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Interview: Lee Pace of "Pushing Daisies"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:03:42 PDT

My most-anticipated new show of the season, ABC's "Pushing Daisies," premieres tonight, which means it's just a few hours until you all get to see the fantastical world of the Pie Hole for yourself. (Can't wait? Yum has a preview of the tasty pies).

A big part of the show's magic touch comes from Lee Pace, who plays Ned, the pie baker who learns at a young age that he can bring things back to life - including, in the pilot, his childhood sweetheart, Chuck Charles (Anna Friel). You may recognize him from The Good Shepherd or "Wonderfalls," but it's Pace's sweet turn in this show that could make him a star. At the TCA press tour in July, I chatted with Pace about working with director Barry Sonnenfeld, playing such a good guy, and - of course - those pies.

How did you get involved with "Pushing Daisies"?
I'd done movies the past few years - I know that sounds so pretentious; I just mean to say that I really wasn't looking at TV scripts. I heard that Brian [Fuller, the show's creator, whom Pace worked with on "Wonderfalls"] was doing a show, and I was just curious to see what he was doing - I wanted to read it, be like, "Congratulations, good luck, knock 'em dead, it's gonna be a big hit." And I read it, and I was like, this is actually really really good. This character is better than a lot of characters I've ever read, and I kind of want to play it. I thought about it, I talked to Brian a lot, and it just got to be too compelling to turn down, and I decided to do it. And I'm so glad I did because the cast we assembled is unbelievable. Barry Sonnenfeld is a genius, and I will work with him on anything ever. He's great.

When you read the part of Ned, what was it that grabbed you?
What I loved about him is that he's someone who gives life. He's a good guy. He's a good-hearted person. He brings positivity and generosity to people. His life is complicated, and he lives a very sheltered, funny life, but he's got a gift. He's not one of these antiheroes who's going to destroy his life and everyone around him, you know? We're putting something out into the world that is a good thing.

Lots more from Lee, so

read more The show is a romance, but it's a very non-traditional romance. We'll never be able to touch! Chuck and Ned are soulmates, absolute soulmates. But they're also young people who are trying to figure out their life and the future, and of course they want to meet someone and settle down and have a real love life and a real sex life. But they just can't with each other. What just killed me was the scene in the pilot where they're clasping their hands behind their backs because they can't touch each other. Expect a moment like that every week - some kind of moment of "Oh, no, I wish they were together, but they're not!" What are some of the factors that influence the kinds of roles you take? Every part you get is like you get a great problem-solving mission. With The Good Shepherd it was a big complicated geopolitical problem to solve. With this one, it's a very personal love story. That's no less difficult, but it's different. How did you prepare to be back on TV? It's hard - TV is a very specific thing. But I was very clear-headed going into this. I think TV is a really interesting business. It's really, really interesting trying to do something that is appealing to as many people as possible. I think that's fascinating, and I think this [show] could do that. I think Ned is one of the sweetest characters I've seen on TV. Oh, Ned is so sweet. Barry's so funny - he's like, "Just be nice and charming!" And I'm like, "Oh no, but [Ned]'s dealing with blah blah blah," and he's like, "yeah, yeah, yeah, just smile and be nice and charming." Are the pies real? A lot of them are plastic. First photo Source Second photo copyright 2007 ABC, Inc.

Interview: Blake Lively of "Gossip Girl"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:30:00 PDT

If you don't know Blake Lively yet, you will after tonight's premiere of "Gossip Girl." Lively, who might be best recognized right now by fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, plays Serena, a central character who kicks off the show's story by moving home from boarding school and causing chaos in the lives of her Upper East Side friends - especially best frenemy Blair (Leighton Meester). Lively chatted with me at the TCA press tour about mean girls, making the jump to television, and what sets Serena apart.

How did you come to "Gossip Girl"?
[Creators/executive producers] Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage! Josh is very passionate, and he's very aggressive. He called me personally on my cell phone, and he was like, "You know, you have to do this, I wrote this for you, and I'm not going to the show with anyone else, and I have to do the show, so you have to do it." I've never wanted to do a TV show, just because you have to commit potentially six years of your life to something. It has to be something that you're really passionate about. But I met with them, and they are so excited about what they do. They are so passionate, they're young, and they're not some jaded studio executive who just signs off their name for some commercial product and goes to their house in the Hamptons and is never involved. They're involved from every outfit I wear to every person that gets cast, every backdrop of every scene. If I have a flyaway hair they come up and fix it for me. If it wouldn't have been them, I definitely don't think I'd be doing the show.

You can check out Lively's thoughts on her character if you

read more Who is Serena to you? I think she's a really cool person. Shes been brought up in this world where she's been taught that she can have anything she wants, like - "Wear this pretty dress!" "Go to this party!" "If you want it take it! "You're the best!" She takes her best friend's boyfriend for a night because she wants him. It's so important because she realizes that she's not the center of the universe. All these kids, they're the center of their own universes. She realizes that that's bad, and I think that takes a good person, a strong person, to realize that. She comes back into this world and it would be so much easier for her to go back to her old ways because that's how everybody else is around her. They wouldn't think worse of her - they would accept her if she went and gossiped about everybody else. That would be great and easy. But she doesn't do that, and I think it's really important. She takes the criticism in order to do the right thing. That struck me watching the pilot - it seems like Serena's the one who grew up, and the others haven't quite caught up to her. The others know - they're so intelligent. They know there's another world out there, but they don't have to [go there] right now. They're indulging, they're living in the moment. They know they're going to end up like their parents, and they're going to have to run companies and be multimillionaires and have all these responsibilities and have children to take care of. But now they're young, and they're going to do what they want to do, and they have the privilege to do that. It takes a stronger person to be grown up right now. Has the experience on the show differed from doing movies? It's different character-wise because when you do a film, you have the character arc that you have to do in three months. You have to be a different person in the beginning than you are in the end. Whereas with one episode, you can't do the full range of who this person is because the TV show tells three days, where a movie can tell a whole summer or a year or a few years. It's refreshing to see teenagers played by people who actually are teenagers or not much older. On the set, do you ever talk about your experiences growing up? We always talk about our trials and tribulations of our own life or this and that that happened to the other person. It's good to be teenagers because it's more genuine for our audience. Photo courtesy of The CW

John Krasinski Talks JAM, Pranks, and Leatherheads

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 05:30:00 PDT

The cast of "The Office" will start production on the show's fourth season today in Los Angeles, which means it's only a few short weeks now till we find out what will become of our beloved Pam and Jim after the third-season finale. After the hilarious NBC comedy panel at the TCA press tour, I joined a group of reporters chatting with John Krasinski about the Jim and Pam dynamic, as well as his upcoming role in Leatherheads and his favorite Dwight prank. For highlights of what he had to say, read on ...

On where he'd like Jim and Pam to go: "I think that it would be interesting to see - after all that pressure - to see what a relationship would be like. I feel like there would be some sort of awkwardness. ... There's a lot of fun stuff you could do with it - and then there's a lot of fun stuff you could with making people wait a little longer."

On what's up with Karen: "Rashida [Jones] is back, as far as I know. I think she's back for a couple episodes. ... She didn't get to say her piece. I think she'll come and slap everybody in the face and then just walk out. It'll be glorious."

On creating the Jim/Pam dynamic with Jenna Fischer: "I constantly am thinking about Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis [Tim and Dawn from the BBC version of "The Office"] and what they gave to us. It's really a gift; they're so perfect in what they did. So us playing the relationship had to be between Jenna and I, and sort of finding little things that we do. We hang out a lot together on set and we talk a lot about it, and Greg [Daniels, the executive producer] is so nice to let us have a say in it. Working with her has been a real treat. We both sort of understand the awkwardness and where it's going, and we love putting the brakes on."

More JAM from John, so

read more On the rabid fan reaction to Jim and Pam: "There's a real reality thing there. I think you're not dealing with two characters, you're dealing with two people who have insecurities, and they have fears. I know from my point of view, playing this character, it's not easy to tell some girl that you love her after she's been almost married. ... I think we're dealing in some pretty wild, complicated stuff, and so it's not just your regular love story." On whether he'd leave "The Office" for film: "Oh my god, no. I'll be there every single day until Greg thinks he doesn't want to do it. And when Greg doesn't want to do it, maybe then I won't do it. But no, I'll be there till the end, for sure." On his favorite prank Jim's played on Dwight: "I think there are two that stand out. The vending machine, I thought was genius. And then, I think this was a really small one because it was within a bunch of other pranks, but filling the phone with nickels. I wish I could ever claim that I was smart enough to do something like that." On his famous reaction shot: "It's pretty easy when you're dealing with Steve [Carell] and Rainn [Wilson] because their characters are so off the wall that it's very easy to make those looks, because I think that if that person actually existed in my world I'd be hoping that all my friends saw that. ... I think Jim's like, 'Please, America, tell me you saw that.'" On his role in Leatherheads: "I am the jock, the best player in the country ... I played [football] all my life, never organized. [Doing the movie] was kind of a training exercise. The fact that you're doing it on film means that you can't screw up and then do another play, you've got to do that play over and over. So when the play was that I had to run a hundred yards down the whole field, I think George [Clooney] started doing a couple of extra takes just to get some amusement." Source

A Quick Chat with Omar Epps

BuzzSugar — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 04:30:00 PDT

I already told you about all the season four scoop the "House" crew spilled at the TCA press tour. But Omar Epps, who plays Dr. Eric Foreman, had some goodies of his own in store for me when I chatted with him after the show's panel discussion. Here's what he had to say:

How has Foreman changed from who he was in the first season to someone who could say no to House?
He's sort of evolved. I think, season one, he kind of always had that in the background, but it was his first year on the job and you kind of don't want to ruffle any feathers. But I think working so closely and sort of having some of the same personality quirks that House has, he's become confident enough to stand up to what he disagrees with in House. In this coming season, it will be interesting to see how that all sort of comes full circle, because he's had a chance to be out on his own in the real world and actually has a lot more of the House qualities than he thought he had - and suffers for that.

More from Epps - including what Foreman will be up to in the fall - so

read more How did the case where he actually lost someone change him? It was because he just made a mistake, and I think in the medical community, you know, there's no perfection. You're constantly striving for perfection. I just think Foreman, being the hard-ass that he is, very much about order and really stiff about having order - how could he miss something so obvious, is what it came down to. So I think that affected his personality, just wondering, is he fit for this field. Foreman has a militant sort of view toward medicine, and that was a case that was definitely going to make or break him. Do you think it did break him? Ultimately it will make him, but I think for the time being he is broken, because I think he had to sort of get knocked off his high horse and realize he has a lot more to learn - small things. You can always learn the big things, but the small things make up the world. What is - or was - Foreman's role in the group? In the old group Foreman was the rookie. Obviously immensely talented, and House saw something in him, but Foreman was sort of - no pun intended - sort of the dark horse in the sense of, he was the one that had the cavalier attitude of he doesn't have a point to prove because he was the new one and wasn't comfortable with this life yet. He was still sort of cavalier about it all. And the new team, I don't know how they're going to work it, but I can make assumptions that he would sort of be heading the new team but also being a bridge between whoever the new cast members end up being and House. Because you need that, dealing with an insane character like House. Photo courtesy of Fox

Hints at What's Next on "Heroes"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 06:00:00 PDT

The Bennets' new home wasn't the only spot I got to tour on the set of "Heroes" at the TCA press tour. As I wandered through Isaac's studio, Mohinder's apartment, and an Irish pub, cast members - including my tour guides, Hayden Panettiere and Zachary Quinto - delivered a few hints about what's going to happen when season two begins in September. To hear what they had to say,

At the start of the season, there will be two parallel time lines: one four months after the outer space explosion that ended the first season and one 400 years before. According to Masi Oka, Hiro is sent back in time, and his story line for "a handful of episodes" will take place in feudal Japan.
Dania Ramirez is joining the cast as Maya Herrera, who - according to an NBC press release - is "plagued by a threatening ability" that drives both her and her twin brother (played by Shalim Ortiz) to cross from the Dominican Republic to the United States in search of help. When the season begins, Maya's story will be picked up as she's on the run from the cops in Central America.
One of the show's standing sets is an Irish pub, complete with a fire roaring in the hearth and display cases with advertisements for McFarlane ale and McCourt Whiskey. This will most likely tie into the storyline of new cast member Holt McCallany who plays Ricky, the leader of a group of Irish thugs.
Is it true that Ali Larter's character, Niki, won't be conjuring her alter ego by looking in mirrors anymore? "I hear that too," Larter said, "but again, you never know with this show." Last season, she said, "we kind of indulged ourselves in being able to explore those two different characters, and now it's time for me to kind of focus on one and the development of my powers." She said Niki's story would be moving away from her family dynamic and become more linked with the larger plot of the show.
Speaking of Niki, Leonard Roberts, who plays D.L., wasn't on the panel, and his bio wasn't included in the packet NBC gave reporters. Nonetheless, creator Tim Kring said we shouldn't read too much into that and wouldn't say whether Niki would be a widow next season.
Isaac may be dead, but we haven't necessarily seen all we'll see of his artwork. Artist Tim Sale, who created Isaac's paintings, confirmed that he is doing work for season two.
In the four episodes the cast had filmed at the time of the set tour, Mohinder had already been in three countries, Sendhil Ramamurthy said. And presumably, none of them are the United States, as he said he's yet to be in a scene with Hayden Panettiere.
Hayden, meanwhile, was mum on the subject of Claire's new boyfriend, though she did offer that the whole season would be about "what happens when extraordinary people try to be ordinary."
I completely missed this, but some eagle-eyed reporters spotted what looked like a young girl's living space inside the set of Mohinder's apartment. Is that the new home of Molly? Nobody would say for sure.

Source

Do You Read Spoilers?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 07:30:00 PDT

At the TCA press tour, TV producers seemed to be of two minds about spoilers. On the one hand, the people behind "Friday Night Lights" and "House" weren't exactly shy about the details of their upcoming seasons. On the other hand, Greg Daniels, the executive producer of "The Office," said spoilers were a problem for him. Fans online pull information from different interviews so they can "cross-compare with each other, and they figure out what the stories are before we are ready to present them," Daniels said.

Spoilers aren't just an issue with TV - consider those Harry Potter spoilers from a couple of weeks back. So I'm wondering if you avoid spoilers at all costs - or if you can't help but look.

Odds and Ends from the TCA Press Tour

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 05:30:00 PDT

I'm back from my first stint at the TCA press tour, and frankly, I'm awed (and a little baffled) by all the access we reporters got to stars, producers, writers, and even the top brass at the networks. Is there any other industry that would open its doors so wide to journalists - and give them food and cocktails in the process?

I've been sharing a lot of the news from the tour, and there will be more interviews and stories to come as we get closer to the fall TV premieres. But I also wanted to let you in on some of the behind-the-scenes moments from my days in LA. So, without further ado ...

When it comes to party planning, none of the other networks can hold a candle to Fox. NBC and ABC kept their parties on-site at the Beverly Hilton this year, and the CW went to the Pacific Design Center just down the street. But Fox went all-out, first busing the TV critics to Les Deux for a New Orleans-themed bash with the cast of "K-Ville," then renting out a portion of the Santa Monica Pier so everyone could mingle among the skee ball games, crazy rides and bumper cars.
Fox also had the crowd beat when it came to clever themes. In addition to the "Family Guy" lunches named for characters, we also had a cafeteria-style meal for "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" The network's pages, who pass the microphone to reporters during the sessions, also changed outfits between sessions, donning lab coats for the "House" panel and fatigues for "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
An ABC publicist told us on Wednesday night that the guys of "Cavemen" would be walking the red carpet in their full caveman makeup on Thursday - but no dice. At least the guys were nice enough to wear their nametags around the party so we could recognize them.
The kids of The CW's new shows - especially "Gossip Girl" and "Aliens in America" - are so darn nice and funny, it's hard not to love them. The whole crowd spent the CW's all-star party joking around with each other, begging their publicists to let them go into the weird floating bubbles in the fountain at the Pacific Design Center, and taking pictures of each other making ridiculous faces. At one point, lead "Gossip Girl" Blake Lively took my recorder out of my hand so she could interview the "Aliens" boys and one of her costars. Precious!

More details, so

During the session for the CW's "Life is Wild," which was broadcast via satellite from where the show is filming in South Africa, a baby lion slept peacefully in star D.W. Moffett's lap, and at one point a cheetah was sent in to make an appearance. The show itself was kind of bland, but the baby animals perked us right up.
One of the perks of presenting a show that focuses on a pie-maker is that you have an excuse to feed pie to the critics. Star Lee Pace, however, was none too thrilled to learn that we'd been noshing on real lemon meringue while the pies he deals with all day on set are mostly plastic.
Questions asked in nearly every session: "What's with all the British actors coming to America?" "Why do you think there are so many strong female characters on TV today?" (Later, the frequently asked questions came to include references to Mandy Patinkin fleeing "Criminal Minds" and a silly inside joke about "Highlander," but that's just because the critics were getting punchy.)
ABC was the last network to present on the tour, when many reporters had been working from LA for more than two weeks. Maybe that explains why their swag - a beer coozie from the ABC Family show "Greek" and a shot glass from "Big Shots" - was drinking-themed.

Photo courtesy of Fox

ABC Dramas have a lot of Big Shots

PopSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:31:10 PDT

Along with all the gorgeous women joining ABC's prime time, there will be plenty of eye candy for the ladies as well. The male version of Sex and the City is called Big Shots and stars Michael Vartan, Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus and Joshua Malina. In the pilot these four CEOs sit around in a steam room bitching about their lives when Dylan's character finally says, "Men, we're like the new women." Talk about a guilty pleasure! Then there is the most hyped show of the season, the Grey's spin off, Private Practice. While everyone else is focusing on Kate Walsh, we'll lust after Taye Diggs who will get another shot at ABC prime time. For lots of upcoming PP and Grey's secrets, click here.

Peter Krause stars in Dirty Sexy Money where he plays a lawyer who takes over his dead father's job as personal counsel for an uber-rich dysfunctional family. The creator of the show, Craig Wright, said it was inspired by the Dallas or Dynasty models but more updated. Ex-OC and Entourage star, Samaire Armstrong also joins the cast as the blonde bratty socialite that many are already comparing to Paris Hilton. Just what we need - another place to watch a tabloid family come to life. To check out a clip and learn more about the show just click here.

For lots more pics including Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly, Joshua Malina and more just read more

View 25 Photos ›

Images include Natalie Zea, Glenn Fitzgerald, Samaire Armstrong, Seth Gabel, Peter Krause, Zoe McLellan, Craig Wright, Greg Berlanti, Josh Reims, Matthew Gross, Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus, Joshua Malina, Dylan McDermott, Jon Harmon Feldman, Mark Gordon, Betsy Beers, Amy Brenneman, Taye Diggs, Shonda Rhimes, Kate Walsh, Tim Daly, KaDee Strickland, Chris Lowell, Marti Noxon, and Mark Tinker. Source

Inside the Bennets' Home with HRG

BuzzSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:30:03 PDT

It would have been exciting enough to wander alone through Claire's new home on the "Heroes" set. But it was far better for my tour guide to be Jack Coleman, aka Mr. Bennet, aka HRG. He led a group of reporters through the airy, spacious, well-decorated house during a set visit at the TCA press tour, artfully dodging questions about where exactly we were.

"Let's just say it's not where the old house was," Coleman said.

OK, then. Is it in a different time zone?

"A different time zone is very possible."

A sunny climate?

"You're killing me."

All we know for sure is that the Bennets have indeed relocated since, you know, that whole episode when Ted-the-radioactive-guy kinda ruined the Bennets' Texas home and made Claire's face melt temporarily. The new home, decorated almost entirely in shades of blue, brown and black, has a large triangular window, potted trees in the corners, glass jars of rice and lentils in the kitchen, and a walk-up pathway lined with slightly trampled Astroturf. There are fewer pictures of Mr. Muggles in this house, though Coleman assured us the dog has not been forgotten. And though we're not quite sure what Mr. Bennet's plans are for the season, even Coleman had to admit that the home looks pretty permanent.

One reporter pointed triumphantly at the flowering bougainvillea in the back yard - yes, there was a back yard, complete with patio furniture - as a dead giveaway that the Bennets were in California (and that's what a little bit of casting news indicated to us, too).

"I don't know," Coleman teased back. "We might be in the Mediterranean."

Source

"Ugly Betty" Just Got A Little More Posh

Molly — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:32:10 PDT

Here's a tidbit of news for all you "Ugly Betty" fans still on the edge of your seats after the dramatic season finale. At last night's ABC TCA Party, Executive Producer Marco Pennette revealed that Victoria Beckham will guest star on the show this season. He wouldn't say much about her role but he did reveal this, "There's a wedding involved with her storyline." Oh, will it be designed by Christina? Make the cover of Mode? Will she play one of Wilhelmina's bridesmaids? Will Betty have to save the day? Probably yes on the last one. Judging from your comments about her TV special, some of you enjoy Victoria's sense of humor. I, for one, feel like she's the perfect level of kitsch for the show and can't wait to see her cameo. What do you think about Posh invading "Ugly Betty"?