Alexis Bledel and Zach Gilford in Post Grad. Photo by Suzanne Tenner, courtesy of Fox Searchlight.

Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) and Northwestern 2004 graduate and Evanston native Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights) star in Post Grad, a film about a college graduate’s “pre-life crisis.”

Ryden (Bledel) graduates from college and is forced to move back home and deal with her eccentric family and a disastrously unsuccessful job search. It’s coincidental that this plot is so fitting with the current economic climate seeing as production on Post Grad began back in 2007.

North by Northwestern participated in a web conference with both Bledel and Gilford to talk about their experiences working with Demetri Martin, unrequited love and advice current college students might take away from Post Grad.

What message does Post Grad send to graduates?

Alexis Bledel: The point of the movie is that you can’t plan everything, which is really the case right now. It’s a difficult time and it wasn’t this way when we filmed the movie. But it was relevant then and, now even more so.

Zach Gilford: I think one of the big messages is not to be obsessed with having to have a job. That will work itself out over time, but there are other aspects of life. So even though it’s hard right now, maybe don’t get so obsessed over that and like find the other things that can keep you going until you find some steady employment.

What did you guys enjoy most about working on the film?

ZG: Working with Alexis. It was amazing.

AB: We had a lot of fun scenes. What was good about it? It was just a good fit.

ZG: It was fun. We had a great crew. It was pretty good, positive, positive energy. And you have Vicky [Jenson], our director, who did Shrek and stuff. And this is her first full-length feature, so she was excited.

AB: She had a lot of enthusiasm.

What was it like to work with comedy legends Carol Burnett, Jane Lynch and Demetri Martin?

ZG: It was awesome. I was so bummed that I wasn’t on set the day Demetri Martin worked. I’ve been following his stand-up for like the past six, seven years. And I was, like, “What, you worked yesterday? Damn!” But everyone else –- I mean, obviously, Carol Burnett is like a legend, and Jane Lynch is amazing, and Michael Keaton. I found it to be pretty awesome and humbling.

Alexis, you said you wanted to make your character Ryden different from your TV character in Gilmore Girls. What are the differences between Rory and Ryden?

AB: Well, as the years went by on Gilmore Girls, I noticed that Rory was kind of like an idealized product of the show’s imagination because she was really perfect in a lot of ways, which started to annoy me a bit, but you have to keep playing the character. But Ryden -– I think she’s much more relatable in a lot of ways and this character’s story picks up in the same stage of life where Rory left off, graduating from college. So for anyone who likes the show, its kind of -– it’s a continuation in a way, but she’s a completely different girl because she makes a lot of mistakes. She has a very typical college experience. She’s kind of an average girl, and I can relate much more to her.

In the Post Grad trailer, Gilford’s character Adam jokes to Ryden, “That is the girl I fell in love with, but who harbors platonic feelings for me unfortunately.” What was it like to represent the thousands of young men who are in frustratingly platonic relationships?

ZG: Oh, man. What was that like? It was rough, man. It was really rough. We’ve all been there. So, if you just keep going for it, she’ll come around.