pitch perfect Directed, produced and starring actress Rebel Wilson DebAn Australian musical comedy had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday night.
Wilson participated in a post-screening Q&A with the film at TIFF’s closing night at Roy Thomson Hall, where she explained why her next directorial project will only be a musical. “When I was a teenager, which was a very dark time, I saw a musical at 14 because my dog auditioned,” she recalls.
The dog didn’t get the gig, but Wilson became hooked on the musical. “I saw these people dancing and singing on stage and they were so colorful and happy, and it really helped me through my teenage years,” she added.
Wilson said she has received two offers to direct musicals in the near future. “That’s why, if I direct more movies, they will only be musicals, bringing joy and positivity to people,” she insists.
Deb is a musical comedy set in rural Australia, produced by Amanda Ghost, Len Blavatnik and Gregor Cameron through their company Unigram and sister company AI Film.
Adapted from the original stage musical of the same name, Deb Produced in partnership with Rebel Wilson’s Camp Sugar Productions and Australian producer Bunya Productions. The comedy tells the story of sweet farm girl and high school outcast Taylah Simpkins, played by Natalie Abbott, who is convinced that the upcoming debutante prom (or “Deb”) is her chance for a makeover.
But when her cynical city cousin Maeve (Charlotte McGuinness) is exiled to Terra’s drought-stricken town of Dunbourne, she sees the ball as a step backwards and upsetting the status quo. But in their search for the spotlight, Tyra and Maeve dig deep into self-acceptance and find Deb’s date.
Wilson told the TIFF audience that the idea to direct her own film came about while she was involved with Universal Pictures and working on the film adaptation of the title. catin which the Australian actor plays part of the song and dance show Jennyanydots.
“I walked up to the director and said, ‘I’m just not sure you’re doing it right,’ and a female producer who witnessed the exchange came up to me and said, I think you should direct a movie one day,” she recalled.
Initially Wilson wasn’t convinced that the director’s position was for her, but when she chose to try her hand at making her directorial debut, she looked to classic Australian films for inspiration, such as Muriel’s Wedding and the Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
“I thought, OK, if I’m going to make a movie, it has to be Australian, it has to have koalas, and it has to have a lot of bush,” she added.
The Toronto Film Festival ends on September 15th.
