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39 postsAnna Kendrick is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role in Up in The Air, Twilght, and Pitch Perfect. She had a worldwide hit with The Cup Song.
Kendrick performs at the Kennedy Center Honors, singling It’s Not Where You Start, It’s Where You Finish from the Broadway show Seesaw and then with other Broadway stars for Lord Help Us, We Love Her, in a tribute to Shirley MacLaine.
Kendrick has a minor role as Diana in this thriller and political fiction, directed and produced by Robert Redford. Redford also stars in the film as Ben, Diana’s ex-boyfriend. This film is based on the book by the same name, about former members of the Weather Underground who plot to blow up buildings in United States cities. Co-starring Julie Christie and Susan Sarandon.
…it feels so silly to pontificate on that role; I’m in the movie for like thirty seconds — but my feeling was certainly that this is someone who is ambitious. But someone who thinks of herself as having her heart in the same place as the kids in the Weather Underground probably thought their hearts were. You know, actually trying to make a difference. I think she thinks these are bad people. I’m going to catch bad people.
Seacrest interviews Kendrick during On Air With Ryan Seacrest about her nude shower scene for the film Pitch Perfect.
The best day of my life. When we were disrobing, I thought “this is awful” but by the end of the day, it got so hot and humid, I was loving it.
In this musical comedy based on the book by Mickey Rapkin and directed by Jason Moore, Kendrick stars as Beca Mitchell, a rebellious girl who enters her school’s girls’ cappella musical group and discovers her voice. Different groups in the school compete to perform at Lincoln Center and on a radio station. Co-starring Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy – another singer. On a challenging side of making the film:
I think the scene where we’re all confessing stuff was hard. It was towards the end of the shoot, like maybe the second to last days for the girls. It was late and we were all just sitting around staring at each other and it was just like you get too relaxed. You get too comfortable. In a scene like the riff-off, there’s so much at stake and so many moving parts that your brain is working overtime. I think just sitting in a circle with these girls that I’d gotten to know over three months was like I can’t take you guys seriously.
Kendrick voices the character ‘Courtney’ in this stop-motion animated feature. Courtney’s younger 11-year-old brother Norman Babcock (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee) is ostracized for his claim to be able to speak with the dead. Norman befriends another boy who is bullied at school and goes on a mission to save the world from zombies.
I’d always wanted to do an animated film, so I jumped at the opportunity. This is my first one. I was really nervous because I’m not great at ADR (Automated Dialog Recording), so I wasn’t sure how this was going to be. But, it was actually really, really freeing. I just felt like it was a really safe space, and it was okay to make really ugly faces and really ugly body gestures. To use all those things as tools was really helpful. To not be self-conscious about the way you look on camera helps the intention to be really pure.
Kendrick sings For Good with Chenoweth, in a Broadway style performance, at Trevor Live, at the Hollywood Palladium.
Kendrick plays Stacey Pilgrim, younger sister of the main character, Scott Pilgrim, in this comedy by Edgar Wright. In an effort to earn her heart, Scott has to defeat all seven ex-boyfriends of his new girlfriend Ramona – played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead- in a series of martial arts battles.
I basically just sort of judge Scott for all his life choices and tell him how to live his life which is fun, but I care about him too.
Kendrick is nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 82nd Academy Awards for portraying Natalie Keener in Up in the Air.
I feel unbelievable. This is just not one of those things that you ever think is in the realm of possibility to happen to you. I don’t come from this world and I feel privileged to be in the room with these people.
Kendrick receives the Rising Star Award, in the 21st Annual Palm Spring International Film Festival gala for her performance in Up in the Air.
Anna Kendrick is an extremely gifted young actress. At age 12, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Dinah in High Society. Now in her mid-20s, she has gone from strength to strength with each succeeding screen role. Given her striking, multifaceted performance in Up in the Air, we are delighted to present her with the Festival’s Rising Star Award.
The film’s producer, Ivan Reitman. presents her with the award.
Kendrick discusses getting the Camp role. A cousin to the director encouraged her to audition for the movie:
There was a woman in High Society named Randy Graff, and she’s cousins with Todd Graff, who directed Camp. When I was 13 and the show had just closed, she told me that I should go and audition for her cousin’s movie. I went and I read for [the part of] Fritzi and they did a workshop of it when I was 13, and then when he was finally getting it made, I was 16 and he said the job was still mine if I wanted it. It wasn’t really an age-specific role.
Kendrick stars in this comedy-drama directed by Jason Reitman, based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Walter Kirn. She plays Natalie Keener, an ambitious new employee for a company that specializes in firing people. Natalie wants to activate a system to fire employees through videoconferencing. Instead she paired with Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) who travels the globe firing people in person. Also starring Vera Flamiga.
It’s the first time I’ve played my own age, which was pretty exciting. I’ve played high-school kids my whole life, this time I felt like I was sitting at the grown-ups’ table. And I love strong female characters. It’s a pretty rare thing to find a part this well rounded for a young woman.
Kendrick stars in this crime drama, written by Nathan Hope and directed by Todd Louiso, her first film as a lead character. She plays a girl whose best friend (Tania Raymonde) goes missing. Nathan Hope, on her character:
Anna had just worked Rocket Science for a friend of mine, and I knew she was incredibly talented and a very smart woman. She was a pleasure to work with.
Kendrick auditions for a role in the upcoming film, Twilight Saga, based on the novel series by Stephanie Meyer. She auditions for the role of Jessica Stanely. Having been too ill to do a mix-and-match of different actors, she is brought in on a later session.
Twilight, I wish there was like a great story behind it, but it was a straight-up audition situation. They actually brought me in for a mix-and-match (with various actors). I was so sick that they asked me to stay, and I literally told them I couldn’t because I just felt so ill and I had to go home. But then they brought me in for one last smaller mix-and-match, and I ended up doing it.
In this comedy-drama, Kendrick plays Ginny Ryerson, a fast-talking high school debater. Ginny recruits Hal Hefner (Reece Daniel Thompson) to join her team, disregarding the fact that Hal stutters. Hal jumps at the opportunity to participate in something that will distract him from his troubled home life. Directed by Todd Graff, co-starring Don Nixon.
I get really excited every time there’s a female character who is really strong because a lot of females in film are really soft.
Kendrick plays Dinah Lord in the Broadway Musical, High Society.
Kendrick leaves Portland by bus to New York, where she hopes to be inducted into Broadway. Kendrick:
I started auditioning when I was about 10 and I didn’t get my first job until I was 12, and two years at that age is really hard.
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