HB:"Everybody Wants to be Italian" got some great critical acclaim when it was released last month. Can you tell me about the filming of that movie?

CV:Well, thank you for saying that it got great critical acclaim! J It is a film that I am very passionate about. It was my first lead in a romantic comedy, and I just adored being in this film. It’s a charming, funny film about love and soul mates, and ridiculous relationship issues, and it’s all about Italians!! Which was awesome for me, since I am Italian ! It didn’t stay in theatres as long as we had hoped, but for a little indie film to make it in the big studio theaters is a great thing. Lions Gate and Roadside Attractions released the film and it will be on DVD in February. So I hope people will rent it and watch it for Valentines Day. J It was a really great experience to film. We shot in Boston’s North End, which is a very Italian community, and although it was freezing cold, it was a blast to make. It is different than any other film that I have done, and I really enjoyed the silly comedy and the love story, and the whole cast was just incredible. Jay Jablonski was an awesome leading man, and the director Jason Todd Ipson, was fantastic.

HB:You've got "Chasing Happiness" coming out next year. Can you tell me about it?

CV:This was an indie film that is about a few roommates trying to find their place in life. It’s a comedy—pretty silly, really, and honestly, I don’t really know what else to say?J I am not quite sure what the final product will turn out to be. But I worked with Elisa Donavan from Clueless who I think is a doll, so we had a good time. I played a poker junkie, which was different for me—so it was an interesting experience.

HB:Tell me about your experience writing "How to Eat Like a Hot Chick"

CV:This is a girlfriend to girlfriend anti diet book! My partner and co-author, Jodi Lipper and I thought that there was a real need for an uplifting, inspiring, funny, book for women that made women laugh about food again. And we wanted to tell every woman out there that she is a Hot Chick! We re-defined the term, and encourage women to move through their lives with confidence and feeling sexy as they enjoy their favorite foods. There are so many negative things in the tabloids and on TV that create body image issues and really make women feel confused about diet. We want women to celebrate food again, and learn to love their bodies, and quit feeling guilt for wanting to eat cupcakes and pizza as they eliminate the pressure to look like a size zero celebrity. Our book makes women laugh, as it teaches them how to feed and treat their bodies well. Harper Collins published the book last January, and the whole experience has been incredible. We have received hundreds of emails from woman who finally feel like the Hot Chicks that they are. We had no idea that our little idea would actually grow into something that is changing women’s lives. So that feels great—it’s a lot of work, but very rewarding!

HB:Why did you decide to write it?

CV:Well, Jodi and I were just like any other women. We let body image issues and diet confusion overtake our lives. We moved through our lives on a constant diet, scared to really let loose and indulge, and felt guilty for celebrating. And then one day we had a light bulb moment. We realized that life was too short to not be extracting every juicy moment out of it—and we decided to throw caution to the wind and start acting like the Hot Chicks we knew we were deep down inside. By doing this, our lives changed overnight. It was through our friendship and our silly jokes with each other, our girlfriend advice and encouraging words (mixed with big ass kickings J) that we changed each other’s lives—and so we wanted to share that experience and be the same good girlfriends to every other Hot Chick out there. That is how How to Eat Like a Hot Chick was born. And you have "How to Love Like a Hot Chick" out in January. What's the premise of that book? How to Love like a Hot Chick is the Girlfriend to Girlfriend Guide to Getting the Love you Deserve. It’s the same friendly, funny, silly, but very useful advice, but this time it’s all about LOVE. It’s advice on dating, relationships, being single, breakups, being in love, etc. We are in love with this book. J It was really fun for us to write. And again, this advice came from our own lives. As soon as we starting living like Hot Chicks, everything in our lives changed. Including our love-lives. And since we know that hundreds of thousands of women torture themselves over men and dating and love—we wanted to share our advice and experience and help women get through the hard times and walk them through the process of getting the love that they deserve.

HB:Thus far in your career, what has been the high point for you?

CV:Wow! Good question! J I wish I had one perfect answer for you—but unfortunately, I don’t. The entertainment business is kind of like a giant twisty, backwards, scary roller coaster. So there are so many exhilarating highpoints, but then they can be followed with surprising low points, and other points that just make you sick.J I feel really blessed to be in this business, but it’s tough. Cabin Fever was a high point, but I was totally broke when that movie was in theatres. The book with Jodi has been a high point, but at the end of the day it is a job that is very important—and as fun as it is—it is equally as stressful to keep it fresh and perfect and selling! The release of Everybody Wants to be Italian was a high point, but then it was quickly followed with weirdly bad reviews and it didn’t quite make it across the country like we had hoped. I have had the opportunity to do some pretty incredible things in my career—and they are all equally as wonderful, because they are all different. Being on MTV in London for Cabin Fever was an experience, but talking to women on The Today Show about our book was just as fun. Working with David Lynch in Darkened Room was a definite High Point, but crawling around moldy old bath houses in Bulgaria was also just as interesting. My episode of Two and Half Men was a high point, but then every time I audition and don’t book a job—it gets stressful again. But again, I feel blessed, and I have been enjoying this ride for about 12 years now! I think the highest point in my life thus far has nothing to with work. I’d say its falling in love. Where do you see your career going? Hopefully UP!! J I hope that Jodi and I can continue to expand our line of books, I hope to continue to sell screen plays, and I hope to keep acting—getting better, more creative roles in better films and TV shows. My dream is to be on a sit-com.

HB:Here is some Random Questions: (Fun!!) J You started out your career as a superhero- what superpower would you want to have?

CV:Without a doubt, I’d want to FLY!

HB:What's the craziest thing a fan has ever done for/ to you?

CV:I’ve been asked for locks of my hair. I’ve been asked on dates. One guy gave me his favorite stuffed animal that he had since he was like 2. I tried not to take it, but he was insistent. It was super awkward.

HB:If someone wrote a biography about you, what would the title be?

CV:The Random Life of a B-List Aquarian. (I may actually write this myself J)

HB:So, it's nearly Halloween, what movies are your popping into your DVD player?

CV:My DVD player is broken. L So I have been watching anything that is on HBO. (Tons of Bill Mahr) I did, however, re-watch Hostel on my computer the other night.

HB:What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?

CV:In the 4th grade I was in a talent show with my friend. We did this cute little jazz dance, and at the end we were both supposed to do a cartwheel and land in the splits side by side. Well, the performance stage was significantly smaller than our rehearsal stage, and in front of 300 peers, we did our cartwheels and CRASHED into each other. It was mortifying. We are tangled up and delirious—my head hit her knee and her head hit the floor and her feet we in my face. To make matters worse, the boy I had a crush on was sitting right in the front row and laughed at me for the rest of elementary school.

HB:What's your greatest vice and your greatest virtue?

CV:Another great question! Well, besides martinis and ice cream…? I have a problem of doing too much. I fill every second of my life—and sometimes I just hate it. I need more room and time to do things I love---but it’s hard for me not to be working. I feel like if I stop, then so will my career. Which is actually pretty true when you’re working for yourself. I feel like my greatest virtue is my honesty and my compassion. I know that I am really a loving person. I care deeply, about everything, and everyone. I’m pretty sensitive.

HB:What's the one thing that's always in your fridge?

CV:Some form of chocolate!

HB:Your friends in high school called you the fashion consultant. What's your personal style like?

CV:Really? Did they? Wow! I worked at Wet Seal in high school, so I’d get all my cheesy- matchie-clothes 30% off. It was great. But now, my personal style is very random—like me. J I have like 90 pairs of jeans but I wear the same pair that are super holey and ripped and soft and totally falling a apart with the same white t-shirt that was 3 dollars. But then I love Betsey Johnson dresses and fun funky shoes, high healed boots and anything that is fun, and flirt and pin-up-ish. But right now, out of all the clothes in my closet, I am wearing my brothers USD sweatshirt.

HB:What's the most treasured item in your closet?

CV:A long, ivory silk robe that was my grandmother’s. It is beautiful. Just like she was.

HB:Is there any premiers or events your fans can look forward to seeing you at soon?

CV:I don’t know? I just presented at the EYEGORE Awards at Universal Studios. We opened the Hollywood Horror Nights. It was a fun night with Corey Feldman. In January Jodi and I will be back on a book tour for How to Love Like a Hot Chick. So hopefully fans can see me back on the Today show, GMA, a radio tour, etc. I might be doing some conventions next year. And I am starting a film with Steven Monroe in November called Complacency. Just keeping busy.

xoxoCerina