To celebrate the world premiere of Pitch Perfect 3, the USO partnered with Universal Pictures to host more than 200 service members at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. Five service members had the chance to walk the red carpet alongside the cast of the film, including USO tour veteran and Pitch Perfect 3 actress and producer Elizabeth Banks.
Banks credits her USO tour experience in 2015 for inspiring the events in the new film. During her USO tour, Banks participated in 17 events in Italy, Djibouti, Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Germany, where she interacted with more than 3,000 service members.
Banks said:
Participating in a USO tour is such a unique honor, and my experience was so inspiring that I wanted it to be part of the next Pitch Perfect movie. The tour gave me a chance to express gratitude to the most deserving men and women on the planet – our nation’s service members and their families.
Prior to the premiere, service members, USO staff and supporters pitched in to stuff 600 care packages at the American Legion Hollywood that will be delivered to some of the 1,350-plus California National Guard members activated to fight the Southern California wildfires. USO CEO and President Dr. J.D. Crouch II and Bob Hope USO President Bob Kurkjiandedicated the USO premiere reception to California National Guard members, encouraging attendees to help assemble the care packages and to write personal messages of support on them.
Crouch said:
We are proud to support the California National Guard as we participate in the premiere to see the USO featured as part of Pitch Perfect 3. We are grateful for all those who pitched in as a Force Behind the ForcesSM to produce these care packages. We are also thrilled that our good friend Elizabeth Banks incorporated her USO tour experience into the Pitch Perfect series, and that Universal Pictures and director Trish Sie brought our entertainment mission to life so well.
USO Entertainment programming has long served as an inspiring means to bring America’s collective support, gratitude, and goodwill to service members through the presence of entertainers thanking them as they serve around the world. Our entertainment programs bring recreation and celebration to the doorsteps of service members and their families through a diverse range of activities. By providing programs that focus on America’s culture and pastimes, the USO brings a grateful nation closer to service members and their families in times of both separation and celebration.
To learn more about the USO and its Pitch Perfect 3 partnership, visit uso.org/PitchPerfect.
