Editorial Staff
Rachel Griffiths has cast Teresa Palmer and Sam Neill in her directorial debut “Ride Like a Girl”.
Lensing in Melbourne and in other parts of Victoria, the sports drama tells the life story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.
“Hacksaw Ridge” star Palmer plays Payne while Neill is her father who raised Michelle her nine brothers and siblings as a single father.
Also in the cast are Sullivan Stapleton, Genevieve Morris and, Brooke Satchwell, Sophia Forrest, Anneliese Apps, Katie Castles, Veronica Thomas, Zara Zoe, Aaron Glenane and Henry Nixon, as the Palmer siblings. The young Michelle Payne is played by Summer North and a young Stevie Payne by Gryffin Morrison.
The film is set for release next year through Transmission Films in Australia and New Zealand.
“Ride Like a Girl” is produced by Richard Keddie, and written by Andrew Knight and Elise McCredie.
“We are celebrating both Michelle’s resilience and athletic brilliance, as well as her sisters’ inspiring achievements in the sport before her. We also explore the profound impact of those men who gave her opportunities and stood by her at critical moments and hope to inspire more men to become champions of change,” said Griffiths in a prepared statement. Griffiths appeared as a performer in “Muriel’s Wedding,” “Saving Mr Banks,” and “Hacksaw Ridge.”
