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Hangin' With Archives
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Alexis and Zachare "Post Grads"by Lynn Barker
We met with this cute couple recently and got their take on their characters, best friend relationships, having a "Plan B" when your intended life path gets blocked and what it was like working together (Zach thought Alexis didn't like him at first). Picture the petite, dark-haired actress wearing a rose-colored dress with low neck ad flowing short sleeves accessorized with big hoop earrings. Zach was very preppie-posh in dark blue pullover sweater over a stripe shirt and dark pants. Let's dish friendship and more.... AGW: Did either of you ever have to move back home after going out on your own for any reason? Alexis: I've not personally had that experience. I feel I've experienced setbacks where I've had to regroup and start from scratch, which I think is similar. Not moved in (though). Zach: I was fortunate enough not to have to move home. Both of us pretty quickly got our first job so... Alexis: We're spoiled. Zach: It's still early. I could have to move back home next year. Alexis: Things could go terribly wrong. AGW: Geez, hope not! One of the things the movie's about is the danger of overplanning life. Are either of you overplanners? Alexis: I'm really not. I really go with the flow, I think. Zach: I think I'm the exact same way. Alexis: I'll make a list so I don't forget something but I don't stick to one plan with blinders on the way (my character) Ryden does. Zach: A bird in the hand's worth two in the bush. I can plan all that stuff but if something's presenting itself to me, I'm like, 'alright, I'll do that'. AGW: Alexis, your family in this film is very eccentric. Your dad is really loving but a little wacko. How crazy is our own dad or dare we ask? Alexis: My dad is not that bad. He's very creative. He's always playing music in the living room. There's a concert going on at all times so that's unique. He kind of has projects the way (my movie dad) Walter does. He can basically build anything so he's always working on something on the house. He might be on the roof when you don't expect him to be. He's always attempting new projects so in that way he's like Walter (Michael Keaton's character). He doesn't drive me completely insane, though. AGW: What was it like working with Vicky Jenson, a first time live-action director? She's directed animation before this. Zach: She's very specific. Zach: The upside is that she does have a vision, and she knew what she wanted. She never seemed like she was unsure. It was like she knew. She had it in her mind. AGW: That might seem like too much direction; did you mind? Alexis: I don't mind it. I go with the flow. I really wanted to kind of make the process work for everybody and I'm really quite adaptable so it really didn't bother me. AGW: Alexis, this was your first real adult role; playing someone out of college. Was this something you specifically were looking for to go a little older? Alexis: Yes. And who wasn't quite so sweet. She makes some mistakes. She's a bit blind at times, especially with Zach's character, Adam, and she forgets they're supposed to get together for a date. She's not perfect, which is what really attracted me to the role. She felt very relatable. AGW: Is there a danger the character could be unlikable because of some of the things she does? Alexis: I think they worried about that. They edited it in a way where you still like her by the end of the movie. For that reason, some scenes were cut out of the movie. AGW: What did she do that we wouldn't like? Alexis: It was little tweaks. She was a little more careless with Adam's emotions to the point where the audience would have thought she was just mean. So they really wanted it to be she was distracted and focused on her stuff, and she was oblivious. AGW: Zach, how did you get the part in the film? It was during the writer's strike so no "Friday Night Lights"? Zach: Yeah. I got really lucky timing-wise with it. The part opened up at the last minute and I was in Texas, and someone convinced them to let me come in and read. So I flew in and read with Vicky and Ivan was there and the casting directors, and then they said, we'll have you read with Alexis, and then after that they let me have it, because they were starting filming three days later. Alexis: That's not why (you were cast). Zach: I'm like, I guess you don't have anybody else. AGW: Did they ask if you could play guitar and sing because your character Adam does? Zach: Yeah. They said 'do you have a guitar? Do you know how (to play)?' And I said, 'yeah, I know how but I'm not a guitarist by any means', but in high school I knew how to play every Dave Matthews song. Ever since, I pick it up once a year. So they were like, 'you can play guitar? Great'! AGW: Did you two get along great from the first day? Alexis: He thought I didn't like him. Zach: That's just my insecurities. It's awkward. It's really awkward. They shove you in a room and say, you need to charm this person and have great chemistry with her in order to have this job. So you're like, 'OK'. So every little thing (you're paranoid about) like, 'she rubbed her nose. Maybe that means she doesn't like me.' Alexis: It's a bit forced. You can't force chemistry. You just have to read the scenes and ... I think it worked out for the character. Zach: We're buddies now. Alexis: We're buddies. AGW: Your character, Zach, struggled with pursuing a big college career versus his art, his music. How did you feel about your character's decision and what advice do you have for teens and college students? AGW: When you shot did film, did you realize so many young people would not be able to find jobs in this big recession? Alexis: We had no idea it was going to be so topical because we shot the film before the economic crisis and recession. We thought it was topical at the time, anyway. But now kind of more than ever. I hope people can relate to it and are entertained by it and can enjoy the comedy of it. Zach: I agree. It's something everybody goes through in a way when they finish school and now not having a job, everyone's thinking about it so maybe a CEO out there who lost his job will relate to Alexis not finding a job out of college. AGW: Did either of you have a plan B? Or other interests if acting didn't work out? Alexis: Definitely. I never have been in a situation where I had to think of something. I'm interested in any of the humanities and photography and writing and any art, really, so yeah, I'd have a hard time choosing because I have so many interests. I can't really pick one. But I guess when you have to, you just choose something, right? (laughs) Zach: Acting was a plan B. I grew up working with kids and teaching so after a while (if I hadn't become an actor) I probably would have done that. When I was in New York, while I wasn't really working, I was teaching an after-school program. I think I would have found my way more heavily there to the point where it was my career. AGW: Were you teaching acting? Zach: No. There was this after-school program where I was going to make a movie with the kids and we ran all over. It was in Queens and I had this camcorder with a group of fifth graders and seventh graders, and we ran all over the school and the neighborhood filming stuff. Alexis: They must have had a blast. Where's that film now? Zach: I don't know. It was stressful trying to get these kids with no attention spans to do anything for more than five minutes, it was harder than I expected. AGW: What came out at the end? Zach: Me literally on a camcorder and making it on my laptop, which wasn't even a Mac. It was my college laptop. It had six gigs of memory. It was fun but it was hard. AGW: Have either of you fallen for a best friend? Would you recommend it or tell people to avoid it? Zach: Yeah, I have. It stresses you out a bit. I have my heart on my sleeve. Maybe it'll work out next time, or not. It was like high school. Alexis: No. I haven't fallen for a best friend like these two characters are best friends. But guy friends, yes. AGW: Did both of you like the fact that, at the end of the movie, you're (Alexis) going after him? Alexis: I think so. I like that she's a strong character. Usually, in scripts, it's the guy who has the storyline. The important storyline for the woman is very reactionary to his character so the fact that it's reversed in this film is attractive. It's something different. Ideally you have a male and female in a movie that have their own objectives. And Zach's character is really well-written as well. He has such a different viewpoint than Ryden. Ryden has everything so planned out and he's more relaxed and balanced about things and kind of goes with the flow. He tries to tell her you can't plan everything but she has to kind of learn that herself. all uncredited pictures courtesy of and copyright Fox Searchlight Films, 2009 |
 
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Pretty,
blue-eyed Alexis Bledel of "Gilmore Girls" on TV and the popular
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies and cute Zach Gilford
of "Friday Night Lights" play best friends since childhood who
need to realize they should be a couple in the comedy Post Grad.
Zach's character Adam has been in love with BFF Ryden (Alexis) since they
were in diapers but now that she is out of college and both have to move
on, he's afraid he'll lose her forever. She's just clueless about his
affections and determined to get her dream job right out of school. Of
course, in this economy, this isn't likely and Ryden has to move back
in with her kinda strange family. Yikes! 
Alexis:
You can tell she's an animator because like at one point she was telling
me how to hold my hands (she motions with her arm) a certain way and to
move as if she were animating me. My idea was to do everything exactly
the way she said to try and be consistent with whatever she had mapped
out in her mind. I didn't want to stray from it if she had a vision.
Zach:
Go to law school.(smiles) I don't know, I mean, it's the struggle pretty
much everyone goes through. I went through a very similar situation when
I finished school. I could go teach high school or I could go and be an
unemployed person trying to be an actor. I opted to do the latter. (Adam)
is going to New York to go to law school. That's a great place to be an
independent artist. I think he made a good decision. It's such a personal
thing. I don't think there's any advice to give. Whatever makes you happy,
whatever you're doing.