SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: In Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Amy Adams advertises for a social secretary, but hires a nanny for the job by mistake. The film takes place in the 1939 London, re-created by the filmmakers on location and at Ealing Studios, the oldest film studio in the world (and a vital part of London in 1939).

“The Savoy was my favorite location on this movie,” says Amy Adams. “You walked into that environment, and you were there.” The Savoy was named as a setting in Watson’s novel. “It was wonderful to play in,” says actor Ciarán Hinds who plays the role of a successful lingerie designer. “Joe has a collection on display at a big fashion show. When he sees Miss Pettigrew there, he sees someone who is out of her depth and that touches him. He realizes they’re older than the other people there, and they establish a rapport.”

First published in 1938, the novel Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was written by Winifred Watson. The author wrote six novels in total and was “ahead of her time,” says producer Stephen Garrett. “Her books were about women changing their lives, flouting convention, and addressing class tensions and extramarital sex.” She stopped writing during World War II to care for her family. “My father and I tried to get her to write again, but she wouldn’t,” says her son Keith Pickering. “She told me she had written Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day in six weeks, from start to finish. She would go over dialogue in her mind while she was washing dishes, and then write after finishing the dishes.

“Reading the book, I felt that Winifred Watson was telling us about women who in fact exist,” says Academy Award-winner Frances McDormand who plays Miss Pettigrew. Amy Adams plays Delysia, a spoiled actress who hires Miss Pettigrew as her social secretary. “It’s a female-driven story that originated from a female perspective,” says Adams “The journey is about finding out what, and who, is right for you…being true to yourself even as you step outside of your comfort zone. I’m attracted to optimistic people and characters. Delysia is so vivacious and energetic and full of life. And, she’s really resourceful. If she had a modern motto, it would be ‘Fake it ‘til you make it.’ Each man that she’s involved with is providing her with something that is vital for her survival. But, yes, she’s a rascal…”

Mark Strong plays Nick, a shady nightclub owner who has Delysia living in his penthouse apartment. Tom Payne plays Phil, the first-time producer who has more money than sense. Delysia’s third boyfriend is Michael, her pianist, who dreams of marrying her. “I see Michael as something of a bohemian,” says Golden Globe Award nominee Lee Pace. “He’s an artist who wears his heart on his sleeve. He truly cares about Delysia and their music. He doesn't come from money. Doesn't have money. Never will have money…and that doesn't matter to him.” Adams says Pace has “an old-fashioned leading man quality, able to convey vulnerability and tenderness in addition to a sexy masculinity.” Pace says, “Amy had a ball playing Delysia; she saw the character very clearly and just went for it, all day long!”

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day has the type of frenetic bubbly energy as Thoroughly Modern Millie. Frances McDormand plays Miss Pettigrew with the same caring over-protective mom presence that she portrayed perfectly in Almost Famous. Amy Adams steals the show as the bubbly-but-clever singer ready to do whatever it takes to become a famous actress. She’s full of fun and unconcerned by social conventions, which applied to starlets in 1939 and again today with the likes of Paris Hilton. Note to non-smokers, except for Amy Adams, almost everyone smokes in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

Distributor: Focus Features

Release date: March 7th, 2008

Duration: 90 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some partial nudity and innuendo.

Robin Rowe is a co-founder of ScreenPlayLab (www.screenplaylab.com).