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Seth McFarlane
Q &A
There’s singing, there’s dancing, there are beat boxing college students. No, we’re not at another Northwestern a cappella show: We’re talking about the new film “Pitch Perfect.” Communication alumnus (‘93) Jason Moore is the star behind the scenes of the movie, which he describes as “a comedy with music, not a musical with comedy.” Although “Pitch Perfect” is his feature film directorial debut, Moore has directed everything from “Avenue Q” on Broadway to episodes of “Dawson’s Creek.” Moore took time out of his busy schedule to speak with The Current about transitioning from theater to film directing and his own college experience as a Wildcat. Excerpts:
The Current: What were some
Seth MacFarlane will host the Academy Awards this year, the Oscars producers announced this week. Best known for the show “Family Guy,” MacFarlane also starred in the popular summer comedy “Ted.” The Daily and Current staffers respond to the news: “‘Ted’ sucked; hoping Seth won’t.” — Sydney Zink “Seth was an awesome choice.” — Jennifer Ball “AND he landed Emilia Clarke?” — Christian Gossin Wilson “You think he might sing?” — Sam Freedman “Please, no more trite showtunes!” — Tanner Maxwell “Are Khaleesi/dragon babies invited?” — Michele Corriston “Giggity giggity giggity giggity giggity.” — Will Podlewski “Loins are tingling with joy.” — Laken Howard “Probably won’t be that funny.” — James Bien “I don’t watch ‘Family Guy.’” — Megan Patsavas “Better be funny this year.” — April McFadden “Don’t pull a ‘Hathaway Franco.’” — Lauren Kravec — Alison Abrams
The Current Editor in Chief Megan Patsavas
Assistant Editor Chelsea Peng
Design Editor Kelsey Ott
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Chelsea Sherlock
of the differences between directing theater performances versus a feature film? Jason Moore: One of the good things about this as my first feature film is that there were a lot of musical performances, so that was an area I felt very comfortable in … I think probably the hardest transition that I had to make was that in Broadway singing there are backup singers, but there’s also an orchestra. But with a cappella singing, there is no orchestra. All the actors have to do it themselves and the singers have to create all the sounds, so it was much more intricate to do that than I realized. To get the singers to learn all the individual parts and then dance all together was very, very complicated so we ended up spending a lot of extra time on that, but I think it worked out pretty well for the movie.
The Current: There were a lot of actors in “Pitch Perfect” that aren’t known for having a musical background. Was there anyone you knew you wanted for your film from the start, and how did you select the other actors? JM: I knew that I wanted Anna Kendrick to play the lead role ... Then quickly after that, the character of Fat
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Odds & Ends
Jason Moore Director, “Pitch Perfect” Amy was important on the page, and I’d heard that Rebel Wilson could sing. I’d seen her in “Bridesmaids” ... so I got her in right away and she sang Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” while beat boxing and banging on her chest and I knew that she’d be perfect for that part.
The Current: What influenced your decision to become a director? JM: I’ve always wanted to do both film and theatre; I’ve kind of been divided about what to pursue most. So I was a film major, and then I wanted to do theatre shows so I became a theatre major, but I didn’t really like doing the crew requirements for that, so then I became a performance studies major, and then I was in the Music Theatre program which had just started that year that I was there, and I was also in the Creative Writing for the Media program. I actually ended up completing none of those programs. I ended up graduating with this degree called the Interdepartmental Studies degree, which is basically a fancy way of saying “You didn’t actually finish any one program, but we’re still going to get you out of here.” So at the time, the dean (of the School of Speech) said to me, “You’re a director. That’s what you’re picking naturally because you want to know a little bit about everything, which is what a director does.” The Current: Do you have any
projects planned for the future? JM: You know, for the first time in ten years, I actually don’t know what I’m doing next, which is both terrifying and also really liberating. Ever since “Avenue Q” came out about 10 years ago, I’ve been very fortunate to always have projects lined up. I always wanted to make a movie, and I’ve had to take a long time off from the theater world to get this made. I’ve been working on (“Pitch Perfect”) for almost two years now. I really would like to make another movie and I’m having a bunch of meetings in Los Angeles to find out what it is. I’m excited and nervous about the future, which is kind of the life in theater.
Meghan White/Daily Senior Staffer
hitting the high note NU alumnus Jason Moore speaks to a crowd of students at an early screening of his movie “Pitch Perfect.
The Current: Do you have any
advice for current Wildcats interested in working in the entertainment industry? JM: I guess the piece of advice is get to know everybody in your program, come to understand your talents and your strengths, and keep in touch with those people because it’s an important component of getting a job out in the real world. I also think just do whatever it is in the arts that you love. Figure out what you’re good at and what you want to do and just be passionate about it. If you’re
Quirky questions with... Omar Jimenez, a Medill sophomore and point guard for Northwestern’s varsity basketball team, moonlights as rapper OJ Tropicana. After his Sept. 28 performance at The Rock, he sat down with The Current to answer some quirky questions.
The Current: When you were a
child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Omar Jimenez: Professional basketball player.
The Current: Cheez-Its or Cheetos? OJ: Cheetos. Original Cheez-Its don’t really do it for me. All of the Cheetos work for me. Hot Cheetos, Jalapeno Cheetos, all of them. The Current: Favorite Gatorade
flavor? OJ: Fierce Melon.
The Current: If you could be a car,
what car would you be? OJ: A Black Veyron Bugatti.
The Current: Who is the best rap-
per alive? OJ: Eminem. Nas. And I know people will think I’m crazy for this,
in a school like Northwestern, you’ve gotta have some sort of talent, so just keep at it. “Pitch Perfect” opens in theaters nationwide Friday. — Laken Howard
>>> Go to dailynorthwestern. com/current to check out our “Pitch Perfect” movie review.
OJ Tropicana
but Childish Gambino.
The Current: What song gets you excited no matter what? OJ: “American Royalty” by Childish Gambino. It’s the go-to song in the car. The Current: If you could be anyone in the world, who would you be? OJ: Aw, man, people are gonna think I’m obsessed with him. Donald Glover. I think acting is the coolest thing ever. And he raps too. And I love comedy. If I could be him, I don’t know if I could go wrong. The Current: Why did you choose OJ Tropicana? OJ: Initially it was Tropicana. Then people started calling me just OJ. Randomly, people started calling me OJ Tropicana. The Current: If you were stranded on an island, what is the one thing you’d have to have? Besides food and water? OJ: My Bible. — April McFadden
Alejandro Pallares/The Daily Northwestern
Taking the mic Medill sophomore and Northwestern basketball player Omar Jimenez raps under the name OJ Tropicana. On Sept. 28 he performed for students in front of The Rock.
VIDEO ONLINE
>>> Check out a video of Omar’s Friday performance at dailynorthwestern.com/current.