Fast friends

Rose McIver arrives at New York’s Griffith Observatory “fashionably on time” to meet fellow Lovely Bones actress Saoirse Ronan for a tour and an interview with The New York Times. That evening McIver, 22, would fly to New Zealand. She hoped it would be easier than entering the United States. “My fingerprints didn’t read on the machine because I’d used some really intense bleach at home,” she said. “At least I got the blood out of my carpet.” The pair, who play sisters in the film, have developed a fast friendship. Moving into the Café at the End of the Universe for fruit salad and chips, the two talked about their childhoods. “When I was younger, I used to collect rocks,” Ronan said. “What a nerdy thing to do.” “I used to try to sell rocks,” McIver said. “I was a poor 7-year-old.”