Shelley Regner – Pitch Perfect 3

By starrymag | December 21, 2017

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) Where do we pick back up in the Pitchverse in Pitch Perfect 3?

 

A) We pick up three years later in the Pitchverse, with the Bellas now navigating their way through the struggles of adult life in the real world.

 

Q) When you first read the script for Pitch Perfect 3 what really stood out to you?

 

A) The locations! In the first two scripts, there were mainly two locations, Barden University and wherever the finals were taking place. For the third script, the Bellas are all over the map for the USO tour, from New York to Spain to France and everywhere in between. It was fun to play like we were traveling all over the world for this movie.

 

Q) What can you tease or share about what we will get to see from your character Ashley?

 

A) I’m excited for everyone to see Ashley shine a little more in this film! We usually know the characters Ashley and Jessica (Kelley Jakle) as the girls who have “literally been there the whole time,” but Ashley definitely has some fun moments alongside her crazy Bella companions this time.

 

Q) Pitch Perfect always manages to balance a lot of heart and humor along with love and lessons. How does Pitch Perfect 3 hold true to that formula?

 

A) I think that balance really comes from the girls really knowing their characters so well after all these years and that each woman in this group has her own unique and distinct personality of her character and that we are able to balance each other out with all those personality types, whether we are doing an outrageously comedic scene or the more heartfelt, genuine scenes together. The wonderful part about working with these women in this franchise is that we are all great friends off screen so the funny moments AND the sentimental moments are all rooted in something real that we all share with each other, true friendship.

 

Q) Being a part of the Pitch Perfect trilogy, what has been the most surreal moment for you?

 

A) I was just a small town girl from Baton Rouge, Louisiana who had just graduated college in May 2011, attended an open call audition in September 2011 at my alma mater, LSU (where Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2 were filmed) and my life completely changed when I received a call to be part of the all-female musical group of this new movie called Pitch Perfect. THAT’S the most surreal moment for me! Because I will be the first to tell you, that experience does not happen for everybody. I got to be in my hometown, film a Hollywood movie (which no one knew at the time would turn into the franchise it is today) and meet and create these life-long relationships with these incredible women I admired then and still admire now. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity I was given six years ago and to be able to be part of a project has touched so many lives across the world, it doesn’t get more surreal that that.

 

Q) There have been so many hilarious moments from Pitch Perfect. What has been one that when you watch the films that always takes you back and gives you the greatest giggle?

 

A) There are SO MANY laughs we have onscreen and off that it’s truly hard to keep track of all the hilariousness we are fortunate to share everyday on set with one another. Some of my personal favorite giggle moments are when Rebel [Wilson] goes off script. She loved to do that during those more serious scenes when the Bellas come together toward the end of each movie when we share our secrets in the first Pitch Perfect and when we are around the campfire talking about our futures in Pitch Perfect 2. She’s full of hilarious one-liners and she loved to surprise us during those scenes and make us laugh!

 

Q) Elizabeth Banks has had so many hats in the Pitch Perfect-verse from actor to producer and director. What have you really learned from watching her play multiple roles?

 

A) I’m STILL trying to figure out how Elizabeth Banks does it all AND manages to look flawless, as if it’s all effortless work. Not only has she worn the hats of “actor, producer, and director,” but also her most important hat of “mom.” Liz always has her sons close by. I think that is what fuels her – her family. To be able to juggle that many job descriptions at one time, you must really have to have the reason of WHY you are doing all of the crazy things you do in your life and I think for Liz that reason is her sons and her family. Remembering what truly matters in your life like family, loved ones and those who support you most, thatis an incredible lesson for me as an up and coming actress in this industry, to learn from a highly successful woman in the entertainment industry with a career that I aspire to have.

 

Q) Which Pitch Perfect character do you relate to or identify with the most – Chloe, Aubrey, Beca, Amy, etc. and why?

 

A) I think I honestly relate to Aubrey (Anna Camp) those most, as myself. I tend to be my harshest critic, I’m competitive and when I’m focused on a project or goal I go full force and all in, just like Audrey does. It’s nice to have those good friends to bring you back to reality when you get too focused on work. Gotta find that balance of work and play!

 

Q) With so many performances, what was the choreography prep regimine like for this film?

 

A) The choreography and rehearsal is actually one of my favorite parts of this franchise! For the first two movies, we had four weeks of “A Cappella Boot Camp” to learn all of the music and dance numbers for filming. And for the third movie the studio must have thought we were such singing and dancing professionals at this point that we only had three weeks to learn all of our music and choreography before filming. So, it was extra intense for Pitch Perfect 3! Boot camp consisted of an arduous eight to ten hour day split into four or five hours of music rehearsal/recording and four to five hours of dance. We all lose weight during boot camp with all that dancing because it’s so intense!  I grew up dancing so learning and performing all the dance routines for the films was my favorite part and the girls started referring to me as the unofficial “dance captain” of the group.

 

Q) What do you hope the legacy the Bellas will leave behind?

 

A) I think one of the biggest lessons of this movie and the legacy I hope the Bellas leave behind is that family doesn’t always mean by blood. You can choose the people you want as part of your family and the Bellas are definitely a family all their own.

 

Q) When you feel blue, what is your go-to song to cheer you up?

 

A) Both my friends and my fans know the answer to this question. Any song by Beyoncé is a definite go to for cheering me up. I typically pick songs by powerful female vocalists like Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood for a good belt session in my car to cheer me up; and funny enough, a lot of those go-to cheer up songs are written by the best hit-songwriter I know, Ester Dean!

 

Q) The love, camaraderie and sense of empowerment have always made Pitch Perfect and the trilogy’s fans feel so special. What have you taken away from being a part of such a phenomenal franchise?

 

A) Incredibly, I’ve taken away the exact same things in my own experience with Pitch Perfect. The love and camaraderie that we girls have for each other on and off set is a beautiful gift that I will share with them forever and the empowerment that comes from being a part of this diverse, strong-willed, unique, insanely talented group of ladies and knowing that, no matter what, we have each other’s backs is what I take away from this experience.