Marcus Scribner & Brent Rivera Tell Us Filming Alexander IRL Was Like a ‘Big Hangout Sesh’
A new year means plenty of new movies to have on your radar.
We're especially excited to see the YouTube Red film Alexander IRL starring Brent Rivera and Marcus Scribner.
We chatted with Brent and Marcus about their favorite moments in the film, what really went down behind the scenes and the important message they hope all of you take away from the project.
Scroll below to see what they had to say!
Sweety High: What can viewers expect from Alexander IRL?
Brent Rivera: It's an awesome teenage movie that has parties, has school and has a bunch of cool cast members involved. It's just a really fun project that we've all come together to make. It has a mix of social media influencers and mainstream media people like Marcus [Scribner], Nathan Kress, Ryan Newman and it all came together really, really well.
Marcus Scribner: It's a very relatable movie. I know that I relate to it. I feel like a ton of teens out there will definitely enjoy seeing the movie, because all of our characters really tap into different aspects of human nature. Like my character Darius is a huge nerd. Brent's character is also a nerd, but a slightly cooler nerd. It's awesome because not all nerds are alike, so it's cool to see the film showcase that.
SH: Speaking of your characters, how are you similar and different to them?
BR: I like to say I'm very similar to my character. I take school very seriously and I'm a good kid. I do what I'm supposed to do. I listen to my parents. I think what Alex did during the movie was break out of his shell to try and throw the party and get the girl and be popular. I get that to a point. I get how he wants to impress the girl and stuff, but it's not something I would really do.
MS: I'm definitely a huge nerd like Darius is. I love computers. I love learning about computer software programming and all those kinds of things. I think that's where the similarities kind of taper off, because Darius does not like to have fun. I like to have a bit of fun from time to time.
SH: If you weren't playing your character, is there another character you'd love to play?
BR: Brennen Taylor, who's a social media influencer, played this character named Cole. He's like the hot, cool guy at the school. I'd feel like it'd be pretty cool to play him.
MS: I definitely feel like one of the coolest characters in the movie was Stu, played by Bo Mitchell. Getting to play that character would be amazing, he has so much depth to him that you don't understand. When his character begins to develop and flesh out, you realize Stu is actually really smart and really cool.
SH: What did each of you enjoy most about working on the film?
BR: My favorite part was meeting everyone and having a good time on set. I feel like we all just became really, really close within the four weeks of filming and it was just a big hangout sesh.
MS: The best part was getting to work with our amazing cast. We got Ryan Newman, Bo Mitchell, Brent Rivera, Nathan Kress, Sarah Gillman, I mean I could just keep on going. It was so much fun just working with everyone.
SH: Is there something fans would be surprised to know that happened while you were filming?
BR: Bo [Mitchell] is a really, really good skateboarder. He would skateboard on set all the time.
MS: Yeah, I think the coolest thing was watching Bo skateboard around the entire set. I have no clue how to skateboard and he was trying to teach me the entire time. I would consider myself a professional skater at this point, probably on the level of Tony Hawk thanks to Bo's influence.
SH: Did you guys have a favorite scene that you filmed?
BR: Definitely the kissing scene! A lot of people don't know about it yet, so I'm going to keep it a surprise.????
MS: The party scene! We got to bust out some of our coolest dance moves. We were dabbing before it was cool.
SH: What's one thing you hope viewers take away from the movie?
BR: For me, especially on my YouTube channel, I'm known for that relatable comedy. I think it's cool to put it into a movie and that's what I want people to take away from it—it's relatable.
MS: It's okay to be different. It's okay to want to have fun from time to time. And I definitely think it's also important for people to understand that maybe it is good for us to take time away from technology for a whole day and live in real life. I feel like that's one of the main storylines for our movie, and it definitely inspired me.
If you haven't seen the trailer for Alexander IRL, check it out below! And make sure to subscribe to YouTube Red, so you can watch the movie when it drops tomorrow.
If you think Brent and Marcus had a crazy time filming Alexander IRL, wait until you discover THIS reptile YouTubers Caspar Lee and Joe Sugg taste-tested while making Joe & Caspar Hit the Road USA.