Laura Marano on why ‘Original Sound’ will remind fans of Disney’s ‘Austin & Ally’

[0:00] Blending her artistry, acting, singing, and songwriting, Laura Murano is ready to show off her latest project. [0:06] Murano first made her mark as pop star Allie Dawson on the Disney Channel hit Austin and Allie [0:12] and has since led a string of romantic comedies, including The Perfect Date, Choose Love, and The Royal Treatment. [0:19] Now, in the film Original Sound, Murano plays Ryan Reed, a pop star accused of stealing a song from beatmaker Danny Solis. [0:28] Set against the backdrop of New York City, the film dives into the music industry as the two are forced into an unlikely creative partnership. [0:36] I had a chance to speak with Laura. Let's take a look. [0:58] That's it. [0:59] That is it. Yep. [1:00] Joining us now is actress, singer, and songwriter Laura Murano. Thank you so much for being here. [1:05] Thank you so much for having me. [1:06] Absolutely. Fans who grew up watching you on Austin and Allie on the Disney Channel, by the way, my brother and sister say hi. [1:13] Okay, I love that. Please tell them I say hi. [1:15] When I texted them and told them that we were speaking today, they said, oh, my gosh, I used to watch her on the Disney Channel all the time. [1:21] How old are they? [1:22] They're 25 and 23. [1:25] It is so wild the reach that that show has because I'm a nine-year-old still coming up to me. [1:30] Like today, I just heard a nine-year-old. [1:31] And then I have like people who work at the bank who are bank tellers telling me I'm like their childhood. [1:35] And I'm like, we didn't know that you're a bank teller. [1:37] That can't, that doesn't make sense in my head that I'm your childhood. [1:40] The show lives on. [1:42] So when folks hear the premise behind this new movie, Original Sound, they see some parallels to Austin and Allie. [1:49] Did that cross your mind when you were first reading the script? [1:51] Absolutely. [1:52] So it's based on an off-Broadway play, which already I was so excited about the prospect of doing something that was based on a play. [1:58] I'm like dying to do Broadway, dying to do off-Broadway. [2:01] And then when I read the script and knew the premise, I was like, wait, I've kind of done this before. [2:05] But I was the other side. [2:06] My song was the one being stolen. [2:08] So this time, I kind of get to be a little bit of the villain. [2:10] I get to be the thief, which I was really excited to do and be blonde. [2:15] Yes, yes. [2:15] We saw the hair. [2:16] It looks good on you. [2:17] So what was it like just kind of just embracing this character? [2:22] Yeah. [2:23] Just walk us through that process. [2:23] You know what, in a lot of ways, it was really, I think I put a lot of my own experience into Ryan from my experience in the music industry and my first record label when I was 19, 20. [2:38] I think that you have so much pressure that is on you from so many different sides, the record label side, the management side, the audience side, that you sometimes maybe end up doing things that you shouldn't have done. [2:52] I don't know if I necessarily stand by her choice to steal another artist's song, but I do think she was very much inspired to do that because she felt like Dani was like a critic of hers. [3:06] So this is a girl who is projecting a lot of her own insecurities and feelings and using this one song as an outlet to hopefully make it in the music industry. [3:17] Yeah. [3:17] I think it's really interesting that both characters come together to then collaborate. [3:21] Yes, yes. [3:22] And what was that like working with your co-stars in this movie? [3:25] David is awesome. [3:26] Like, I absolutely had so much fun working with him. [3:29] And I feel like David Lambert, Eric Stoltz, who I am obsessed with, and then Constantine, who also is the, you know, record producer part. [3:38] You know, those are my kind of like three counterparts in the film. [3:41] And all of them, I think, brought such a different side of Ryan. [3:44] Working with David was really fun on the creative side because he's so creative. [3:49] He's like a really talented piano player. [3:51] So that part was really fun. [3:52] Eric and I, I think, really understood each other from like an acting dynamic of we always love to rehearse. [3:58] We were rehearsing on our weekends. [3:59] And Constantine, him and I really like bonded over our experience in the record industry and music industry and was just, he's so, so lovely. [4:06] So all of it was really, really fun to collaborate. [4:09] Yeah. [4:09] And you taped here in New York City. [4:11] Yes. [4:11] Is that right? [4:11] What was that like? [4:12] How did the setting influence the storyline? [4:15] So much fun. [4:16] Yeah. [4:16] Oh, my God. [4:16] Well, I have family here. [4:17] A family in the Bronx who I absolutely love and adore. [4:20] And then we filmed the movie in Brooklyn slash like Bushwick area. [4:24] Like deep, deep Bushwick. [4:25] All right. [4:25] So I had never spent that like extended period of time in New York before. [4:30] And it was the fall. [4:31] And I was blonde. [4:33] And I was just like, at one point, I was like, I remember walking and I had a dress and it was like blowing in the wind. [4:38] And I'm like, do I move here? [4:39] Maybe I move here. [4:40] It's such an inspiring city. [4:42] And I think for this story in particular, it was the best possible location to film it in. [4:46] Yeah. [4:47] And you also co-wrote music for the film. [4:49] Yes. [4:50] What was that process like? [4:51] What was the challenge of creating songs that serve both the story and the character? [4:56] Oh, it was so interesting because I collaborated with our music producers, Eric and Glenn. [5:01] And I, the music itself is a character in this movie. [5:06] And so to your point, I had to really be in like the mode of Ryan and what she wanted to say and what she wanted to write both sonically, lyrically, you know, all of the above. [5:17] It was really, really fun to kind of like put that hat on in terms of like, I'm not just writing for me, Laura Marano. [5:24] I'm writing for her character in this particular situation she's in. [5:28] So you're not making the same choices that you would as an artist, if that makes sense. [5:33] Laura Marano, thank you so much for stopping by. [5:36] Original Sound hits theaters beginning April 24th and its soundtrack is available to stream now.