Pushing Daisies

Here’s an interview of Lee Pace in the New Zealand Herald. Apparently, Pushing Daisies will begin airing in that part of the world and he’s over there promoting the show, as well as in the neighboring country of Australia.

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I have noticed that, with one exception, I mostly came up with villains or anti-heroes in my Guest Wish List (which now has David Thewlis, Amy Adams, Nathan Lane and Tilda Swinton).

So, now I’m looking for an ally for Ned. He has to have at least one or two friends outside his Pie Hole circle, right? Someone who is not necessarily chummy-chummy with him…I don’t mean they should start guy bonding (because that would have to be out of character for Ned.) But there should be one other guy who’s like in this similar frustrating romantic situation as he is.

The first person that came to my mind is none other than Matthew Broderick. If there’s anybody who can pick up on Ned’s quirks and issues, it would have to be him. Matthew’s got that same harmless, boyish quality Ned possess. He could easily draw an audience in because he has that likeability factor, much like Lee Pace.

What’s great about it is, there is also a naughty side to his boyish good looks. Remember Ferris Bueller?

I imagine him and Ned going on a couple of misadventures in a multi-episode guest appearance. Wouldn’t that be great, especially for someone as cooped out and restrained as Ned?

Pushing Daisies, Pushing Daisies guest, Matthew Broderick

[In a green field, Young Ned is standing alone under a tree wearing a school uniform, looking quite desolate]Narrator: At this very moment, at the town of Northrush, young Ned was 9 years, 33 weeks, 6 days, 20 hours and 34 minutes old. He stood on the exact spot where 4 weeks and 2 days previously, his father had deposited him at the Longborough School for Boys. [several trunks appear next to Ned; a young classmate runs up behind Ned and bumps into him, then his father appears and bends to speak to him] As young Ned’s mother had died recently, there was reassuring physical contact and parting words: “I’ll be back.” [his father pats him on the head and disappears] He lied. The sadness and dread which the boy felt were not so much a product of the Longborough School: young Ned’s acute discomfort came from the knowledge that when he touched a dead thing, it came back to life.

[SCIENCE LAB: a schoolmate behind Ned throws a wad of paper at his head and the other boys laugh]

Narrator: The other boys assumed his introverted nature was a product of weakness and coddling. Thinking of revenge and also not thinking at all, young Ned volunteered to assist with that day’s science project. [The science teacher writes "Frog Dissection" on the chalkboard; Ned raises his hand, a knowing smile forming. On a rolling cart, Ned touches the formaldehyde frogs before placing a tray on each table] Young Ned’s gift was governed by three simple rules: touch a dead thing once, alive … [as a boy picks up a scalpel, the frog comes back to life and jumps away; chaos ensues as the boys scream and run away from the reanimated frogs; Ned is crawling away in the opposite direction and picks up a frog] … Touch a dead thing again, dead forever … [the frog dies in his hand and turns brown again] … Keep a dead thing alive for more than a minute, and something else has to die. [Outside, Ned is perched in a tree, far away from his classmates; as three frogs below hop away, three birds from the tree fall dead] His gift had once again brought him great distress in place of great joy. He vowed to keep the strange details of his strange life secret from the world forever.

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At 28 years old, Lee Pace, began learning to play the piano for his latest movie, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. In interviews he said that by the time film production was set to begin, Lee had by then learned three songs. And today, he claims he still can play the pieces “If I was drunk at a party”

This newly developed talent concerns Lee a wee bit, though. He is convinced the people behind Pushing Daisies will probably put his piano-playing abilities to use on the series next.

“I have a feeling that once they see this movie, they’ll be working on a musical episode of ‘Pushing Daisies,’” he says.

The movie opened last weekend and it also stars Frances McDormand and Amy Adams.

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As Pushing Daisies is set to premiere in the UK in the following month (on ITV), it is no surprise UK media is dotting on their very own, Anna Friel, for coverage and interviews. Below is a very interesting piece from UK’s You Magazine. I read through it and got to know so much more of Anna…

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Hey, daisy pushers! Lee Pace’s latest movie, Miss Pettigrew Lives for the Day, opens today in the US, are you watching? The media has nothing but good praises for it!

• Boston Herald
• Columbus Alive
• Chicago Tribune
• USA Today

Meanwhile, Lee Pace Org reports the actor was on KTLA Morning News, March 4th. And they have the video from that interview. Click on the image to be redirected to their archives.

Lee Pace, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day reviews

The Sun UK reports that Anna Friel is on the cover of Esquire’s March issue, now out on the stands in the UK…

Anna Friel is a bit of all-tight

Hose a naughty girl . . .

Former soap star Anna Friel manages to make a pair of tights look sexy in a new photoshoot. The ex-Brookside babe, 31 — mum to two-year-old Gracie — stars as a murdered woman brought back to life in upcoming ITV1 drama Pushing Daisies.

Anna has wowed US critics with her performance as American Charlotte.

Must be her stocking trade.

And Metro UK also has a piece on her….which doesn’t sound like good press. What do you think? Does the British press not like her?
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Narrator: At this very moment in the town of Coeur d’Coeurs, young Ned was 9 years, 27 weeks, 6 days and 3 minutes old. His dog, Digby, was 3 years, 2 weeks, 6 days, 5 hours and 9 minutes old. And not a minute older. [Digby runs straight into the highway and is struck by a semi. Ned drops to his knees in front of his dead dog and gingerly touches his face: Digby instantly gets up and runs back into the field, while Ned looks after him in surprise]

Narrator: This was the moment that young Ned discovered that he wasn’t like the other children: nor was he like anyone else, for that matter. Young Ned could touch dead things and bring them back to life. [Ned follows after Digby; unbeknownst to him, after one minute, a squirrel falls from a tree, dead. Cut to NED’S KITCHEN: a fly lands on the window sill and Ned’s mother swats it dead. As she goes about preparing a pie, Ned touches the dead fly: it stirs and flies away. Ned’s mother starts a timer as she puts the pie in the oven]

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I know that it would be highly unlikely the show’s creators would be able to book recent Oscar Best Supporting Actress winner Tilda Swinton for a guest spot on Pushing Daisies. And it’s for one very obvious reason — Tilda doesn’t do TV, at least nothing that says about it on her IMBb profile, though.

But since this is a wish list, one is free to dream, right?

I choose Tilda because I think what she brings on screen fits the series perfectly. And what would that be? Let’s face it, seeing her at the Oscars? I know a lot of people have wondered where she came from and what she’s all about. She’s one hard person to get, yet you can’t help but be fascinated with her. Some people may find her weird or eccentric (as much as some people find Pushing Daisies too out there, too unreal, too fantastic). But being weird isn’t exactly a bad thing. She’s interesting. She just stands there and she instantly tells a story, you know? And the fact that she doesn’t care if people actually get her or not, makes her all the more likeable to me. So, I like whatever that type of persona brings to a show like Pushing Daisies.

Professionally, Tilda has made some really interesting choices with her career. She played the angel Gabriel in the movie Constantine, one who is either a man or a woman and one she convincingly portrayed. So maybe on Pushing Daisies, she could reprise a role like that and be the antagonist; a complete contrast to Ned’s personality; a really different and unexpected guest appearance.

What do you think?

Tilda Swinton, Pushing Daisies, Pushing Daisies guest, Pushing Daisies guest wish list

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day premiered at the Tribeca Grand in New York City over the weekend. The event was well attended, which of course included the stars of the movie — Amy Adams, Frances McDormand, Lee Pace and Tom Payne and Ciaran Hinds.

Photos from Getty Images

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Admittedly, we barely have features on Chi McBride, who plays Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies. The actor is a lot less visible in the media, compared to his co-stars but that doesn’t mean his character, a wise-cracking private detective on the show, isn’t essential to the series. He definitely provides the balance in it. While the characters of Ned, Chuck, the aunts and Olive bring on the whimsy, Emerson is the more pragmatic one. And I know no one will oppose when I say Chi McBride does a great job letting Emerson to shine, without overshadowing the rest of the characters. His timing and knack for comedy is impressive.

Towards the middle of the season, we see Emerson becoming more than just a comic relief. Some facets to his character are slowly taking place, allowing us to see a deeper side of it. We know that Emerson is a compulsive knitter and an artist who has a passion for comic books. From the series, we also learned a bit about his past —1) the childhood trauma of being locked inside a washing machine and 2) his relationship with his estranged daughter. Obviously, there is so much more to look forward to for Emerson’s stories in the next season. And with that kind of material, I’m sure the writers of the show will have plenty of interesting stuff about who Emerson really is.

In the meantime and while shooting of Season 2 is yet to begin in June, Chi McBride is keeping busy with movie commitments. He has two films for release this year. One is a comedy about petty criminals who rob the neighborhood church called First Sunday. It was in theaters last January and Chi McBride played the pastor. And the other is a family drama called American Son which is a Sundance Film Festival entry. We have the trailer for First Sunday, but I found none for American Son. Anyway…

Chi McBride, Pushing Daisies, Emerson Cod, First Sunday, American Son