TORONTO: Why would Rebel Wilson only direct music?

Pitch Perfect actress Rebel Wilson directed, produced and starred in the Australian musical comedy The Deb, which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday night.

And Wilson, who was on hand for a post-screening Q&A at Roy Thomson Hall for TIFF's closing night film, explained why her next directorial effort will be a musical only. "When I was a teenager, it was a very dark time, and I got to see a musical film when I was 14 because my dog ​​auditioned for it," she recalled.

The dog didn't get the job, but Wilson became a musical film buff. "I saw these people dancing and singing on stage, they were so colourful and happy, and it really helped me in my teenage years," she said.

Wilson said she has received two offers to direct musical films in the near future. "So, if I direct more films, they will only be musical films and bring joy and positivity to people," she insisted.

But when her eccentric urban cousin Maeve (Charlotte MacInnes) is exiled to Tella's drought-stricken town of Dunburn, she feels the ball is regressive and disrupts the status quo. But in their quest for the spotlight, Tella and Maeve delve deeper into self-acceptance and finding a date for Deb. Wilson told the TIFF audience that the idea to direct her own film came when she was working on Universal and Working Title's adaptation of Cats, with the Australian actor performing part of the song and dance number Jennyanydots in the feature.

The Deb is a musical comedy set in rural Australia, and is produced by Amanda Ghost, Len Blavatnik and Gregor Cameron through their company Unigram and sister company AI Film. Adapted from the original stage musical of the same name, The Deb was produced in partnership with Rebel Wilson's Camp Sugar Productions and Australian producer Banya Productions. The comedy centers on sweet peasant girl and high school outcast Tella Simpkins, played by Natalie Abbott, who is certain that the upcoming debutante ball, or "the Deb," is her one chance for a makeover.

"I went up to the director and said, 'I'm not sure you're doing this the right way,' and a female producer who had witnessed this exchange came up to me and said I think you should direct a movie one day," she recalled.

At first Wilson wasn't sure the director's chair was for her, but when she decided to make her directorial debut, she drew inspiration from Australian classic films such as Muriel's Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

"I thought, well, if I'm going to do a movie, it should be Australian, it should have koalas and it should have a lot of bush," she said.