"Sex" A Pleasure For Sarah Jessica Parker
Making the "Sex And The City" movie had its challenges, not the least of which was the constant presence of the paparazzi on location. Nevertheless, producer-actress Sarah Jessica Parker says she's very proud of the results.
Parker, who plays the lead character Carrie Bradshaw told The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith that the paparazzi photos that appeared on blogs and in the tabloids sparked speculation about the movie's plot.
"I think people thought they knew the story we were telling," she said. "And for a moment - I wouldn't call it panic - but there was a moment where it did concern me."
Parker said she spoke about her concerns with the film's screenwriter-director Michael Patrick King, who calmed her fears about the constant presence of the paparazzi.
Photos: "Sex IN The City"
"He said we should just let people determine what they're going to with these photographs," she said.
"Our story is very different than the story that was speculated about," she said. "And that was perfectly fine. These are great problems to have, that kind of interest and enthusiasm. Better that than no one caring."
She added that she is genuinely proud of the film, and not just plugging the film out of obligation.
"I'm very proud of this movie," she told Smith. "And I think you sat across from actors many times before. I think you can tell in their eyes when they're being forced and dragged to a studio."
Parker said it was her idea to revisit the idea of making the movie. She'd been working on putting the movie together for the last two years, and felt the script was in good hands with King.
"The thing that was most important to Michael Patrick is that we start now, we not pretend these women are anything but the ages they are," she said. "And it is a story about being a grown-up and what it means to pursue love at 40 versus what it means to come to New York with all the mythology and to love at 20."
She added that even though the movie has some serious themes, there's still plenty of the spice that made the series so popular.
"It's about forgiveness and recognizing your own complicity in this massive disappointment that Carrie suffers in this movie and to tell a grown-up story," she said. "That doesn't mean there isn't salty language and naughty behavior ... and great clothes. And it is really what it is about and how do you become the best person you can be and how do you become a grown-up? And triumph in disappointments."
The show is so iconic, and the characters so instantly recognizable, that it would be easy to assume that Parker has ended up being typecast as Carrie. But, Parker says that "Sex" hasn't gotten in the way of her career.
"I think that because Carrie wasn't an archetype, because she was this flawed, complicated, wonderful narcissist, reliable flake, human person, it just didn't limit me," she said. "And so when I left, when we left the show and we ended the show and I got to do 'Smart People' and the 'Family Stone' and 'Failure To Launch' it just didn't feel like my opportunities were limited to a woman obsessed with fashion in new york city who was looking for love. That doesn't mean those opportunities don't come to me, but it is really incumbent upon me not to make that choice."
"Sex And The City" week continues on Monday with a visit from Cynthia Nixon who plays Miranda in the movie.