[IMG:L]Stopping by the set of Seventeen Again, we thought we might get to see a little action. The plan was to shoot a beach party in Santa Monica with stars Zac Efron and Michelle Trachtenberg front and center, but the strong ocean breeze blew those plans right out of the water. Luckily, Hollywood.com did catch the costars for a quick chat inside Trachtenberg’s trailer, before the duo took off to film an alternate scene at an undisclosed location.
The pair stars in the new comedy, due in theaters in 2009, about a man (Matthew Perry) who hits rock bottom amid a failed marriage and career. Through a series of events he finds himself 17 again (played by Efron), with a chance to do it all over again. Unsure what to do, he enrolls at his old high school where he attends classes side by side with his rebellious daughter Maggie (Trachtenberg) and son Alex (Sterling Knight).
Hollywood.com: We just heard the beach bonfire scene had to be postponed because of the weather. So what other fun scenes have you been working on?
Michelle Trachtenberg: I felt really bad because the other night I had to slap Zac and that was really hard for me to do. There were like three takes and he was such a trooper. His face was burning red and I was like, “I’m sorry!” He was like, “Just do it. Come on!” He was so funny.
Zac Efron: The thing about slaps on camera is there are so many ways to do it wrong!
HW: You two got to play father and daughter in this film? That’s got to be weird.
MT: I call him dad. [I say things like], “”Good morning, dad.” [Laughs]
[IMG:R]HW: Michelle, your character Maggie sounds like a total rebel.
MT: She’s pretty cool. You can’t see it right now but I usually have bright green extensions in or like black and blonde extensions in or burgundy ones. She’s a really fun girl … She’s sort of your typical 17-year-old girl, kind of rebelling against her parents. She’s being inspired by her boyfriend, who is a rebel with a tattoo and just sort of angry at her parents, doesn’t understand why they’re getting divorced and trying to go through her everyday life not caring.
HW: Zac, Matthew Perry plays an older version of your character. Is it true you studied him?
ZE: Yeah, a little bit. He’s got a few mannerisms, a lot of small things that I tried to incorporate … I try not to do too much of it. Only at very few select moments will you see it. I think people are different as they grow older. What I wanted to play a lot with this character is watching his youth come out again, when he comes back to being 17. I didn’t want to be the exact same person.
HW: Have the fans been trying to mob the set at all?
ZE: Sets aren’t the fun place you think they would be. It’s kind of a bunch of ominous, big hairy grips running around with big trucks. It also doesn’t look like a really fun place. There’s no giant “Hey, let’s have fun” signs.
[IMG:L]HW: You guys are having fun right? Who is the biggest prankster on set?
MT: It’s me. I’m probably the worst …I make fun of everyone just for laughs.
ZE: That’s gonna be a great quote. I can just see that in print: “I make fun of everyone.”
MT: No. I honestly think that because I didn’t have the same high school experience I’ve sort of just been really odd about the fact that this entire cast really loves each other and we all give each other such fun stuff that we pick on each other.
HW: What were your not-so-normal high school years like?
MT: I think we wrapped Buffy when I was 17–and about a week later I was on my way to film Eurotrip. I definitely was not a party girl, nothing crazy. I sat home and read books and watched Law and Order marathons [laughs]. I still do that. It’s so lame!
ZE: I was a very regular 17-year-old. I don’t know any other way to put it. I wasn’t fighting crime or anything.
MT: You weren’t? I was. Vampires and stuff [laughs].
HW: Did you guys fit in? What kind of clothes did you wear?
ZE: I used to not even care. I’d literally wear pajamas to school.
MT: I wore a uniform to school and I would rebel so hard against the uniform. I’d wear like striped socks and platform shoes and tons and tons of necklaces.
[IMG:R]HW: Would you guys go back if you could?
MT: I wouldn’t.
ZE: It seems, having just got out of there, I don’t know if I’m ready to go back. There’s already a few things that I know I’d do differently but that is, in no way, gonna make me go back and relive it.
HW: In a way you get to relive it one more time with the next High School Musical movie.
ZE: Oh, yeah. I have to do that all over again, High School Musical 3 – that I’m looking forward to. It’s great. We’re gonna start in a few months.
