PopSugar

Mark Simmons Monotonously Packs His Knives and Goes

YumSugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:14:28 -0700

On the last episode of Top Chef, we said farewell to Mark Simmons. All of his midnight musical serenades and bubble bath hi-jinks couldn't convince the judges to keep him there.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to engage in a funny conversation in which Mark told me what he's been up to and what he thought of the whole process. He's not bitter, but he's not rooting for anyone, only himself. To find out what he had to say, read more.

YumSugar: How'd you end up on Top Chef?
Mark Simmons: I'd just seen this really big line of people about eight months ago and I thought - for sh*ts and giggles - that I'd go stand at the end of it.

YS: Really? You didn't know what it was for?
MS: Well I figured out it was for Top Chef. There were some really crazy guys there. Guys drinking vodka straight out of the bottle. I was thinking to myself there's no way I could compete against these guys. But then I ended up on the show.

YS: Was the experience what you were expecting?
MS: Yeah, I knew it was going to be an experience of a lifetime. It was going to be a great learning event, a very difficult situation where I'd be living with 16 other cooks in a small house.

YS: What was it like living with all those other people?
MS: Not so easy, and I don't think they appreciated me playing the didgeridoo at twelve o'clock at night. But it was fun, like me and Spike would often have a bubble bath together on Sundays after the challenges.

YS: Are you keeping in touch with any of the other chefs?
MS: Yeah, you know there are quite a few of us in New York. Me, Andy, Spike, Dale, we go into each other's restaurants to catch up and for a cheap-meal [laughs].

YS: Did you think you should have been sent home when you were?
MS: I think it could've been any of us three. In one way or another our dishes were flawed. I was surprised I was going home. I didn't have a speech prepared. I was totally surprised by the [goes into a pretty funny Padma impersonation] "Pack your knives and go" of her monotone voice that she does [laughs].

YS: What was going through your head during judge's panel?
MS: To begin with, when I said to Tom, "You don't like me," it was just light-hearted banter. It took the edge off of it for me. It was an innocent joke that I enjoyed. . . What was going through my head? Well I was just trying to decipher what the challenge was. In my mind the challenge was to create a meal for $10 from Whole Foods. Other competitors went and bought $10 worth of food and then used another $10 worth from the pantry.

YS: Did they ever say you couldn't use it?
MS: Well it was a point to me. The challenge was create a meal for 10 bucks. You shouldn't have to rely on other ingredients.

YS: Did you end up tasting other dishes?
MS: No, and I'm glad I did not. I didn't get to try them, there wasn't a lot there. I literally had a carrot, some squash and I couldn't afford to give anyone any. I mean, Tom ate a lot of mine, straight from the pot even. And ironically, he was double-dipping his spoon. I think that's where some of the banter came from.

And you know, Andrew's did look really good and refined. I was surprised that he didn't win.

YS: So who are you rooting for now?
MS: Myself.

YS: Now that you're out of it, who are you rooting for?
MS: Now that I'm out, I'm not rooting for anyone. I'll continue to root for myself. But I think Dale is very strong at the quickfire challenges, and Blaise is very methodical, and Antonia is a strong contender too.

YS: You said it was just banter, but at the end, Tom reassures you that he doesn't feel that way. Do you think he took you seriously?
MS: I'm surprised he brought it back up. My approach to humor throughout the entire time was very deadpan. I'm usually a lot drier, so I was surprised he thought I was serious.

YS: What's it been like watching yourself on TV?
MS: There are a couple of episodes I had to watch with one-eye closed. Like, oh sh*t, not fun. It was really surreal. Watching myself, this is who I am in real life. I'm glad I was portrayed as who I am.

YS: So what's next for you?
MS: I'm back in New York and at Public. They're looking to open another space down the way and I hope to be involved with that. But actually, I just got married on Friday.

YS: Congratulations!
MS: Thanks. So yeah, I'll be on honeymoon in a couple of days. So I won't be working, I'll be in the Greek Islands.

YS: Sounds fantastic, why'd you choose there?
MS: I travel a lot, and so does my wife, and it's some place neither of us have been. It just sounds truly wonderful and romantic.

Photos courtesy of Bravo

Minka Kelly Gets Saucy Before Final (?) FNL

Molly — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:30:16 -0800

The adorable (and well-dressed) Minka Kelly stopped by fuse's The Sauce yesterday afternoon, I guess to help promote the final new episode of Friday Night Lights which airs tomorrow. Last week's show was an emotional doozy (so, so sad) and I'm kinda worried that this one won't provide much closure at all. Plus, considering the writers' strike, not to mention the show's not-so-stellar ratings, this may be the last episode of the show ever. Ugh, boo. Even if the excellent FNL may be coming to a close, hopefully Miss Minka will get another acting gig soon so we'll see her on screen rather than just watching the runway.

To see more of Minka just read more

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Friday Night Lights, Thursday Night Party, Beautiful People

Molly — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:00:56 -0800

The cast of the best show you're not watching, Friday Night Lights, got together for a little party in Hollywood last night. Quite the group of lookers, eh? Adorable Minka Kelly and Aimee Teegarden both showed off their red carpet poses, though Miss Aimee could lose the jeans under her summer-y dress. Tim Riggins, er, Taylor Kitsch, steamed up the event with his scruff before sort of outing his friend Chase's relationship with Carrie Underwood (not like it was any big secret). I don't even really like long hair, but the boy makes it work. Meanwhile, Kyle Chandler can really do no wrong, ever. The show's on tonight, and there are still new episodes (well...two)! Seriously though, try it, you'll totally love it. I hear tonight is a real tear jerker.

To see more from the event including Tami, Landry, Tyra (I know, they have real names) and others just read more

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Images include: Adrianne Palicki, Aimee Teegarden, Connie Britton, Minka Kelly, Jesse Plemons, Kyle Chandler, Kevin Rankin, Taylor Kitsch

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John Mayer and His Guitar Contemplate LA

PopSugar — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:36:14 -0800

John Mayer was out with guitar in hand early Sunday morning to shoot a music video overlooking Los Angeles. Minka Kelly was there to support her boy (maybe she'll make a cameo?) so I guess any rumors of dirty dancing with Cameron or hitting on Ricki Lake are no skin off her back. Fresh of scoring a Grammy nod for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, John performed a one-night-only acoustic show in LA over the weekend. He is so hot right now, and he so knows it. As for his girl, the new episode of Friday Night Lights left me pretty frustrated, anyone else feeling that?

to see more of John and Minka just read more

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Flynet and Bauer-Griffin

Netflix Partners Up With NBC to Offer Shows Online

GeekSugar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:00:02 -0800

Tensions certainly grew in my house this week when we realized that someone forgot to set the DVR to record Heroes. Thankfully, I had a Dr. Phil lightbulb moment and remembered that my laptop is connected to a Slingbox, so we ended up watching it online-crisis diverted! If you happen to be a Netflix subscriber, NBC has announced a deal with Netflix to offer more TV content on Netflix.com. This deal will allow subscribers to view past episodes of other NBC series including Heroes, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights and The Office. And if you are not a Netflix user, Heroes is available as a streaming video on NBC.com each week, although you're stuck watching all the annoying ads. Photo courtesy of NBC

Teri Likes Eva's Ex

PopSugar — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 12:21:45 -0800

The Desperate Housewives gathered together last night for the Cate Adair handbag launch, hosted by Etoile sparkling wine. Teri Hatcher seems to be missing from the event - could she be off with her new boyfriend? Turns out she's now dating Eva's ex, but don't look for a feud here. Eva has given Teri her blessing. Here's more:

Teri Hatcher confirms that she is dating Eva Longoria's ex-boyfriend, director Stephen Kay, in a story Extra is set to air Friday. The two met through a mutual friend.

And Longoria, who is currently in a relationship with basketball star Tony Parker, has given her Desperate Housewives costar her blessing. "Eva and Tony have never been happier together, and Eva wishes the same happiness for Teri," her publicist, Liza Anderson, said in a statement.

Longoria and Kay were linked in 2004, and he directed her in a television movie, The Dead Will Tell. His other directing credits include the horror flick Boogeyman and an episode of the television show Friday Night Lights.

More good news for DH - they helped ABC finish first in the 18-49 year-old group last night. More of a pregnant Marcia, Eva, Felicity and more so read more

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Come Party With Me: Season Premiere - Invites

partysugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:01:31 -0700

One of the best things about this time of year is the return of my fave television shows! I'm so excited to find out what will happen on the season premiere of Ugly Betty, that I've decided to invite some friends over to watch the show with me. We will have dinner, tune into the show, and dish about the episode. All this week I'll plan a party which can be adapted to any television show. If you like Grey's Anatomy, host a hospital themed dinner or if you prefer Friday Night Lights, football should be the underlying motif. Since I'm crazy about Betty, Wilhelmina, and the gang, everything at my party will be fashionably geeky including the invitations. To see how I made these tacky chic invites, read more

To make an invitation similar to the one seen here you will need:

cardstock
magazine pictures of your chosen television show
paper scraps
scissors
gluestick
computer & printer

To assemble the invite:

Open a new document in Microsoft word. Type out the information of the event. I used Chalkboard Bold in size 14 to write

Ugly Betty Is Back!!!

Please join me for dinner and the season premiere.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
6:30 pm

PartySugar’s House, San Francisco
Rsvp 415.555.5555

Fashionably geeky attire requested.

I changed the text to red. Print out a test copy of the details to check for grammar and spelling. Once satisfied with the text print out on the cardstock.

Cut down to size.

Using the pictures from the show and the paper scraps, create a collage on the back of the invite. Glue into place.

Send in a festive envelope addressed in your best handwriting.

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Fall TV Preview: Friday Night Lights

PopSugar — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 07:45:05 -0700

The much anticipated new show, Friday Night Lights premieres tonight at 8/7c on NBC. The show is based on both the book and the movie of the same name and even has the same director, Peter Berg. So was it really necessary to make this into a TV show also? Anyone remember the disaster TV show that was based on one of the best movies of all time, Clueless?

For those of you who missed the movie, the show has the same premise in that it takes place in a small town in Texas that revolves around the high school football team. Coach Taylor has just been promoted to head coach and is under a lot of pressure by the townspeople to do well. The hands-down most exciting thing about this new show is Kyle Chandler as Coach Taylor. Kyle played Dylan, the hot bomb squad guy that got blown up last season on Grey's Anatomy! Just like in the movie, the star quarterback gets hurt at the end of the first episode and it seems that the rest of the season will tell the story of the rise of the second string quarterback and the trials and tribulations of the first time head coach. I actually enjoyed the pilot, but with all of the good new shows out this season, I feel like I've already seen this one before.