When you are young, fresh, and, … well, kind of “stupid,†as the cliché goes, birthdays are great excuses to get wasted and party till dawn, or exhaustion, whichever comes first. Actually, in Manhattan City back in the days we went straight to breakfast from various black tie events all in one night. New York never sleeps and alcohol never stops. And, somehow we never got tired of the galas galore and never-ending elegance of ball gowns.
And then comes the time when, over 40, you wake up with a frozen smile on your face and a stiff back, thinking, this is the day you dreaded your whole life: “It’s my birthday, but I’m over the hill.†Where did time go? Shall I party like before to celebrate? I do not think so. Maybe enjoy a good meal in a quiet ocean front restaurant far from the noise, or better yet, let’s stay in and forget the day altogether. What’s for a birthday gift? Botox and fillers! Maybe not as much as the look-alike Hollywood Barbie dolls, but just enough to keep within the boundaries of elegance. Just like New York. A combination of classy, elegant, and rich, but also charming and flirtatious.
Sex and the City first started out as a very successful TV series filmed in and about New York City that, despite my aversion to television, I watched faithfully. I recognized my own life mirrored in the characters and was filled with a certain amount of wonder as to how they would resolve issues, many just like mine. Sometimes it was comforting to know that I am “not the only one thinking, doing, feeling, living the same or similar emotions and turn of events as these girls on the silver screen. People said life in New York was not as “sexy and glamorous†as portrayed in the series, but I found that to be untrue. My life in the Big Apple was indeed very similar to those characters, most closely resembling that of Carrie’s.
Having many chic friends, we were the ultimate chick flick, a glitzy, gal-pleasing little gang, an excellent subject for a movie that could continue forever. Our adventures, like life with its twists and turns, seemed to continue forever. It’s no surprise, then, that Sarah Jessica Parker is filming a sequel to the movie version of Sex and the City to be released later this year.
This time the film wonders as far as the desert of Morocco, and Sarah Jessica enjoys getting friendly with the camels even if just for a short time, “I would have done it as long as anybody would have allowed. It was the most memorable parts of the whole experience. Our camel was named Saidu. And I would say, ‘Saidou, I love you…’ And he would turn his head and look at me and make camel noise. It’s easy to ride camels!â€
So, what is coming up in the second episode as a “real-life†continuation of the girls’ exciting topsy-turvy adventures?
“I can say that Carrie in the last two years has devoted herself to her marriage that we witnessed in the first movie. And, she’s about to publish her fourth book! And she is very happy being a housewife. That she understands it. She and Big have a new home… that she enjoys decorating. She also spends time with her friends as their schedules and lives allow. Samantha, the character played by Kim Cattrall, is having great success in New York as a publicist and running her own PR Company. She is happily single and happily back in New York City. And she too spends times with her friends. Miranda and Steve have really found their way back to each other. Brady is, you know, getting taller. And Miranda is still a lawyer. And Charlotte is still married to Harry. And they have two daughters. Lily is four now. And Rose is two… I think. “
As fashion has always been the center of attention in all episodes, I cannot help but wonder how much fashion we are going to see this time.
“Lots of head gear. A lot of sunglasses, head treatments! We wore some really good Dior. There are some new and established designers as well.â€
During the filming of the TV episodes and shortly after its release Sarah Jessica became a mother. During the interview it turns out that she has always felt “incredibly maternal…That is who I really am. But that was not necessarily always a Carrie quality. And so that’s something where I feel like as time has gone on, kind of some of those maternal qualities have now come into Carrie in a really lovely way.â€
As we continue talking about the characters in the movie and their real life “alter ego†it turns out that Kim Cattrall is actually a very private and quiet person as opposed to the flashy and very free, unusually sex-oriented, modern, single woman that she portrays. “She is very proprietary about information,… the exact opposite of what she is in the film.“
Toward the end of the interview we return to Sarah Jessica’s own life. In my opinion she has always been gorgeous and seems to gros more and more beautiful with age.
AP: Do you still celebrate your birthdays?
Sarah Jessica Parker: “I almost never celebrate my birthday. I don’t… I don’t care about it. I’m not upset about it. I don’t have any wishes. If no one remembers, I don’t really care. It’s totally fine…â€
Whatever happens next, Sarah Jessica Parker has become a star in her own right winning two Emmys and four Golden Globes for her performance in the episodes, and is here to stay.
