From CBS.com: Actress Mena Suvari doesn’t shy away from a scandalous role when it comes to the small or big screen.

Suvari exudes vulnerability and yet a strong sense of sexuality, which has stood out in her films, such as Academy-Award-winning “American Beauty,” in which she plays the object of Kevin Spacey’s desire. Her portrayal was so convincing that she received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress by the British Academy Awards.

“I have been told that before - I guess that’s just me,” Suvari told CBSNews.com with a chuckle. “But, I’ve always been really interested in the work and the craft of what I do - the artistic, creative side. Just really try to follow my own interests and if it’s a story that comes away with a character that really speaks to me and I feel connected to, that’s kind of my process.” Continue Reading…

When OK! Magazine caught up with actress Mena Suvari and fiancé, concert promoter Simone Sestito, at the opening of the new Hugo Boss store in NYC’s Meatpacking District, we wanted to know how the couple were doing with plans for their upcoming nuptials.

And while the couple says they’re taking their time to make sure they get everything picture perfect, they did reveal that they’re heading to Europe next week to seek out the ideal Italian site for the ceremony.

“We’re getting married in Rome,” Simone tells OK!. “That’s where I’m from and I have a lot of family there so we just decided that would be the best place.”

And the timing couldn’t be better for their church-hunting expedition. “We’re going there for the Rome Film Festival because I have a movie premiering there called Garden of Eden,” Mena explains to OK!. “So we’re going to use the opportunity to look at a few places.”

Mena, who tells OK! she’ll be wearing a wedding gown designed by a friend at Alice + Olivia, says that she sees the big day in her mind as, “Definitely something big and romantic… Italian weddings are always big.”

With so much to plan, it’s no surprise that Mena and Simone aren’t jumping the gun on their “I do”s.

“It’s a lot of planning,” she explains. “We’re taking our time with it. I really want it to be right. We’re not rushing. I don’t want to do that because I want to look back and have it be everything that I wanted.”

After all that wedding talk, we had to know if the couple, who got engaged in July while on vacation in Jamaica, are already thinking about kids. “Not soon,” Simone reveals to OK!. “But definitely for sure. I’m very traditional… I want three kids.”

So what is the secret to their happiness? “I guess we kind of have the same lifestyle,” says Simone. “I’m in the music business so I’m always on the road doing concerts and stuff. She understands what I do and I understand what she does so it works well.”

Sarah Palin was huge in late night. Updated ratings released Thursday show that the Alaska governor garnered an audience of 15 million last weekend for NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”

Josh Brolin was the episode’s host, and Adele was the musical guest.

The episode’s audience was the biggest for “SNL” in 14 years. It was the show’s best performance since March 12, 1994, when Nancy Kerrigan hosted and Aretha Franklin was the musical guest.

Last weekend, “SNL” scored a 5.5 rating in the 18-to-49 age group — its best showing since Jan. 20, 2001, when Mena Suvari was host and Lenny Kravitz was musical guest.

Check out Mena opening on Saturday Night Live back in 2001 below (you can view more them them in out video vault!):

People magazine reports:

It’s going to be “a nice, big traditional Italian wedding” for American Beauty star Mena Suvari and music producer-promoter Simone Sestito, the couple tell PEOPLE.

“We want to marry in Italy,” Suvari said at the Hugo Boss store opening Wednesday in New York. “There is a lot of planning we want to do.”

In fact, they are heading back on Thursday to scout locations. “We were there in August, and everything was closed in August, so we want to look at a lot of cathedrals and find a place.”

The target date is sometime in 2010, say the couple, who announced their engagement in July.

Suvari, 29, met Sestito, 24, through a mutual friend when he was visiting Los Angeles, and got reacquainted at the Toronto Film Festival in 2007.

“A couple weeks after we knew each other, he asked me if I wanted to go to Italy,” she says.

They visited Rome where, Sestito recalls, “I took her to the main attractions – the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps.”

But the pair bonded over more than the sites. “We just really understood each other,” Sestito says. “There was a connection. She’s very caring and understanding, very outgoing, fun. She’s always laughing, joking around.”

Awww! That’s very sweet! ♥ ♥ ♥

I’ve found some new Mena videos while browsing YouTube (I hope to get them onto out video server soon!) first one is a promo commercial for ‘Sex and Lies in Sin City’ - which you see Mena in a bit of a strip scene - racy!

Next is a video from Nylon TV (from Nylon magazine) where Mena chats with Peaches and Corey about fashion mishaps, fashion week and learning to strip for ‘Sex & Lies’. Enjoy!