of the cutthroat world of college music competitions. This could wind up either the coolest thing they’ll ever do or the most insane, and it will probably be a little of both.

Loaded with new takes on old favorites to hits of right now that are seamlessly mixed together, mashed-up and arranged like you’ve never heard before, ‘Pitch Perfect’ is directed by Jason Moore, who opened our eyes to the very misbehaved life of puppets in the surprise Broadway sensation Avenue Q.

The article Universal Pictures Search for New Musical Talent appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Universal City, U.S.A. — Universal Pictures announced that the studio has reached the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office, three months earlier than at any time in history.  The previous record was set during the weekend of November 7, 2008 with films that included ‘Mamma Mia!’, ‘The Incredible Hulk’, ‘Wanted’ and ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’. This will be the seventh time Universal has reached this milestone.  With five films yet to be released in 2012, the studio is on track to have its highest-grossing year ever at the domestic box office, a record also set in 2008.

Universal’s 2012 success at the North American box office has been fueled by a strong slate of films including five that became No. 1 (‘Contraband’, ‘Safe House’, ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’, ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ and ‘Ted’), two that grossed more than $200 million (‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ at $214 million and ‘Ted’ at $203.6 million*) and two that grossed more than $100 million (‘Safe House’ at $126.4 million and ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ at $153.8 million*).  Universal is one of only two studios so far this year to have two films that have grossed more than $200 million domestically.  Currently, Universal has four of the 15 top grossing films of the year, more than any other studio.

Other Facts:

Universal and Illumination Entertainment’s ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ was the highest opening for an animated film in 2012 ($70.2 million) and the highest-opening film for Universal this year.

As the breakout comedy hit of the summer, ‘Ted’ set a new record for the highest opening for an original R-rated comedy in history ($54.4 million) and is well on its way to becoming one of the all-time highest-grossing R-rated comedies ever.

The studio’s February hit ‘Safe House’ was Denzel Washington’s second biggest opening of his career and his second highest-grossing film ever.

Universal Pictures International passed $1 billion at the overseas box office on July 17, also setting a new studio record.

This week, Universal will release the next chapter in the studio’s hugely popular espionage franchise, ‘The Bourne Legacy’. In October comes the new out-loud comedy ‘Pitch Perfect’ and the action-thriller ‘The Man With the Iron Fists’ arrives in November. Universal will close out 2012 with two films in December: ‘Les Miserables,’ the motion-picture adaptation of the global stage sensation seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages around the world, and ‘This Is 40,’ the latest comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow.

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