Cool article & interview from blogs.nypost.com:

Whether she was ruling Jacqueline Kennedy High, getting sliced up by The Carver, asking Tony Stark all the tough questions or channeling her inner bitch, I have always found Leslie Bibb to be compulsively watchable.

That’s why I am so happy to report she’s a million times cooler off screen than she is on it. And discovering first hand — or ear, as it was a phone interview — what a genuinely chilled out lady she is, made her performance as icy Alicia Billington in “Confessions of a Shopaholic” all the more fabulous.

After a brief segue where we talked about the legacy of “Popular,” Leslie spilled the dirt on some deleted “Shopaholic” scenes, what her biggest fashion faux pas was and why she’s looking forward to working on “Iron Man 2” — hint: it rhymes with Schmeneth Smaltrow.

PopWrap: I loved watching you relish playing evil in this movie!
Leslie Bibb: Thank you, it’s nice being the bad girl. But a lot of the really evil stuff got cut though.

PW: Oh really? Like what?
Leslie: In the script there was a lot more tension between the girls and I got to be much more of a “See You Next Tuesday.” Alicia was more of a villain in the original script. And there was this ridiculously amazing girl fight.

PW: Do tell.
Leslie: Oh yes, it went down in Prada but I think Isla got nervous about not wanting to perpetuate that stereotypical catfight thing where girls fight over a guy, which I totally understand. But I told her, it wasn’t over Hugh Dancy’s character, it was our “All About Eve” moment. By the time she recognized that, it was too late to get it back in, but we couldn’t shoot it in Prada anyway.

PW: Why not?
Leslie: They were being babies about it because we were going to slide down this huge staircase they have in the middle of their store but they worried that if we did it, all the tourists would do it.

PW: Fair enough, FAO Schwartz is still probably hating “Big.”
Leslie: Oh, totally. But at the end of the day, it’s so delicious being evil in $50,000 worth of clothes.
PW: Yes, the clothes in this movie are — understandably — amazing.
Leslie: There was this one outfit that I loved so much, I had to make it work. So I asked Pat [Fields, costume designer] when we were shooting that scene and she told me last. So I remember telling myself I had to make it work and I walked in on that day, having not eaten for a week and it fit! [laughs]

PW: Looking back, do you have a biggest fashion faux pas moment?
Leslie: You know, it’s not really what I wear. I have a hard time with my hair and that can really f*** up an outfit. I’ve had some styles that make me wonder what the hell I was thinking. How did I let someone do that to me? With clothes, I think they’re very much of their time. I look at things I wore during my “Popular” days — like a band aid with a long skirt and I’m cool with it. But when I see the hair, I think I look like a stripper!

PW: What are your fashion weaknesses?
Leslie: Shoes. Without a doubt. My friends tease me because I don’t like clutter. I’m not someone who gets attached to things. There is something that feels stagnant about having things you don’t use or wear. But shoes are my thing. Shoes and scarves, I’m a big fan of the scarf.

PW: Ironic considering how prominently one plays in “Confessions.”
Leslie: I know, right? That’s the one thing in life I wear all the time. It’s a staple, like my adult security blanket. But I wish I had the fashion gene. In some ways, I wish I was more like Alicia. To me, everything she wears in this movie is gold.

PW: And not just what she wears, but how she wears it.
Leslie: Well, I ripped this off from Sigourney Weaver in “Working Girl” but I said to Pat that I didn’t ever want to put my arms in the coats. Little things like that rich people do. I love Alicia’s sense of entitlement that covers up raging insecurity. She’s like Brooke McQueen all grown up! Like if Brooke drank the juice and became what everyone wanted. No, wait, Alicia’s more like Nicole Julian!

PW: Since you brought it up, can I just tell you how much I loved “Popular!”
Leslie: Oh, thank you. Wasn’t it just a great show?

PW: So great, so ahead of its time.
Leslie: So totally! I always look at “Gossip Girl” and think, “you guys are baby games! Baby games compared to us!”

PW: Did you know what a dynamic show it was at the time?
Leslie: It’s funny, you’re so whatever when you’re in it, but when I look back, I have such intense gratitude for it. I just ran into Tammy Lynn Michaels at The Farmer’s Market and we were laughing about what pains in Ryan [Murphy]’s ass we were back then.

PW: How often would you say someone approaches you about the show?
Leslie: You know, I kinda didn’t get the scope of the show at the time. I met one of my best friends working on “Talladega Nights” and I didn’t know anyone there, so I asked her to hang out and we’re walking down the street and she turns to me and says, “I can’t believe I’m walking with Brooke McQueen!” [laughs]

PW: And now that it’s on DVD, so many more people are getting to experience it.
Leslie: You know what’s crazy though, my favorite episode is called “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane Hudson” and it was this whole spin Carly [Pope] and I did where we’d switch roles between being Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. It was shot in black and white, just amazing. So Sam [Rockwell], my boyfriend, was demanding to see it. So I had to buy the DVD’s.

PW: That must’ve been an odd experience for you, to buy your own show?
Leslie: I felt like an a – – – – – e walking up to the cashier, who totally gave me the stink eye. I was like, “please don’t say it, I know, I’m pathetic.” But anyway, we get home and that episode isn’t on there! It’s the one episode not on the DVD’s!

PW: Really? Well, if anyone can get it, I’m sure it’s the star of the show!
Leslie: I dunno, The WB doesn’t even exist anymore to call!

PW: You and Ryan worked on “Nip/Tuck” after “Popular” ended. Will we see you on “Glee?”
Leslie: No. You’re sweet, but no. No singing. No dancing. Listen, if you said to me, “Adam Shankman is going to direct you in a musical and you have six months to learn how to tap, I’d practice till I was blue in the face. I would do it because I’m so headstrong and think I can do anything. But just to show up and sing a little ditty, no.

PW: Do you tackle everything with that kind of intense dedication?
Leslie: Yeah, for example, my friend was talking about this amazing ice cream maker that he has and I was up all night surfing for it on the Internet. But then I realized I couldn’t buy it until I finished shooting “Iron Man” because I’d be too fat for my costumes.

PW: Ah, so Christine Everhart will be back in the sequel?
Leslie: Yes, she will! I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that though…

PW: Did you have anything to do with Sam signing on for the sequel [he plays Justin Hammer]?
Leslie: Yes, Sam owes me 5 percent, I’m his agent now! [laughs] No, Sam was in the mix to play Tony Stark in the original, he was on the short list and he’s known [director Jon] Favreau for a while. But Sam’s amazing, he doesn’t need any help from me to get jobs.

PW: Do you guys share any scenes?
Leslie: I can’t tell you that! Do you want me to get killed? You don’t understand, Marvel’s got a gun to my head right now!

PW: It’s like a underground club you’re a part of.
Leslie: It’s cuckoo.

PW: It’s like you’re back in “The Skulls!”
Leslie: [laughs] I am back in “The Skulls!” But lemme tell you something, I love that Gwyneth Paltrow. She’s another one, we were talking about how much people loved us fighting in the original and I thought it would be terrible if we deprived fans of that in the sequel.

PW: You made good foils.
Leslie: There is something delicious about Pepper and Christine circling each other. It’s funny, because now the shine is off, but I remember the first time I saw her, I felt like Brooke McQueen all over again. I mean, it’s f***ing Gwyneth Paltrow — she’s the prototype for Brooke. You should have heard my inner monologue that day.

PW: If we had, what would it have been?
Leslie: “Oh my god, look at how straight her teeth are! She’s so pretty! She has freckles? I have freckles! Oh god, I want to touch her!” I had to literally do a “Moonstruck” and slap myself across the face, like, “Snap out of it!” [laughs]

PW: And now?
Leslie: Now it’s like, “Hey Gwyn, let’s talk about Kabbalah!” I still have a total girl crush though. That Gwyneth is a total winner, winner, chicken dinner.

PW: Ah, a Las Vegas lady!
Leslie: You know it’s from Vegas! Oh man, I’m sure Gwyneth would think I’m nuts for saying that.

PW: Well, she doesn’t eat chicken.
Leslie: [laughs] Of course, right, “I’m a vegan, I don’t get that joke.” OK, fine, you’re a winner, winner tofu chicken dinner! Better?

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” is now on DVD.