A few members of the Pushing Daisies cast and crew held a screening yesterday at the New York Television Festival.
The following were in attendance: Lee Pace (Ned), Jim Dale (narrator), executive producers Barry Sonnefeld and Dan Jinks, and creator Bryan Fuller.
Ellen Greene stars as Aunt Vivian on Pushing Daisies.
But, as many followers of this veteran's career knows, this isn't the first time she's been involved in a show with plants.
Greene originated the role of Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors on Broadway and then again in the 1986 movie of the same name.
A Brooklyn-born musical comedy actress, Greene has also made a name for herself as a nightclub chanteuse. She began singing in such Manhattan clubs as Reno Sweeney's and The Brothers & Sisters while attending Rider College in New Jersey, and was later discovered by a scout for The New York Shakespeare Festival.
Here is a quick look at her career milestones:
Yes, you read that headline correctly. Which means fans should be excited for two reasons:
Of course, those uninterested in these Pushing Daisies spoilers should stop reading.
But viewers who can't wait for October 3 to roll around can read a brief summary (to be updated at length after the season premiere) of the first episode right now, while also checking out the aforementioned quotes and a few pictures.
Enjoy!
If you'd prefer not to read any Pushing Daisies spoilers, we suggest you skip this post. Below is a brief summary - and even a pair of images - from the show's series premiere on October 3.
Summary: Ned, a mild-mannered baker of fabulous pies, discovered as a child that he had a unique gift. Ned had the ability to return someone dead briefly back to life with just a simple touch. Through the years, Ned has learned to live with his unique ability, and puts his gift to good use, working with his only friend, a private investigator, to crack murder cases by asking victims to name their killers.
But the tale gets complicated, as all tales do, when he saves his childhood sweetheart and she miraculously stays alive. Life would be perfect, except for one cruel twist: if Ned ever touches her again, she'll lose the life he gave her, for good this time. There's always a catchÂ…
Meet Ned (Lee Pace) and his shady busines partner, Emerson Cod (Chi McBride).
Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth) loves Ned. Ned loves a dead woman he can't touch. So it's easy to see why even the adorable presence of Digby can't raise Olive's spirits here.
Subway riders in New York City would have a difficult time missing this ad for Pushing Daisies.
If the show fails, it certainly won't be for a lack of advertising effort on ABC's part...
Photo courtesy of Thepiemaker.com.
Once again, this isn't too much of a Pushing Daisies spoiler because it doesn't reveal any new information about the show.
But we respect the fact that many fans wish to remain completely in the dark heading into a season or an episode.
Therefore, if you fall into this group, look away now! Otherwise, you may glimpse a photo from the show's pilot episode, in which Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth) appears to be taking Ned (Lee Pace) by surprise...
What are the cool kids going to be watching this fall?
According to research by OTX, the Online Testing Exchange, the two shows that 13-17 year olds are most aware of and looking forward to are The CW's Gossip Girl - and ABC's Pushing Daisies.
The findings come from OTX's Teen Topix survey, completeed in conjunction with the eCrush social networking site for youngsters. About 750 teens across the country were surveyed about their TV viewing behavior and preferences during the week of August 6.
Bruce Friend, president of media and entertainment insights at OTX, said some people may be surprised by the survey's finding that when it comes to learning about TV shows, teens said on-air promotions and other ads are their source of information.
"For all of the hype surrounding blogs and video-sharing sites, it's important for networks and marketers to understand that a majority of teenagers still get information about new programming from TV ads and promos," Friend said.
With teens, he added, word of mouth comes in much higher as a source of information than with older viewers. That word of mouth can come through direct conversation or via technologies as diverse as instant messaging and cell phones.
"Networks should know there are a lot of different ways to reach the teen market," Friend said.
One promotional strategy that showed up high on the list was cinema marketing, a strategy Pushing Daisies has utilized in its promotional campaign.
"That didn't exist 25 years ago for TV shows," Friend said, adding that wow when he goes to the movies, he sees promos for four or five network shows at cinemas in the AMC, Regal or other major chains.
Anna Friel should become a household name after a few episodes of Pushing Daisies air in the U.S.
But the British actress first made headlines after engaging in a lesbian kiss on the UK-based soap opera, Brookside. She was hailed as the next big thing, a billing she sort of lived up to across the Atlantic when she appeared in popular films such as Goal! and Rogue Trader.
However, it wasn't the sort of success initially predicted for Friel. And she was open about her frustration when it came to landing big roles:
"Every time it's me and another person down to the final two for a big, big movie, the other person gets it because they're the bigger name. Which, to be honest, totally pisses me off," the actress said a couple years ago.
Of course, her personal life has had its share of excitement: Friel has dated hunks George Clooney and Robbie Williams. But neither relationship went very far.
It wasn't until she started seeing long-time friend David Thewlis that Anna finally found someone that she could envision herself marrying. The two, while still not hitched, are committed to one another. They had their first child in 2005.
As for those professional predictions of stardom? Give Pushing Daisies a few weeks - and they'll all ring true.
Not every article out there has been complimentary of Pushing Daisies. To wit, Kim Masters of Slate.com wrote an interesting article about the show going over budget.
In it, she reports that director Barry Sonnenfeld (pictured) has been punished for going over budget on the show's premiere, specifically penning that his "role as director was curtailed."
Sonnenfeld, however, contradicts this report. He said the following to TV Squad about the article and expensive rumors:
"You know, the writer of the piece hasn't written a lot about Hollywood, I think. Almost every show after the pilot is over-budget, whether it's Bionic Woman, Chuck, last year's Ugly Betty... I suspect they're all over-budget."
He continued:
"My role is to make the best shows possible, to get our show on ABC and get as much good press and to make the best shows possible. The article... and I called Kim about it... it had a lot of misinformation..."
Pushing Daisies Creator Bryan Fuller confirms this account, stating that Sonnenfeld will most certainly be directing future episodes and that budget problems don't exist.
"The reason why I didn't direct more episodes is that the schedule got changed; I was taking my daughter to boarding school. Truly, what I told Kim when she first called me was... truly, this is a non-story. And there's not a show out there that isn't over-budget after the pilot," Sonnenfeld said.
Don't just take our word for it.
The folks at AOL TV have named Pushing Daisies the best new show of the season. Check it out:
