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Lucy Lawless Tells Kevin Smith What's What at Comic-Con

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:30:22 PDT

I would have wanted to attend a panel on women in the sci-fi, horror, and comic book genres anyway, but the fact that it was moderated by Kevin Smith just sealed the deal. And I didn't realize I was in for such a comedy show. Smith was, as one might expect, hilariously droll, sarcastic, kinda bitter but not quite hostile. But that Lucy Lawless (you may know her as Xena, and/or D'Anna Biers on Battlestar Galactica) is sassy! She's gregarious and smart and has an incredibly cutting sense of humor that she used to repeatedly take Smith down. It was informative, but also one of the most entertaining panels I've attended yet.

In addition to Lawless, the other panelists included Jaime King (Sin City, The Spirit) Pia Guerra (the awesomely smart and creative illustrator of a comic that I'm slightly obsessed with right now, Y: The Last Man) and producer Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator, Punisher: War Zone).

Smith asked each of the ladies some prewritten questions (not written by him, and clearly not questions he was happy asking) about their experiences as women in such fanboy-dominated universes. To see what they had to say,

Young Adult: Charlize Theron Ain't No Judy Blume

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:05:00 PST

Growing up is hard to do, especially if you're a delusional, malicious shrew who's stuck in the past. That sums up Charlize Theron's Young Adult character Mavis Gary, a woman who lives in Minneapolis and has a career writing novels aimed at adolescent girls. Her world of hard drinking and sleeping in is disrupted when she gets an announcement from her high school boyfriend Buddy (Patrick Wilson) that his wife has had a baby. Mavis interprets it as a message that he's still in love with her, and she disdainfully heads back to her quiet Minnesota hometown to win him back. It's a journey that makes you cringe every step of the way, but Theron is so delightfully nasty that she makes the film sharply funny, even if it's also brutally uncomfortable.

Screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman are behind the dark comedy, who teamed up previously for Juno, which found humor in the tough situation of their straight-talking female lead. Young Adult may have a sharp-tongued heroine in common, but that's where the similarities end. To find out why else I liked Young Adult, just keep reading.

OnSugar Blog: A Baby Recipe - Potato, Sweet Potato & Tuna Pasta

OnSugar Blog — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:16:59 PST

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and CherylDee is one of them. Here is one of the latest posts to her Lipsticks to Baby Bottles blog.

A few days ago I decided to try out a recipe I found online. It sounded delicious, well in a baby delicious sorta way! So let's jump right into it. Here's a list or more like pictures of the items you will need to create this dish for your bubs.

I know I did not state any carrots in the title, but I did add in some, purely just for color. Well and K loves carrots, but I added just a tiny bit. So there you have:

Heinz Baby Pasta Stars (You can get this from any leading supermarkets)
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots (if you want)
Tuna in water or flakes if it's easier

So just chop up the items and pop them into a pot of boiling water. Chopping them up to smaller pieces makes it easier to mash up later when they're fully boiled. While your vegetables are boiling you can start doing your pastas in a separate pot. For one serving you can just use 1 tablespoon worth of pastas. Up to you if you prefer the stars version or the spaghetti.

Keep reading to see the rest of the recipe.

Hello Diva! Patti Labelle's (Alleged) Disgraceful Treatment of a Toddler

Natasha Dantzig — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:40:53 PST

Patti Labelle might be in the market for a very good publicist. According to ABC News, a lawsuit was filed on Monday by Kevin and Roseanna Monk, claiming that the legendary songstress flew into a rage, allegedly screaming at Roseanna Monk and throwing water on both Monk and her 18-month-old daughter. What prompted this extreme reaction? Apparently Labelle (who has five children of her own) didn't approve of the way Rosanna Monk was supervising her daughter, and didn't appreciate Monk's response, "Lady, mind your own business," when confronted by the songstress. The little girl was understandably petrified, throwing up, and crying hysterically, and is apparently now having trouble sleeping through the night.

Being a diva is one thing, but this sounds totally beyond the scope of normal human behavior - can't imagine Aretha pulling this type of stunt. Have you ever witnessed anything like this? What's the most inappropriate reaction to a toddler you've ever seen?

The Vampire Diaries "The Reckoning": The Good, the Bad, and the Bloody

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:05:17 PDT

If last week's episode of The Vampire Diaries wasn't as exciting because it was largely setup, it was worth it for this week's super-exciting and satisfying episode. Klaus, Stefan, and Rebecca terrorize the halls of Mystic Falls High, and the doppelganger/hybrid problem is pretty much resolved.

The ghost ex-girlfriends Vicki and Anna both play a big part this week, too, and one of them introduces us to the show's next big supernatural character. Stefan is still adrift in a sea of evilness, but all it does is make this episode even more interesting - especially where Damon and Elena are concerned. Ready to break down the good, the bad, and the bloody? Just

Simon Debuts X Factor With Paula and Jokes the Show's About "Giving Older Women a Second Chance"

Katie Henry — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:43:24 PDT

Simon Cowell arrived in style for last night's screening of his new TV show, The X Factor, stepping out of his custom-built black Rolls-Royce to greet screaming fans at LA's ArcLight theater. He was the last judge to arrive on the red carpet and promptly received a kiss from his good friend Paula Abdul. X Factor reunites former American Idol judges Simon and Paula and introduces new faces L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger and super-hot host Steve Jones, who's well known in the UK as a presenter. We were on hand for last night's exclusive screening of the first two episodes, which begin Sept. 21, and were happy to see Paula and Simon's infamous chemistry back in full force. L.A. adds his producing and songwriting expertise to the judging panel, while Nicole has a fresh point of view due to her years of touring the globe as a solo artist and with The Pussycat Dolls. Following the screening, the judges answered questions from fans, and according to Simon, he's finally "met his match" in fellow judge L.A. Here's more:

Simon on comparing the US to UK audiences: "They [the US] have an amazing musical knowledge . . . they were very tough on us at times when we didn't love somebody. I thought there were moments when we were going to get mauled when the audience disagreed with us. The American audience is tougher than the UK audience."
Steve on hanging backstage with contestants: "[One contestant] said I wear too much makeup and I'm nothing but a stretched Ryan Seacrest. And I was like, [sarcasm] 'Well, best of luck with your audition.'"
Paula on changing the lives of contestants: "It's an overwhelming feeling, it's a blessing to see and to feel what other people feel when they're getting that moment. It's awe inspiring. Don't take it for granted."
On major arguments over contestants:
Simon: "I'm going to let you in on a little secret: when certain girls came to audition, if they were too attractive they were known as DOA, in other words dead on arrival, and from that, Nicole was christened Sylvester, from Sylvester the Cat, and Paula became Tom, from Tom and Jerry. So we had to fight, me and L.A., to keep the attractive girls in the competition because Sylvester and Tom didn't want them in the competition and that's where, true story, most of the arguments came from. L.A., will you back me up on that?"
L.A.: "True story."
Simon on what the "X Factor" is: "When someone is brilliant it's a no-brainer. Where it got tricky, as I said before, when other factors came into play, and that's where you needed myself and L.A. Reid to be fair and balanced. I got things back on track, but that's pretty much the only time we argued."
Simon on expanding the age range of contestants: "[Joking with Paula] This show is all about giving older women a second chance."

Maria Sharapova Talks Tennis, Travel, and Her Sweet Tooth

Self — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:45:09 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Self here on FitSugar!

It's official, NYC has tennis fever! The courtside champs have been spotted around the Big Apple as they're in town for this week's US Open Tennis Championship.

Selfers mingled with tennis greats at the 12th Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis including James Blake, Rafael Nadal, Mardy Fish, and Vera Zvonareva were also in the house.

I caught up with Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic at HEAD's Head-to-Head event (say that 10 times fast) to help kick off their new campaigns, including one where number-one ranked Djokovic does his best courtside Sharapova impersonation.

Sharapova, a self-proclaimed bag lover, recently designed a few stellar tennis bags (pictured after the break) for the premium sports equipment company HEAD. Her favorite part is that they don't automatically scream "I'm a tennis bag;" they'd also work as a cute weekend (or overnight bag the way I pack!).

She sat down to share some of what keeps her going during tournament season.

Read on for Self's interview with tennis star Maria Sharapova.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: Light on Scares

Rose Curiel — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:05:00 PDT

In Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a young girl named Sally (Bailee Madison) moves cross-country to Blackwood Manor, a Gothic estate her architect father (Guy Pearce), and his interior decorator girlfriend (Katie Holmes) are renovating. Soon after arriving, Sally begins to hear eerie voices coming from tiny creatures in the mansion's basement, and what follows is a pretty formulaic approach to a horror film - there's a house with a dark history, an all-too-knowledgeable groundskeeper, and a child whose fears are written off by the adults around her. The story feels all too familiar, and you can pretty much guess what's going to happen every step of the way.

The film is a remake of a 1970s made-for-TV movie that producer and cowriter Guillermo del Toro cites as the scariest movie he ever saw as a child. It's hard not to expect a unique take on a haunted horror film, given the fact that del Toro created such a vivid imaginary world in Pan's Labyrinth. Instead we get a lot of clichés, and one of the only deviations from standard horror movie fare - an intricate mythology surrounding the creatures - emerges as more confusing than scary. To find out more about why del Toro's monster's failed to make my skin crawl, just

read more. The tiny beasts who torment Sally are most terrifying during the first half of the film, when we only catch brief glimpses of their claws and beady eyes, experiencing them through their raspy whispers. Their ability to inspire fear, however, diminishes when they make their first appearance onscreen and we see that instead of the terrifying boogeymen we've been envisioning are scruffy rat-like creatures that have been brought to life with CGI effects. More convincing than the little critters is Madison, who taps into Sally's loneliness and fear with such ease, it's hard to believe she was only nine when the film was shot. We feel Sally's pain and isolation as she cries over her parents' divorce, weeps during a phone call to her mother, and wanders the estate's grounds by herself. Madison steals the spotlight from Pearce, who is largely forgettable in his role as a father who cares more about his career than his daughter. Holmes's character Kim, on the other hand, has a little more emotional depth, as we see her struggle to connect with the distant girl who has recently entered her life, and then goes on to become Sally's ally in dealing with the haunting. If you're a fan of classic horror films that make you scream at characters as they make one bad choice after another, then you will probably enjoy Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. Those who are expecting a more terrifying tale that will stick with them for days might be disappointed, as this definitely isn't the type of film that's going to make you want to sleep with the lights on once you get home.

Photo courtesy of Miramax

Jaime Pressly Talks About I Hate My Teenage Daughter and Being "Very Scared" of Getting Pigeonholed

Shannon Vestal — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:55:59 PDT

Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran have some formidable foes in their new Fox sitcom: their children. The two actresses star as BFFs and mothers on I Hate My Teenage Daughter, and the funny ladies visited the TCA to talk about the "hormone hell" they think parents will be able to relate to on the show. Pressly also talked about her fears of getting pigeonholed because of her previous work on My Name Is Earl. Check out the highlights of the panel below.

The cast seems to know that the title sounds a little harsh, but Pressly wanted to clarify that the title isn't the pervasive feeling of the show, but the point that your kids can sometimes drive you to. Pressly said "every parent has that moment where they want to break down and just scream." The actress thinks the show is relatable to many people, but parents of teens especially, who Pressly thinks "will be able to escape and realize they're not alone" in the "hormone hell" they're in with their children.
Pressly and Finneran talked about what they were like as teenagers, and Pressly said she was "treated like dirt by the mean girls," in North Carolina until she moved to California, describing her young self as an outcast and a tomboy. Finneran seemed to have it easier, saying she was friends with everybody - "the nice girl, the designated driver."
The actresses who play the mean-girl teenage daughters, Aisha Dee and Kristi Lauren, seemed to be far nicer than their onscreen couterparts, though Lauren joked that her parents are worried she's "going to turn into her character." Dee said it was "fun to get to play the kind of person everyone wants to be," to which Pressly (who has lots of antagonistic roles on her résumé) cracked, "flat out, it's fun to play the bitch, ask me."
Pressly is best known for her Emmy-winning role of Joy on My Name Is Earl, but she copped to her success being as much of a curse as it is a blessing. She was "very scared that I wasn't going to be able to get another show for a very long time," because "it's so easy to be pigeonholed" now that so many people associate her with Joy. Naturally, she said she was very grateful to the showrunners of this show for bringing her on.

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Vital Information For Your Everyday Love Life

Annie Scudder — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:20:31 PDT

The gang from All That, the '90s kids' answer to SNL, will be back on TV July 25 when Nickelodeon rolls out its new rerun schedule with a lineup that also includes Kenan & Kel, The Amanda Show, Clarissa Explains It All, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Rugrats, and Salute Your Shorts. One regular All That sketch is sure to withstand the test of time: "Vital Information For Your Everyday Life," starring Lori Beth Denberg. Lori's completely random, sometimes useful, and generally hilarious advice still holds true today. Before she returns to TV, let's take a look at how we can apply her vital information to our love lives. And if you want to catch a clip before the show comes back on air, check out the video above.

Dating Etiquette

"At fine restaurants, it's considered rude to butter yourself."
"If you're on a first date with somebody, never stick your finger in their spaghetti, twirl it, and holler, 'Lookie, date, I'm makin' sketti circles!'"
"If you're telling a guy a story and he starts to choke, don't say 'Look dude, I'm right in the middle of my story.'"

Breakups

"Breaking up is hard to do. Breaking a dozen eggs with a sledgehammer is fun."
"Revenge is sweet. Not as sweet as 10 pounds of sugar!"
"All is fair in love and war. All is smelly in a closet full of baboons."

Personal Appearance

"Girls, it's a bad idea to fill your bra with water and goldfish and then tell people you've invented the 'Double Cup Aquarium.'"
"If your bra is too tight, it's uncomfortable. If you're a boy and your bra is too tight, I'm uncomfortable."

Female/Male Relations

"Girls don't like it when boys take their sandwich and run away screaming 'Hey look who's got your sandwich now.'"
"Never kick a man when he's down. Just look at him and scream 'Hey, get up you down on the ground weirdo.'"
"It's easy to milk a cow. It's weird to milk a toothless hippie named Maurice."