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• Ms. Tamblyn's official site
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
• Joan of Arcadia

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Tavis: Amber Tamblyn is a talented young actress who for the past 2 years has starred on the critically acclaimed CBS series 'Joan of Arcadia.' Much to the dismay of the fans of the show, though, CBS announced recently that 'Joan of Arcadia' would not be coming back this fall. More on that in a moment. The latest project, though, for the Emmy-nominated actress is the new film 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.' The movie, receiving terrific reviews, opened yesterday. Here now a scene from 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.'

Tibby: Ta-da!

Bridget: Tibby, you're a babe!

Carmen: Tibby, you look amazing. Turn around. You look wonderful. It looks good.

Lena: They look great on you. Please buy them.

Tibby: You try them on, then.

Lena: But I don't wear jeans.

Tibby: Yeah, or bikinis or miniskirts or anything else that might actually show you have a shape.

Lena: I do not.

Bridget: Tibby, those look so great on you. Why can't you just admit it?

Tibby: Oh, because I'm wallowing in self-pity.

Tavis: Amber, nice to have you here.

Amber Tamblyn: Thank you so much for having me.

Tavis: Let me be honest with you. We were talking about honesty before we came on the air.

Tamblyn: Yes.

Tavis: When I saw the title 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'...

Tamblyn: You knew it was the movie just for you, right?

Tavis: Yeah. How did you know?!

Tamblyn: You were, like, "I'm gonna go see that."

Tavis: Yeah. I'm like, 'That ain't the best title I've ever heard!' It's a wonderfully cute movie, and it's getting great reviews, but the title did not initially grab me.

Tamblyn: It did not initially grab me, either. Trust me.

Tavis: So I'm not the only one.

Tamblyn: No. Every person in the cast of the girls was very much sort of at bay because of the title. They sort of were away from it. But you know, with any book that has a cult following, the way this book does--I mean, this is an adapted screenplay, obviously--you have to keep the title of the book, and the book is 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.' Which is ironic because when you see the film, there's really not that much sisterhood or pants in the movie, so it's kind of weird. But you know, the sisterhood is just basically, you know, you see it in the beginning of the film with the friendship, and you see it in the end of the film, when the girls get back together. And the pants sort of segue scenes and storylines. That's really what they do. They're only in it for, like, probably like 3 minutes total in the entire film.

Tavis: All right, since the point of this conversation, Amber, is to encourage folk to go see the movie...

Tamblyn: Oh, no, I'm just telling you...

Tavis: And now you tell 'em there is no sisterhood and there are no pants.

Tamblyn: There are 4 sexy young women.

Tavis: But there are 4 sexy young women.

Tamblyn: Definitely.

Tavis: All right. So let's talk--what is the movie about, then? For those who've not read the book.

Tamblyn: OK, so the title of the book and the film, yes, is definitely weird, but what I'm--my point of bringing that up is that the film really almost has nothing to do with what the title sounds like. And the film is really about 4 women and how they're growing up and how they're developing, the things that they have to go through, the experiences they have. It's about their 4 independent storylines. One girl goes to Greece to visit her family and, you know, has to sort of learn a different kind of cultural ethic and diversity and find herself in that medium. And another girl has to deal with her sexuality and, you know, figuring out what that is. My character, her name is Tibby, and she sort of plays this very monotone, sarcastic, cynical character, and she wants to make--she's the only one who stays home for the summer. The other girls go away.

Tavis: In other words, nothing like you.

Tamblyn: Nothing. Oh, no. Maybe a little sarcastic. She makes something called a suckumentary, which is a documentary about people who suck in her town.

Tavis: A suckumentary.

Tamblyn: Yes. Her point is to basically go out and pick on people in the town, which is really ironic because she herself is kind of a loser and doesn't really have anything going in her life. So she sort of has to learn, you know, the appreciation for other people, and she ends up meeting this young girl who ends up becoming her boom mike operator for the documentary. She's, like, 12 years old. And they end up having, like, a really good friendship. And it's about, you know--it's about understanding the importance of life in the face of death.

Tavis: I think I'm gonna make me one of those. A suckumentary. I could do a series--a series of documentaries. Suckumentaries. Tell me how the 4 of you--I read some fascinating stories about how the 4 of you, since you were playing this sisterhood--how the 4 of you actually bonded while preparing for the--

Tamblyn: This is a weird subject because I wish to God that I didn't get along with one of them. So then I could have some sort of, like, triumph story or, like, overcoming story. Like, "Well, Alexis and I hated each other at first, but then I got her ice cream, and we're fine now." but the truth of the matter is there really was not much trying. We just got together, and we all sort of have certain similar experiences in our own life that we could relate to or, you know--whether it be, like, music or, like, hanging out. Like, whatever it was that we did, going to see movies, we always got along. So it kind of was really easy from the beginning, I'm sorry to say. I have, you know--we did a couple shopping sprees together. That was one of the things--

Tavis: That always works, huh?

Tamblyn: Well, this is funny because when we first got up there, the director was, like, "OK, I have to get them to, like, be friends. We have to make sure they're friends." I think everybody, you know, they knew that the whole point of this film depended on the friendship and the chemistry and whether it worked or not. And so they sent us on this shopping spree. They gave us money to go shopping together. What they didn't realize was we'd already been in town for, like, 2 weeks. We'd already been shopping together. We'd already seen movies together. We were already having sleepovers. We're, like, "Oh, you're gonna give us money to hang out?"

Tavis: But you didn't give the money back, obviously.

Tamblyn: No way.

Tavis: There you go.

Tamblyn: We were, like, "Oh, you're gonna give us money to hang out? Sure. That's fine." Like, we'll go shopping if you give us money. We'll pretend like we don't get along, and now we're gonna get along 'cause you're gonna give us money.

Tavis: Tell me what you think--the movie, again, opened yesterday.

Tamblyn: Yes.

Tavis: As more people get a chance to see it, more young women in particular, tell me what you think they're going to get from this project. I mean, is it a movie that you think young sisters--young women today can relate to? Are they gonna find it a stretch, a reach, or--

Tamblyn: Here's what I think--I think the people might be a little disappointed from the translation of the book to the film, and that's only because I--I truthfully believe that the film, in a lot of ways, has matured the essence of the book and has made it a lot more sophisticated. With that being said, I think it's opened up a much larger demographic of who's gonna go see this film. I think women of any age will love this film, and on top of that I think that any man that goes to see this movie, they will not regret it. That's what I can say. Like, I wouldn't encourage men to go see it because obviously, yes, it is about young women and it's about what they have to go through, but I will say, positively, if a guy goes--sees this movie, he will not be disappointed.

Tavis: OK, tell me--I'm not gonna ask you for 3. I'm gonna make it real easy for you, just one. Tell me one thing that a guy gets--gets--out of going to see this movie.

Tamblyn: Well, I think you get a really honest understanding of the important things that women have to go through to become women--young women, what they have to go through. And I think that this doesn't mock it, it doesn't trivialize it, it doesn't stereotype women, and you're seeing a really honest portrayal of what girls go through, and I think that the subject matter is universal, which means, I think, that it transcends genders. I think that it's about, like I said, sexuality, cultural diversity, life, death--those things a man can relate to, too, you know? And I think that that's, you know, the easiest way to describe it. You're not gonna see, like, real girly-girly stuff when you go. I mean, it's really, like I said, it's really sort of mature, sophisticated material.

Tavis: You are at the moment like the quintessential--thanks to 'Joan of Arcadia' and certainly this movie now and other projects you've done--you are like the quintessential young American woman right now. You happy with that? It's obviously working for you at the moment, but are you cool with that?

Tamblyn: I'm curious to know what you mean by "quintessential young woman."

Tavis: I mean, the roles--the roles that you play are almost as if they were written for you. This personality you exude, this quest for life that you exude--

Tamblyn: Well, I think that we--I think that we choose films or roles that we would like to see embodied in our own life and our own experiences, and I think that's one of the great things about being an actor is that if you can't experience it for real, you know, you can make it up and experience it in another way. And for me, I think one of the consistent messages that I always like to put out as an actress are definitely--I think not just positive roles for women, but enforced roles for women, things that I think give them power or show them in a respected light and an honest light. It doesn't necessarily have to be a really strong character. It can be someone who overcomes something, or it can be somebody who is not, you know, self-fulfilled and who is still learning things about themselves. As long as the message is always about empowerment at the end of the day. So I think, you know, everybody looks for what they look for and what they want to do as an actress, and that for me is a big part.

Tavis: Let me put you on the spot here, and I'm only doing it because I'm so--I'm fascinated by the brilliance of your response 2 seconds ago with regard to the kind of roles that you look for, what acting allows you to do. Can you tell me, off the top of your head, something that you have played in life that you don't want to ever have to deal with in life, and vice versa? 'Cause you mentioned a moment ago that because you're an actor you get to do things that aren't really a part of your real world experience.

Tamblyn: I don't think I personally would like to be a girl that talks to God. I think that that's a heavy responsibility, and I think that somebody like me who's already very cynical of God would not want anybody to have them put their placements, their values, or their questions on me to interpret something that large. So in that sense, I think that's a very heavy responsibility that I myself, who still has a lot of questions about God and what God is--I mean, I'm only 22 years old. I have lots of time to develop those feelings--I think that would be terrifying.

Tavis: Hmm. Speaking of God, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of the fans disappointed, and there's like huge campaigns around the country right now by your fan base to get CBS to reconsider. What do you know and how do you feel about CBS' decision?

Tamblyn: You know, it's very simple, I think. I think CBS is looking for something specific. I think our show did not bring that to 'em. It brought them something else that was very wonderful, and they appreciated that a lot. They treated us so well, and, you know, I was happy to be there for the time that I was there. I think that if we're fighting for something, I think we need to fight harder to look into a less archaic system of studying our viewers and accounting for our viewers. I think the Nielsen ratings have got to go. That's my personal opinion, and I know that lots of people feel that way. I don't think they're accurate anymore. But that being said, I was so proud to be a part of that show for 2 years and have the kind of material that I had there for 2 years and the things that we explored. It was amazing.

Tavis: What's fascinating about that--I'm trying to juxtapose your response about the heaviness, the burden that you feel or felt playing a young lady talking to God, how you wouldn't want that in your real life. Ironically and interestingly--I think you probably know where I'm going with this--that's what so many of the fans loved, that there were issues that you all raised in that realm that just don't honestly get addressed in television today.

Tamblyn: See, I kind of like that fact, though, that they can be addressed in television and then, you know, I don't have to address them personally to people on a personal level. I mean, to me that stuff is sacred, and I don't really like talking about it that much. I don't know, that's just who I am. So it's almost fun for me to play out sort of, you know, some role for people on TV where they can, you know, tangibly have that, as opposed to giving it on a personal level.

Tavis: Yeah. Well, Amber doesn't want to talk about it, so I'm done talking.

Tamblyn: Ha ha ha ha!

Tavis: That concludes our conversation with Amber Tamblyn. You can catch Amber and her girls in 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,' which opened in theaters around the country yesterday. Amber, nice to meet you.

Tamblyn: Nice to meet you.

Tavis: All the best to you. That's our show for tonight. A reminder: you can catch me back on public radio this weekend and every weekend, for that matter, on P.R.I., Public Radio International. Check your local listings. See you back here next time on PBS. Until then, thanks for watching. Good night from Los Angeles and, as always, keep the faith.