'Sex and the City': what happened on the set of the series and how it changed the lives of actresses
'18.01.2021'
Source: AdMe.ru
In 1998, a frank series about the life of women over 30 immediately conquered the audience, and 4 actresses became stars, recalls AdMe.ru.
"Sex and the City" raised life issues, which then few people dared to speak out loud, and the girls tried on models of behavior: a little infantile Carrie, liberated Samantha, clever Charlotte or ambitious Miranda. The series has won 7 Emmy Awards and 8 Golden Globes.
The screenplay is based on an autobiographical book
The book by journalist Candace Bushnell was based on her personal and journalistic experience. When the producers of the series decided to film the story, they bought the rights to the film adaptation for $ 60 thousand. And although the skeleton of the main characters of the book was used in the film, the writers still came up with completely new stories for them. Only a few episodes were filmed on the original themes that the writer raised.
Mr. Big, or the Man of Her Dreams, had a real prototype - Ron Galotti, a magazine publisher.
“He was one of those New York guys with a lot of charisma that you pay attention to as soon as he walks into the room. I named him Mr. Big, because he was like a big man on a university town, ”the writer shared.
Many fans of the show, who rushed to read the book after watching, were terribly disappointed. According to them, the book is completely boring, illogical and has no clear structure.
The main characters in the book were different from the on-screen characters. For example, Charlotte was a promiscuous Englishwoman, Miranda worked as an executive producer on cable television, and Samantha was a film producer.
Carrie Bradshaw could be completely different
Sarah Jessica Parker refused the role for a long time, so the now-famous actress Lisa Edelstein (Dr. Lisa Cadi in the TV series "House") was almost approved. The producers were not embarrassed that she was a brunette.
Sarah Jessica Parker could not decide on the role precisely because of the excessive frankness of the series. The actress was convinced by her husband, actor Matthew Broderick. Before giving consent, she set a condition, which was then spelled out in her contract: she does not act naked. Therefore, all the explicit scenes fell to the lot of the other three heroines.
The splash screen of Carrie splashing mud on the bus in her famous tutu could have been different. Alternatively, the actress wore a blue Marc Jacobs dress and was flirting with a guy who was passing by.
Casting the rest of the roles was not easy
The performer of the role of Samantha Kim Cattrall did not immediately agree to the role. At first she thought that she should play someone's mom, because the actress was really 10 years older than her on-screen friends. Then she was embarrassed by the frankness of the role, but still she made up her mind.
But Cynthia Nixon wanted to get the role of Miranda, and for this she had to radically change her hair color. The producers saw the heroine only as a redhead, and Cynthia was naturally blonde.
The imposing Alec Baldwin was supposed to be Mr. Big. But the director changed his mind after meeting with Chris Noth.
“Initially, I thought about Biga playing Alec Baldwin. But then I met with Chris Noth and realized that he was perfect, ”the director recalled.
On the subject: Without Samantha: Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda will reunite in the sequel to the cult series
Christine Davis could also play Carrie, she auditioned for this role. But then both she and the producers decided that the role of the shy Charlotte suits her more. Although the character of the actress is very far from the screen image.
The main characters' outfits were an important part of the series.
The main characters of the series are love and fashion. Therefore, great importance was attached to outfits. Although not all of them were expensive. For example, Carrie's famous tutu was bought at a thrift store for $ 5.
The heroine wore each outfit only once (although we saw some of them again in the full-length film "Sex and the City"). But there was one exception - Carrie's fur coat. She wore it in Season 1 and 6.
All things for actresses were rented. But only most of Miranda's outfits were bought in the regular mass market.
Sometimes the costumes were speaking. For example, actress Bridget Moynahan, who played Natasha, Carrie's rival, was dressed in white all the time. This was to symbolize that she was "too vanilla".
Sarah Jessica Parker had to wear heels for 18 hours a day, it was terribly exhausting. One of the mysteries of the film, which the audience could not solve, was also associated with shoes. The audience did not understand why Carrie was wearing different shoes. It turns out that the actress wore them because the costume designer decided that the sandals of both colors would fit the dress well and that such a decision would look fresh.
Fun facts about filming
Due to the fact that Kim Cattrall was embarrassed to act in explicit scenes, the director had to invite a stunt double. Cattrall was forced to tune in for a long time for explicit scenes, she felt intense embarrassment and constantly overcame herself, so in some scenes she was dubbed by actress Julian Wells.
The pregnancy of actress Cynthia Nixon was beaten in the series. Her belly in the episodes where she is pregnant with Brady is real.
But in the 5th season, Sarah Jessica Parker became pregnant. They did not invent pregnancy on the screen, but simply masked their belly with clothes as much as possible and shortened the season.
In Season 6, Carrie confronts Aidan with a baby in a sling. This child is the real son of Sarah Jessica Parker. The one she was pregnant with during the filming of season 5.
Interestingly, the real reason Carrie broke up with Aidan is because Candace Bushnell's mom simply hated John Corbett's character: “She asked me, 'Why is Carrie with Aidan and not Mister Big? You have to get rid of Aidan! "" The producers of the series agreed with the mother of the writer.
On the subject: Sarah Jessica Parker commented on rumors of conflict with Kim Cattrall for the first time
Sarah Jessica Parker told an unusual story. Once in the market she saw an old antique cabinet, but did not dare to buy it right away. After the actress returned, it turned out that the piece of furniture was sold. A few days later, Parker came to the set of the TV show and saw that this particular antique cabinet was in the scenery of Carrie's apartment.
The series had several alternate endings.
The show had alternate endings. In one of them, Carrie tells her friends that she broke up with Mr. Big because of his infidelity and “it’s finished with him forever,” and in the other, she marries Alexander Petrovsky.
But still, the fact that during the filming of the series Carrie and Big became an iconic couple, prompted the producers to make a happy ending.
How was the fate of the actresses of the series
In 2010 and 2014, 2 full-length films "Sex and the City" and "Sex and the City 2" were released, which told about the continuation of the story of their favorite characters. Negotiations were going on about the filming of the third part. But Kim Cattrall refused to act, arguing that the role of Samantha had already outgrown the role of Samantha morally and in age. This became the reason for the protracted conflict between her and Sarah Jessica Parker. Kim also did not like the scenario of the third film - Mr. Big was supposed to die, and Carrie comes to life after her husband's death.
Viewers wanted to think that the on-screen strong friendship was like that in life. But the actresses have never been friends with each other. “We were never friends, we were just colleagues, and after filming we stopped communicating. But this is for the best, we were connected only by the series, and now it would never occur to anyone to call and ask how other things are going, "said Kim Cattrall.
After the success of the series, actresses were invited to appear in films and advertisements, but they could no longer achieve such popularity. Sarah Jessica Parker is raising 3 children, starring in commercials and trying herself as a fashion and footwear designer. Kim Cattrall plays in the theater, participates in various charity projects, returned to television projects. Cynthia Nixon's passion is theater and politics. She even ran for Governor of New York State. Christine Davis brings up 2 adopted children, realizes herself as a volunteer in various humanitarian projects and participates in charity.
