Rebel Wilson makes a musical move, launches 'Rebellionaire' label with Warner Music, says 'it could have a real impact overseas'
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: 'Pitch Perfect' star Rebel Wilson has entered the music industry by joining hands with Warner Music and founding her own label, 'Rebellionaire.' "Take the ‘b’ out of billionaire and replace it with an ‘r’ for Rebel,” she quipped as per a report. The soundtrack for Wilson's feature directorial debut, 'The Deb,' an Australian-set musical, will be her first project as part of this new alliance.
Wilson emphasized her delight by noting, "Even though it's very uniquely Australian, it could have a real impact overseas." Wilson founded 'The Deb' as part of a scholarship program at Sydney's Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP).
'One young person wins it'
Wilson elaborated, "One young person wins it and then I mentor them for a year." The program led to the creation of the successful Australian musical 'Fan Girls,' which sparked Wilson's interest in musical productions, Deadline reported. 'Fan Girls', an Australian musical, was the first one, and according to Wilson and others, it was a smash hit.
'I hadn't shot a movie there for 12 years'
For Wilson, it was an epiphany as she told the outlet,“... then I was like, ‘Oh, hang on, I think I’ve got something here…’” New contracts were set up and Wilson's affiliation with ATYP gave her the opportunity to research potential stage, television or film ventures. She was also keen to work on Australian films again because it had been 12 years since her previous production there. Wilson expressed her excitement by saying, "I hadn't shot a movie there for 12 years."
'The Deb,' written by Hannah Reilly, follows the lives of three girls as one of them is expelled from her posh city school and made to hang out with farm girls in a far-off bush community. Songs from 'The Deb' were co-written by pop songwriters Meg Washington and Hannah Reilly. Wilson took part in the creative process and gave high appreciation to the stage adaption that was presented at ATYP's Rebel Theatre where it became a huge hit. According to Wilson, "The stage production was a deliberate development step for the film and a way to test the musical."
Since then, two new songs 'F**k My Life' and 'Pretty Strong' have been written for the film. Wilson acknowledged the explicit content of 'F**k My Life' joking, "Which is probably why the movie can never be bought by Disney." She was impressed by the performance of 'Pretty Strong' sung a cappella by Natalie Abbott, Charlotte MacInnes, and Stevie Jean who star in the film.
'I’ve never come across three girls with voices with this much talent'
"I've never come across three girls with voices with this much talent that blend so well," producer of 'The Deb' Amanda Ghost said of the group, as per the publication. Wilson is getting ready to shoot the movie in the cities of Sydney and rural New South Wales in October and November, with pre-production planned to start there later this summer.
'I’ve had the bush life'
Wilson thinks back on her childhood in the western Sydney suburbs as she embraces her new position in the music industry and immerses herself in the Australian wilderness for 'The Deb.' “I’ve had the bush life. I was raised in the western suburbs of Sydney … living in a house where you had snakes and bush rats in the backyard. I know that life!”
