While Rebel Wilson’s hosting gig at the MTV Movie Awards this past Sunday may not have been a hit with everyone, her performance with fellow Pitch Perfect cast members must have struck a chord.  Universal announced today during its presentation at CinemaCon that sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit is now in development for a planned 2015 release, and original writer Kay Cannon (30 Rock) is back on board as well.  Pitch Perfect focused on the world of collegiate a capella groups, detailing the struggles of an all-female group, the Barden Bellas, who desperately want to redeem themselves at the national championships.

The cast featured Wilson, Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Hanna Mae Lee, and Ben Platt.  No word on if the entire cast, director Jason Moore, or producer and cast member Elizabeth Banks are returning, but as development progresses, we can expect those announcements to be released.  Hit the jump for more.

Anna Kendrick is becoming an actress I trust instinctively.  I love watching her on screen, so if I am not sure about a movie, her presence will nudge me to go see.  Pitch Perfect is a good test case.  It’s a snarky college movie, which can be good but often isn’t.  The Kendrick Factor makes me want to check it out though, and it helps that the movie has been getting great early buzz.  Even if you haven’t fallen for Kendrick as hard as I have, you can check out 7 clips from Pitch Perfect to get a sense of the movie after the jump.

Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Adam Devine also star in the acapella comedy.  Directed by Jason Moore, Pitch Perfect opens October 5.

Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) could do no wrong, even before this new clip of her engaging in a rap battle in director Jason Moore’s musical comedy film, Pitch Perfect.  Kendrick stars as Beca, a college student who stumbles into an a cappella club populated by a motley crew of girls whose only common link is their singing ability.  While the clip features other cast members joining in on the “riff off,” Kendrick steals the show at the end.

Also starring Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Alexis Knapp, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Adam Devine, Pitch Perfect opens October 5th.  Hit the jump to watch the clip and to see how you can make it into a music video for the movie.

The first trailer for the musical comedy Pitch Perfect has gone online.  The film stars Anna Kendrick and centers on an all-girls college a capella group that is in the process of rebuilding in order to defeat the rival all-boys group.  Yes, the film is likely capitalizing on the country’s sudden obsession with Glee, The Voice, etc., but this trailer is saved by the electric charm of Kendrick and Bridesmaids standout Rebel Wilson’s impeccable sense of humor.  In other hands Pitch Perfect has all the makings of a Step Up copycat, but with the promising chemistry between Kendrick and Wilson, Avenue Q’s Jason Moore in the director’s chair, and Elizabeth Banks producing, I’m definitely interested to see more.  Also, as if Kendrick wasn’t already one of the coolest people around, the girl’s got an impressive voice to boot.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, John Michael Higgins, Adam DeVine and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.  Pitch Perfect opens on October 5th.

Check out the new release dates for the following films:

• The Tall Man, a horror/mystery/thriller starring Jessica Biel (The A-Team) and Jodelle Ferland (Silent Hill), will open August 31st, 2012.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, starring Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)  and Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) opens September 14th, 2012.
• Pitch Perfect, with Anna Kendrick (Scott Pilgrim vs the World) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Kick-Ass), opens Octboer 5th, 2012.

Hit the jump for more on each film.

Fans of Party Down will be happy to see Ken Marino once again returning to the small screen in ABC’s comedy pilot American Judy by Judy Greer (Archer). The project follows Greer’s character, a newly married suburban housewife who struggles to raise her step-kids, deal with her mother-in-law and stay out of the line of fire of her husband’s ex-wife, who happens to be the town sheriff. Marino will star as Greer’s husband. Based on Greer’s real-life events, American Judy will be written and executive produced by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont.

In other casting news, The Descendants’ Amara Miller will be moving to 1600 Penn in the NBC presidential family comedy pilot. Starring as Marigold, the youngest daughter of the President (Bill Pullman), Miller will play one half of the family’s twins. Hit the jump for more on each project.

He did not go quietly into the night, nor did he vanish without a fight, and now President Bill Pullman is back. Deadline reports that Pullman has been cast as the President of the United States on the NBC comedy pilot 1600 Penn. Co-created by Book of Mormon star Josh Gad, Jason Winer, and Jon Lovett, the sitcom tells the story of a dysfunctional family whose out-of-control oldest son returns home and “becomes not only its biggest liability but also the glue holding everyone together.” The twist in the story is that the family is the First Family. Gad plays the dysfunctional son, and Deadline also reports that Brittany Snow has been cast as the overachieving perfectionist eldest daughter. Obviously the show isn’t guaranteed to go to series until NBC sees the pilot, but it sounds like a fun premise and I’m eager to see what kind of show 1600 Penn is. Also, Bill freaking Pullman.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories for you this evening. First up, Brittany Snow is the latest addition to the musical comedy Pitch Perfect. Avenue Q‘s Jason Moore is directing the pic, which centers on an all-girls college a capella group that is in the process of rebuilding in order to defeat the rival all-boys group. Risky Business reports that Snow will play Chloe, “a somewhat rigid personality” who eventually finds her place in the singing group. Anna Kendrick stars as the goth-like rebellious lead who joins the a capella team as an escape from her unhappy school life. Bridesmaids scene-stealer Rebel Wilson also stars.

Additionally, James D’Arcy (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) has joined the burgeoning cast of Cloud Atlas. Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Twyker are directing the star-studded adaptation, which they also wrote. Variety has the casting news, but no details on who D’Arcy will play. All the actors involved in the film are purportedly playing multiples roles and swapping gender and races for the character-heavy film. The cast includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent. Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel. Filming is currently underway in Glasgow, Scotland.

Director Adam Shankman has told the British press that Hairspray 2 is dead.  He said:

“I’m going to kill that rumour now, that got killed,” Adam said in Hollywood.  He added: “It’s ok, I was so happy with the first one, let’s leave well enough alone. It’s all good.”

Even though the 2007 film grossed over $200 million at the worldwide box office and starred John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow and Zac Efron, it seems they could never crack the code to make a sequel work.  Back in April of 2009, Shankman talked about the Hairspray sequel at the 17 Again press day.  Hit  the jump for more: