Actor Boyfriend?
Check
Parents in the Industry?
Check
A Celebrity-Studded Alma Mater?
Check
Of course Zooey Deschanel loves L.A. - Even if she is the quintessentail indie girl.

So, what's been bugging you lately?
Well, I just got back from London, where I spent four months filming The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. And one of the biggest problems for me is just that every single person says how much L.A. sucks. Okay! Don't live here! I grew up here, I've lived here for like twenty-four years, I love it here, I think it's beautiful, all my friends are here, and the weather is amazing.
Well, okay. But as a girl from L.A. who loves the weather, you don't exactly seem like a sun goddess. Have you ever had a tan?
A few times as a kid. Actually, last night I had a dream that I had all these freckles. And I was like, How did I get that much sun? Because even when I go out into the sun, I don't have a reaction to it.
What else is great about L.A.?
Amoeba Music. That store is the best. It carries a lot of good, obscure bands.
Like that obscure Louisiana singer Britney Spears?
No. Like this band Harmony Grass. Sort of a British Beach Boys from the '60s. I just buy things by the cover.
That's very indie-girl of you. Do you mind being considered an indie girl by the movie industry?
Well, I like doing independent movies. And it does take some sacrifices to do those movies. Plus, when I was in high school, mostly I liked independent films.
So when all the other kids were going to Star Wars...
Yeah, I was going to see Godard films, the Fassbinder fests at the New Beverly! Ha! But really, I would always go to the revival houses, even when I was little.
It must be very hard to make ends meet as an indie actress. Do you do piecework at home? Mend garments for Reese Witherspoon?
Ha! No. And I don't do just independent films.
Then you won't have to return your diamond-encrusted Mercedes?
I drive a Volvo from the '90s. From before it went Ford. And it's safe for the puppies.
You have puppies?
We just got two - French bulldogs. Jason's mom's dog had puppies. [Jason Schwartzman - her boyfriend.]
You went to high school in L.A., right?
Yeah, Crossroads School. It's in Santa Monica. It's kind of an arts school, the kind of school where you would sit on the floor. I couldn't imagine if I was in some strict Catholic school or something. I would have been kicked out. I was constantly making, um....
Bomb threats?
Yeah. No! I wasn't making bomb threats! I was always horsing around. Anyway, a lot of actors went there. Kate Hudson was a year ahead of me, and Jack Black went there like ten years earlier.
I know I keep careful track of everyone from high school and really hope no one becomes a smashing success, because that makes me feel like a failure. Do you feel like that about Kate Hudson?
I don't feel competitive with her, because she was kind of famous within the school just because her mom was famous.
It's not like your parents were alfalfa farmers. [Her father, Caleb, is an accomplished cinematographer; her mother, Mary Jo, is an actress.]
Well, compared to that, it's different. Everyone knew who she was.
You have some movies coming out, right?
Yes. Eulogy - it went to Sundance last year. Then I have this other movie, called Winter Passing, and that comes out next year.
So, there's been an ongoing discussion in the GQ offices, and I'm wondering if you could weigh in. Who would win a fight between a dog and a monkey?
Oh, my God. I don't know. Are we talking about a battle of wits?
Yes. By "fight," I mean "debate the issues of the day."
In a debate over the issues of the day, I think a monkey would win.
Wrong. Monkeys are hurt by their ability to see both sides of an argument.
Hmm. Interesting.