Netflix’s The Perfect Date has fast become one of the streaming platform’s hottest romantic comedies from this past season. But with its growing popularity and viewership, one of the film’s stars, Laura Marano, has now somehow become associated with the upcoming Pitch Perfect 4 movie without actually being tied to it.
The ambiguous prospect is something the California native told PopCulture.com she is equally perplexed by while in conversation at a Victoria’s Secret PINK event this past June.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“I have no idea,” Marano told PopCulture.com when asked about the possibility of appearing in the wildly popular musical franchise. “I’m not connected to — if there is a Pitch Perfect 4 right now.”
Despite the fact that her IMDb page says she’s a part of the cast, according to Marano, she’s not. But that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t want to work with its fierce stars if circumstances came to fruition, which includes the likes of Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Anna Camp.
“I would love to be,” she added. “I’m so down to have a Pitch Perfect 4 and to be in a Pitch Perfect 4! Right now, I’m not connected, it just made me laugh because I’ve had a bunch of fans ask.”
The 23-year-old actress wouldn’t have known her name was blending with the popular franchise if it weren’t for her fans because she’s simply “not connected.” The actress admits that she tries to stay as disconnected from the cyber world as much as possible — so much so, she doesn’t even own an iPhone.
“Yes, so I have a flip phone,” Marano admitted, adding how that’s the only type of phone she’s ever used. “There’s this level of, if I want to be away form social media, be away from emails, be away from all the other distractions that smart devices offer — or my iPad offers — [I can] … [but] I can still not be completely disconnected if a family emergency happens or even if a career emergency happens.”
Earlier this month, Marano had the opportunity to encourage 80 women to disconnect from social media and cell phones all together to enjoy more personal time with themselves and their friends.
Victoria’s Secret PINK hosted PINK GRL PWR Retreat Unplugged where Marano enjoyed such much needed R&R with the women by giving up their cell phones for an entire weekend. She admitted that she was more than excited for the impact of the campaign while relaxing with like-minded individuals in Sedona, Arizona.
“I actually think for the first time ever for a lot of these girls — for a lot of these millennials — not having the distraction of their phone, they’ve been literally forced to just talk to the person next to them,” Marano told PopCulture.com. “I think everyone’s a little bit surprised how easy it is actually to not have your phone with you and still be entertained and engaged.”
Although she doesn’t have an iPhone, she does own an iPad, which still allows her to be connected more than she prefers. Like most people, she’ll be the first to admit that she gets glued to the screen and scrolls through social media. However, she does have ways of drawing herself out of that.
“I still find myself sometimes being sucked into it. So whenever I feel that, I go to the beach or I go somewhere where I can kind of disconnect, and I bring my phone so I’m not completely disconnected from my family,” she said.
She adds how she enjoys having the older type of phone because while she’s still reachable, she isn’t distracted by all the apps that typical smart phones offer. During the event, Marano and the rest of the women who attended, participated in activities like yoga, star gazing and Q&A sessions.
Marano admitted although a weekend getaway of total disconnect was great, it’s hard to manage that lifestyle day-to-day, especially as a Hollywood actress, but “it’s all about balance.”
“I do think that if you balance it, if you have times in the day where you don’t look at [your phone] first thing in the morning or relaxing at night, even when you’re eating lunch … I think it’s super, super helpful,” she said. “Even those kind of tiny things help me a lot, by not completely disconnecting but disconnecting a little bit.”
Yet as it’s almost impossible to disconnect completely, Marano does have a piece of advice for her generation that is all about finding “balance” and doing “what’s best for your mental health.”
“It’s unrealistic for us to be like, completely [disconnected] and throw away your iPhone [or] … all smart devices and start new with a flip phone,” she said. “I won’t recommend it. You can balance, and you can really push yourself to disconnect more and more. Whether it’s every day, whether it’s every week, find what works for you. It’s so important.”
