Anna Kendrick, the star of the popular movie Pitch Perfect, recently opened up about the famous scene of the film’s iconic cup song “Cups (When I’m Gone).” She revealed that the scene of Beca Mitchell’s acapella cup looked effortless, as she and the film’s director, Jason Moore, had to steal cups to ensure that the scene was just right.
Given that Beca Mitchell’s acapella cup act was crucial to the song’s success, the Pitch Perfect alum revealed some of the details that went into creating that scene. For the final moment to be flawless, the Oscar-nominated actress revealed why choosing the ideal cup was essential: “The director, Jason Moore and I, everywhere we filmed, if we saw a cup, we would just steal it. We had this like weird collection to like try out once we got to this stage. We don’t know what the surface of the stage is really gonna sound like.”
Kendrick also discussed the cup’s role in the crucial sequence, explaining that even though it was essential, they still had to justify having a cup available for Beca to use. “Then we had to justify that the cup was there. So yeah, someone came in with the pencils and pen thing. I did think it was funny to just like dump it out in front of them. It feels very much like when a cat is like testing you and is like, ‘What if I knocked this over? What would you do?’
She also discussed how initially the cup scene got selected for the movie. After the success of the Twilight series, Anna Kendrick entered her Pitch Perfect audition unsure of the musical aspects of the movie. Nevertheless, when she performed the iconic move from the first film, everything fell into place. The actor from TV and movies acknowledged that she was familiar with the song and routine before applying for the acapella comedy. She came up with the notion to perform the act rather than the “I’m a Little Teapot” audition piece. Kendrick’s last-minute modification to her audition paved a way for not just her role, but the cup routine as well.
She shared how astonished she was when the filmmakers decided to add this cup scene in the movie. “When Universal was like, ‘We should make a whole music video for that,’ I was like ‘What? Who would want that? ‘ Egg on my face,” she shared. She also shared how she feels while watching the act, “It’s a weird nail on the chalkboard thing for me to watch this.”
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While speaking with Cosmopolitan in December to mark the tenth anniversary of “Pitch Perfect,” Kendrick shared that she initially came across a clip of “Cups (When I’m Gone)” by Lulu and the Lampshades on Reddit. She described how, prior to employing the cup choreography for an audition, she had studied it just for enjoyment. “So when the ‘Pitch Perfect’ folks needed me to sing something to make sure I didn’t sound like a dying cat, I thought, ‘There’s this weird thing that I can do, so why not? Because that’ll be a good use of those several hours that I wasted,'” she said.
Since its release in April 2013, the “Cups” music video has received over 644 million views and, according to Billboard, reached the 6th rank on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Even now, according to Kendrick, parents will give her “the stink-eye” because their child won’t stop performing “Cups,” she stated. “And all I can ever say is, I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry,” she stated.
The cup scene contributed to the success of the original Pitch Perfect movie at the box office and as a cultural phenomenon. With Adam Devine’s Bumper, this popularity led to two sequels and a spinoff streaming series. The Pitch Perfect cast has thrived and remained close-knit since the original movie’s debut ten years ago.
For those who want to revisit the Pitch Perfect cup song and other iconic moments from the movie, here’s how you can watch the movie Pitch Perfect on Hulu outside the US.
