“Pitch Perfect 3” hit comedy sequel finds director

PanARMENIAN.Net - The pitch is back. After a search that began in the spring and extended into the summer, Pitch Perfect 3 has landed a director: Trish Sie, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

The search was necessitated when Elizabeth Banks, one of the producers of the music-themed franchise, backed out of helming the third installment after making her directorial debut with the hit Pitch Perfect 2.

Universal and Gold Circle, the companies behind the movies, and producers Paul Brooks, Max Handelman and Banks then launched an immediate hunt for a replacement. Jason Moore, who helmed the first movie, was approached but unavailable, clearing the way for a wide open search.

Sie has only directed one film but it was key to getting the job: 2014's Step Up All In, the fifth installment of the dance-themed franchise. Sie also is a choreographer and helped conceive and direct hit videos for OK Go, including the recent viral hit "Upside Down & Inside Out," which was shot in zero gravity, as well as the band's breakout video, known as the treadmill video, for the song "Here it Goes Again." (Fun fact: Sie is the sister of OK Go frontman Damian Kulash.)

Pitch Perfect 3 has been taking a bit longer to develop than the filmmakers were planning, and the movie was recently moved from a July 21, 2017, release to Dec. 22, 2017. Mike White penned a new draft this summer.

Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson are set to return for the a cappella-centric movie, which also will see the return of Brittany Snow and Pitch Perfect 2 addition Hailee Steinfeld. The first two films grossed over $400 million at the global box office.