Violet McGraw is one of Hollywood’s favorite new scream queens, having made a name for herself in the M3GAN franchise and The Curse of the Necklace alongside sister Madeleine. For her latest movie, the actress is putting her spin on Christmas with the holiday heist Double Trouble. Violet and Madeleine play sisters Willow and Charlotte, who join forces with an ex-MI6 officer to recover a very expensive diamond gauntlet owned by the hottest pop star on the planet after it is stolen by a master thief. Over Zoom, McGraw and co-star Jack Griffo, who plays the pop star Juniper, joined me to talk about getting into the festive spirit for the action-comedy and spending five weeks filming in Las Vegas. Read ahead for the full tinsel-filled chat.
The Interview with Violet McGraw and Jack Griffo of Double Trouble
Ayla Ruby: I’m really happy to chat with you guys. I just finished the movie. It was very sweet and it was a lot of fun actually.
Violet McGraw: Thank you.
Jack Griffo: Thank you.
Ayla Ruby: So for I guess each of you, if you could talk about how you both came on board, what were your reactions to the script and what really grabbed you? And also for Violet, what made you, and correct me if I’m wrong, what made you want to, I think EP this as your first one, right?
Violet McGraw: Second one.
Ayla Ruby: Second one. I’m sorry about that.
Violet McGraw: No, you’re good. It was kind of a mix of things. John Ducey, the writer, brought up the concept to me and my sister, and we were just like immediately, yes, I love the idea. Getting to work with each other again on a Christmas movie was just so fun. And we had been wanting to do something different because we’ve both been in the horror part of the industry for a long time. And of course we love it, but getting the opportunity to do something different than what we’ve done in the past was really exciting. And yeah, I mean, we got to be producers on The Curse of the Necklace, which was the last film we did together. So getting to be EP on Double Trouble was super fun and exciting, and you just get to learn so much and see a different side of things.
Jack Griffo: Yeah, for me, I got my butt right over to set. I was literally traveling with my friends out of the country and having a great time, but there’s nothing better than being on set and such a fun movie to be a part of and I got to do some music. So immediately it was just like, of course.
Ayla Ruby: I want to ask about the music too, because I know that that’s obviously such a huge part of the character. But for you, Jack, you’re stepping into the middle of this real life family banter, family relationships. What’s that like and how do you fit into all that?
Jack Griffo: Yeah, yeah. Well, Juniper was kind of isolated, to be honest. I only hung out with the McGraw sisters just basically on set behind the scenes. The whole story revolves around this jewelry, this gauntlet, this very valuable item. And so that’s in my possession. And Andrew Koji’s character is this ex-CIA or military, whatever, and learns of a plot to steal it. And the sisters find themselves in the middle of it and have to find their way out and work together. But yeah, my character was kind of doing his own thing. It was cool to be… It was weird because I was only on set for a little bit, but when I watched the movie back, it seemed like I was in it more than I really was.
Ayla Ruby: That’s always how it is too. Violet and for you too, Jack, was there, as far as prep work, because Violet, you mentioned that this was very different genre-wise than what you’ve done before. Did either of you guys watch a lot of Christmas movies or how did you get into the head space for a Christmas heist film?
Jack Griffo: Just drink all the eggnog.
Violet McGraw: Great. Perfect. With me and Maddie, since we were doing it together, we just got to prep and rehearse as much as we wanted to together, which was so fun. And since we actually are siblings, we have that real sibling chemistry that you can feel on screen. That just makes it so natural and much easier to act because it didn’t even feel like acting. It just felt like me and Maddie were hanging out and talking to each other, which is so cool and awesome.
Ayla Ruby: That’s wonderful. To talk about filming a little bit, Jack, you mentioned that you weren’t on set, I guess as much, even though it seems like your character’s in it a lot. Can you guys talk about the filming process? Was it in Vegas? How long did it take? What stood out about it all to you?
Violet McGraw: It was in Vegas. Las Vegas was really fun. When I heard we were doing it there, I was like, “We’re going to have a lot of fun.” And we also have some family that lives out there, which was cool because we got to visit them a little bit. Yeah, super fun. I’ve been to Vegas a couple of times and we were there, I think we were filming there for five weeks. I think I was there for five weeks. I know you left and came back a couple of times, but we were there for five weeks and it was so fun because five weeks doesn’t sound like a long time, but it’s a good time to film a movie and it was a fun five weeks. And then my family came out to visit us a couple of times, which was really cool, and some of our friends.
Jack Griffo: Yeah, the process on set was really cool. Everyone on set was really cool. The whole team, Ali [Afshar] and his whole team, it was just slipping into a well-oiled machine and everyone had a good relationship with each other. It seemed like sometimes you step onto set and it seems like people are still figuring it out, but this was not that situation. And so they were very welcoming. And like Violet said, I kind of came in and out a couple times to come shoot and just shooting at a casino was really cool. And we stayed at the casino while we shot it. So we literally take the elevator down and go across the sky walkway, whatever, and come down the escalator and there’s the crew and very unique situation. I got to check that off my bucket list of shooting a movie in a casino.
Ayla Ruby: It’s very convenient for transportation and waking up. I love it.
Jack Griffo: It was easy. Yeah, for sure.
Ayla Ruby: Okay. So Jack, you mentioned the singing earlier. For you, your character is this legendary male singer. What was the process like for you? Because you’ve got this singing career as well in addition to your acting career. Did the character evolve kind of because there’s piano playing, there’s all sorts of cool things happening with you in the film.
Jack Griffo: Yeah, I think there was a little bit of a three-dimensional moment that Juniper has with his bodyguard where he is kind of like, “Hey, I just really appreciate it. I don’t really have any friends.” Yeah, it was a fun character to play. I do sing a little bit in my personal life, and so to get to be on set, and I got to perform at the Pearl Theater, which was so cool. I’d gone to shows there before, so it was full circle for sure.
Ayla Ruby: Awesome. And I know we’re starting to get close on time, so I have just a fun question before we wrap up. Did either of you get to keep the diamond cuff? And if not, where is it?
Violet McGraw: I did not get to keep it, sadly. I would’ve liked that, but I guess it was more your prop anyways.
Jack Griffo: I don’t know if I’d be able to pull it off.
Ayla Ruby: Okay. So is there anything that either of you want folks to know about the film or you guys or what you have coming up next?
Violet McGraw: Go see it in theaters on October 9th, please.
Jack Griffo: Yeah, check out the movie.
Double Trouble is now in theaters. It is also available on digital and on demand.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
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