Morgan Griffin Spin Out Interview

Cast: Xavier Samuel, Morgan Griffin, Eddie Baroo
Directors: Tim Ferguson and Marc Gracie
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Rated: M
Running Time: 96 minutes

Synopsis: Billy and Lucy have grown up together in a small, close-knit country town, where they form one of the town's most formidable Ute driving teams.

When Billy takes one risky car stunt too far, Lucy declares she is moving to the city - sending Billy into a spin. Amid the mayhem of the town's annual "Bachelors and Spinsters" party, Billy only has one night to wake up to his true feelings for his best friend - or lose her forever. Spin Out is a fresh, feel-good comedy romance for the young and the young at heart.

Spin Out
Release Date: September 15th, 2016

 

Interview with Morgan Griffin

Question: In a few words, how would you describe your character Lucy, in Spin Out?

Morgan Griffin: Lucy is strong, feisty and self-assured.


Question: What was it like filming in Shepparton?

Morgan Griffin: It was great. We were there for a month and a half. I'd never been before, it was awesome and everyone was lovely to work with – we had a lot of locals, as extras on set and a few crew members, as well; they were really awesome to us and really made us feel at home.


Question: How does Shepparton differ from where you're from?

Morgan Griffin: I'm from Sydney, the city, so it's quite different but I have spent time in the country, I have a lot of friends and my Dad who are from country towns. It's good – it's a differently lifestyle.


Question: Did you spend much time, in Shepparton, prior to filming, to get into character?

Morgan Griffin: Actually no, I flew straight in, from London. I had a few days in Sydney, to see my family, after living in London and then I flew to Melbourne and then Shepparton. I hadn't spent any time there but we did have pre-production week in Shepparton where we got to check it out, have driving lessons, went to the local pub and found the local eating places.


Question: Did you actually go to the Deni Ute Muster?

Morgan Griffin: We actually went there! We wrapped principle photograph and then we had a couple of weeks off before we went to Deni and it was so much fun. We were just having fun as we had a skeleton crew and it was me, Xave (Xavier Samuel) and Travis (Travis Jeffery). And we improving the whole time with a camera on us, it was great, I loved it – it was so much fun and I definitely would love to go again.


Question: Was it fun filming the party scenes?

Morgan Griffin: It was really fun, the set was pretty cool as it was a wool shed converted to a function centre with hay bales, beautiful fairy lights and was always filled with heaps of people so we felt like we were having a party. We're making a comedy so it was very light and fun – it was great.


Question: And, all the live performances.

Morgan Griffin: Yes awesome, Taylor Henderson and Brooke McClymont which was really cool, they're both super talented. Again, it felt like we were watching a gig at a B&S Ball (laughs).


Question: Can you tell us about the driving stunts, seen in the film?

Morgan Griffin: We had stunt doubles but we did have to do quite a bit of the driving ourselves. A bunch of us got driving lessons, prior to the shoot and I'd never driven a manual before and I don't think Xave (Xavier Samuel) had either (laughs) so we had to learn how to drive a manual in a couple of hours! We got sent to a stunt driving school in Shepparton and they were awesome, very talented and skilled drivers, it was really fun, but daunting. We got the hang of it and learnt our routine with our great stunt coordinator Russell Frost. I think everyone was surprised at how capable we were.


Question: What do you drive usually?
Morgan Griffin: I did actually end up getting a ute, I used to drive a Suzuki Swift years ago but now I actually do have a ute although I think I will be selling it because it's not very practical in the city.


Question: How (if at all) are you similar to your character of Lucy?

Morgan Griffin: I don't think I'm as feisty as her or maybe not as confident but I think I had a similar feeling of wanting to leave where I lived so I packed my bags and moved to London; that similarity of wanting to go somewhere else which was parallel to what I'd gone through not too long before. I like to think I'm self-assured and know what I want in life. She's (Lucy) is definitely cooler, way cooler.


Question: Prior to filming, had you attended a Bachelor and Spinsters Ball?

Morgan Griffin: I had never been, I had known what they were but I'd never been. Tim Ferguson and Edwina Exton had been back in their High School days and the characters were based on people they'd met in that kind of environment. We had a lot of material to work with and research and again the people of Shepparton really filled us in because they are seasoned professionals of the Bachelor and Spinsters Ball.


Question: What did you learn working with Xavier Samuel and your supporting cast?

Morgan Griffin: We all got along and all had such a ball working together and everyone worked really hard, we all had a lot of fun playing around; being playful on set and collaborative.


Question: Are you heading back to London?

Morgan Griffin: I'm not, I moved back after we finished shooting. I am Sydney based, again, at the moment. I am heading to the States at the end of the month, for a couple of weeks. I was just in Adelaide filming another film, about a month ago. It's nice to be home.


Question: Can you tell us about your upcoming projects?

Morgan Griffin: It's a thriller called Bad Blood with Xavier (Xavier Samuel) again, set in Adelaide; it's in post-production at the moment. Hopefully it'll be great (laughs) but I haven't seen it yet.


Question: And, you're heading to the States for…

Morgan Griffin: I'm heading to the States for a couple of meetings and seeing my Agent and for auditions.

Spin Out
In Cinemas September 15th, 2016

 

Watch Morgan Griffin Interview for Spin Out with Brooke Hunter