Kristen Bells Talks Has An All-Around Appeal

There's an exchange in the now-canceled series "Veronica Mars" that sums up star Kristen Bell nicely. Told that she would be perfect sorority material because she's "intelligent and cute," Veronica interrupts, saying: "Combative, independent-thinking, smart-mouthed. Believe me, I'm not their type."

That may be, but these qualities, which Bell so effortlessly projects, make her popular with the guys who would never be involved with the sorority-fraternity scene anyway: the geeks and nerds (Bell was rated the fourth-sexiest woman on TV by wizarduniverse.com).

But as it turns out, her appeal goes beyond the html set. She's doing well with frat boys, too - she's been on Maxim's Hot 100 list - and she's even scoring with vegetarians (PETA's World's Sexiest Woman).

All of these seemingly mutually exclusive demographics will find something to like in Bell's new film, Nicholas Stoller's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

It's about a failed composer (Jason Segel) who's dumped by his TV-star girlfriend, Sarah (Bell). Hoping to get over it, he vacations in Hawaii, where he runs into her and her nitwit rocker boyfriend (Russell Brand) and then develops a relationship with a hotel employee (Mila Kunis).

With a setup like this, Bell's character could easily have been all hairdo, breast implants and capped teeth.

"It was a fine line to dance," says Bell, who credits Segel (who also wrote the script) and Stoller with keeping her in step.

"It was never anyone's intention to make her a bitch. The reason I was attracted to this project was because Jason really did give the 'villains' a chance to explain themselves, as opposed to a romantic comedy where you're told who to root for and who to dislike."

The film, which Bell auditioned for, turned out to have moments that resonated with her. For example, there's a scene in which Sarah freaks out because her series has been canceled.

"The funny thing was, 'Veronica Mars' was canceled two weeks prior to shooting that scene," Bell says. "So that was probably the closest-to-home scene in the movie. I was definitely coming from a place of being saddened about 'Veronica Mars' and a truthful place of 'What is my next job going to be?'"

Bell doesn't need to worry too much about that just yet. She's in pre-production on a romantic comedy titled "When in Rome," has an ongoing role on TV's "Heroes," does voice-over work for "Gossip Girl" and has a part in the upcoming movie "Fanboys," about a bunch of "Star Wars" nerds who want to steal a print of "The Phantom Menace" from creator George Lucas' ranch.

That project has been in the news lately because the distributor cut a second version of it over the objections of real fanboys. All Bell has to say is that she doesn't know what's going on, hasn't seen either one of them and hopes it will someday be seen.

If nothing else, the "Fanboys" controversy has kept Bell spreading virally across the Internet. She attributes her popularity with that crowd to "Veronica Mars."

"I'm not going to be a poseur and tell you that I've read comic books my entire life," says Bell, 27. "But I will tell you that it's phenomenally flattering to be accepted by this group of people. And the reason I like it is I respect originality, and these are people who like what they like because they like it."

And she flatters these guys onscreen by being hooked up with characters like Segel, who is not exactly Cary Grant. In their first scene together, he's stark naked, suggesting a sort of intimacy her fans could only dream about. In fact, Segel actually was naked for two full days of shooting.

"At one point, there was a nylon sock involved," Bell says. "That just drew more attention to the situation, so we ditched it." [x]

Anybody who knows me, knows that I'm in love with Kristen Bell. And Beyonce. But Kristen Bell is a goddess in my eyes. Long live Veronica Mars, as it holds a special place in my heart. Never have I been entertained by a TV show, the way I was with Veronica Mars. Though the show has long been cancelled, it's protagonist, Kristen Bell, is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's biggest stars. I've never watched Superbad. I've never watched Knocked Up. But I'm definitely going to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I'm positive that Ms. Bell won't disappoint.

I hope she remains a Heroes regular. Word is that she'll only be returning for five episodes in season three.