Currently out On Digital from Orion Classics is Valley Girl, a musical adaptation of the classic 1983 hit film that changed American teenage life forever, set to a rock ‘n roll ’80s soundtrack.
Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg from a script written by Amy Talkington, the cast includes Jessica Rothe, Josh Whitehouse, Jessie Ennis, Ashleigh Murray, Chloe Bennet, Logan Paul, Mae Whitman, Mario Revolori, Rob Huebel, Judy Greer, Alicia Silverstone and Camila Morrone.
Julie (Jessica Rothe) is the ultimate ’80s Valley Girl. A creative free spirit; Julie’s time is spent with her best friends shopping at the Galleria mall and making plans for senior prom. That is, until she falls hard for Randy (Joshua Whitehouse), a Sunset Strip punk rocker, who challenges everything the Valley and Julie stand for. Despite push-back from friends and family, Julie must break out of the safety of her world to follow her heart and discover what it really means to be a Valley Girl.
Best known for her role as frontwoman of Josie and the Pussycats in The CW’s Riverdale and now on Katy Keene, Murray is playing Loryn, a high-energy, spacey and boy-crazy popular girl.
Blackfilm.com recently spoke exclusively with Murray on her role and singing in the film.
How did this project come along for you?
Ashleigh Murray: It was so long ago when I auditioned for Valley Girl. I think it was back toward the end of the first season of Riverdale. I just got the audition through my agents and I did a tape while we were still filming Riverdale out in Vancouver. Then I found out that the director Rachel was out in Sundance the year I was there for a Netflix film I did. She came and saw the film and that helped her with the idea of what I could do in her film. That March, I found out that I had booked the role.
Had you seen the film before or after the audition?
Ashleigh Murray: I actually didn’t know about it. I knew it was a remake, but I didn’t know the actual original film and I hadn’t watched it and actually still haven’t watched it. Sometimes I don’t like to watch original projects. I don’t want to copy anything. I don’t want to make it feel like we’re just doing a copy and paste. I want to give it my own take based on whatever the director’s vision is and what I can bring to the table.
Music is brought on heavily throughout the film. Did you have to sing as part of the audition?
Ashleigh Murray: No, I actually didn’t have to sing for the audition. I don’t know if the other girls did. But when it comes to singing, sometimes I get a pass because I sing on Riverdale. There’s a ton of examples of me singing out there. They have an idea already that I can sing. But I was just really excited for the movie because it was based in the 80s and I love 80s music and leg warmers.
What can you say about your character Loryn?
Ashleigh Murray: She’s a boy crazy ditz. She’s just like really hopeful and Pretty affable as a character. She knows she just wants to dance and flirt.
Is there any part of Loryn that you can relate with?
Ashleigh Murray: I’ve been a little boy crazy.I have ditzy moments but I’m a pretty conscientious person. It’s just fun to explore a different part of my personality that isn’t that strong.
What were some of the songs of the 80s that you liked that you heard and you saw that was in the film?
Ashleigh Murray: Well, Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want To Have Fun is in there, which I love. I freaking love that song. So I was really excited to be able to sing it. It’s kind of Loryn’s solo moment, which was really, really fun and Tainted Love is in it, which I also love. We’ve heard it the Kids of America song. I’ve heard it in other films, but it wasn’t a song I ever really listened to. That’s all I can remember.
This is an ensemble film, so how was it working with this cast?
Ashleigh Murray: It was fun. I actually got really close with Jessie, and Chloe. We still stay in contact and whenever I’m in LA, we’ll try to meet up. I usually end up crashing at Chloe’s place. It was definitely a great bonding experience after coming off of Riverdale, because that was that and the Netflix film ‘Deidra & Laney Rob a Train,’ where me and Rachel (Crow) got really close with from that. Those are the only experiences that I had working in the industry in this way. So it was nice to be able to find friends in every job that I go to.
When you did this movie, did you pick up something in Rachel’s direction that worked for you as an actress as you went on to do other projects?
Ashleigh Murray: I don’t think so. And I don’t think that really says anything about Rachel. One of my strengths I believe, as an actor is, I take direction really well. When I was in school, they would teach us different director language. Some directors are better at being behind the camera and don’t communicate as well with actors, and some of them were actors before. So they know the right things to say. There’s always that joke of, be bigger or funnier or faster. Or sometimes people just make noises at you. They’re just like, “Can you just kind of…,” and you just have to figure it out. So, I don’t know that there was anything that I specifically took for Rachel, you know, we just sort of figured out a way of working together.
What do you think makes this story sell, in terms of the couple being from different places?
Ashleigh Murray: Well, I think that is what makes it sell. The idea that people from different backgrounds can’t fall in love and can’t be matched and you see that everywhere in any situation. And even if it’s that somebody goes to a different school from you, or they’re a jock and you’re a theater geek, it’s just depends on what happens to you, but it doesn’t mean that two people can’t find a connection and I think that’s really going to resonate with the audience.
In regards to Katy Keene, how happy is it that you were able to go from one series to another series?
Ashleigh Murray: It’s great. It’s really a blessing because I didn’t get the chance to fully explore Josie as a character, and there’s space to do that now on Katy Keene. It’s been really rewarding, especially being able to play her at an age that I’m more familiar with. I don’t really know what it’s like to be a teenager right now. But being able to do that and its capacity and doing it in the city that I know and love really grounds her for me, so it’s been really great.
So while we’re all homebound, what’s keeping you entertained?
Ashleigh Murray: Lots and lots of Amazon Prime. Actually, I watched a lot of Prime Video, I kind of hopped between that and Netflix. Just recently, I binge watched all five seasons of Ally McBeal. I didn’t realize that it was available. That was actually the first show that I was ever allowed to watch as a kid that was considered an adult show at my house. And I vaguely remember bits and pieces of it. I just remember Ali having these visions to now sitting back and watching it as an adult fully. There was a lot of nostalgia and it also was very, very strange watching it because it really does mirror like the setup of Katy Keene and the idea of following this lead character and telling a story to girls got and then you see how she interacts with her friends. And she’s a little quirky and upbeat.
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We Got The Beat video with Jessica Rothe, Ashleigh Murray, Chloe Bennet and Jessie Ennis
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