Cynthia Nixon Grows Up In Sex And The City.
Here's another interview from the press day with the "Sex And The City" cast. Cynthia Nixon's character Miranda Hobbes seems the polar opposite to Samantha Jones, the character played by Kim Catrall so it seemed like another good round table interview for ultimate "Sex AndThe City" fan Corine to run on her Corner.—Brad Balfour
Brad Balfour: What was it like to re-enter the world of "Sex and the City?"
Cynthia Nixon: I didn't lose a beat. I have to say when I dyed my hair and looked in the mirror I was like, "Oh my God [laughs]." It took me a back a little more then I thought it would. The main thing was to reallybelieve it was actually happening. Then once we were back into it, it was no problem.
Brad Balfour: What was your reaction when you saw the film for the first time?
Cynthia Nixon: A huge amount of relief [laughs]. I thought if [director] MichaelPatrick [King] is going to write it then it's going to be great. Then I read it and it was great. Then we were filming and I was like, "it's going to be great" but you never really know until you know. It's scary when there is so much anticipation, hype, and appetite [for it].
Brad Balfour: Did your theatre experience help you add depth to your character Miranda; were you mad at her for being the way she is?
Cynthia Nixon: No. I feel like it's hard not to have sympathy for Miranda. Sometimes she's so much her own worst enemy. She is such a bulldog and has so much anxiety that she reacts so quickly, because she is so afraid of being vulnerable. Now about my theatre training—I don't know. I feel that I've been acting for 30 years and I feel like everything goes into the pot; mylife experience and [all my] acting experience.
Brad Balfour: How much do you relate to your character?
Cynthia Nixon : I relate to her in some ways. I feel like it's very easy, I think a lot of woman can relate to how thinly spread she is. How she has a job, she has a home, she's got a child, she's got a husband, and all of these things are screaming for her attention, and she's spread so thin that she feels that she's failing at all of them. I feel like that's a real trap that working parents have to watch out for. You might be putting a check mark next to every item on your list, but if someone says "what time is it?" you scream at them,"you're really not [asking]…."
Brad Balfour: With regards to the movie, what are your thoughts on forgiveness and giving someone a second chance? It seems to be its main theme
Cynthia Nixon : I definitely think everyone deserves a second chance. Whether they deserve a sixth, seventh, or eighth chance is another question. I think that's one of the things [you can offer] when you get older. Sometimes when you are young, things seem very black and white—these people are the villains and these people are the heroes—but when you get older and live a bit more, you see there is a lot of nuance. You see, basically, we are all here together so how are we going to get along? In the beginning of the show we would break up with guys atthe drop of a hat. He's a little cross-eyed, I hate that shirt he wears I can't see him anymore. After a certain point you can't justkeep eliminating people. You have to be like, "these are my people for better or worse and I'm going to do what I can to work it out with them.
Brad Balfour: How do you balance being a working mom and actress?
Cynthia Nixon : You got to delegate as much as you can. You got to really understand what your priorities are, and they probably shouldn't be the laundry [laughs].
Brad Balfour: You have one of the more provocative scenes in the movie. Did you have to do any special preparation for that nude scene?
Cynthia Nixon: Well Michael Patrick talked to me about it. He and David Eigenberg[who plays Miranda's estranged husband Steve] talked about where David's hands were going to be, they really glistened me up quite a bit. They lit it very carefully and I felt pretty well taken care of.
Brad Balfour: What effect do you think the show is going to have on the youth of today?
Cynthia Nixon: I think we are a youth-oriented culture, in terms of the young market and how people chase that. Also, in terms of woman and their sexuality, I think we have greatly extended that recently. You look at those old movies and Andy Hardy's parents [Hardy is a character played by Mickey Rooney in 1930s], they look like 75. There was no sense of,like maybe the mom is 40 and hot. For women my age and older, and for younger women who are going to be that age one of these days, I think that "SATC" can have a really positive impact. I worry more about the younger women that I see around, that they have the belief that some how because we dress this way in the series and the movie, that somehow that we're real and they should be dressing this way everyday. Their hair has to be done and they have to be wearing high heels and a different dress everyday and have a thousand-dollar hand bag. I worry more about the girls who are following us like it's a blueprint [for that].
Brad Balfour: How do you feel about the film dealing with the consumption of fashion labels and brands--what are the moral implications?
Cynthia Nixon: There are people who find us an anti-feminist show, which I don't think [it is] at all, I think we are a feminist show; I think the thing that saves us from being purely propaganda is the fact that we have these indulgences and weaknesses and foibles and we do things we shouldn't do. We buy things we shouldn't buy and I think it makes the characters real. Women are so encouraged to put themselves last, to put their children first, to put their husbands first, or who ever it is, and worry constantly about someone else. Even though I don't support spending this kind of money on shoes or bags or dresses… It is a [sort] of political statement... "I value myself, I'm worth it, and I'm going to give myself a present.
Brad Balfour: New York City always seems like another character in the show. Was it always important for you that they shoot the film in New York?
Cynthia Nixon: Yes. When we started doing [the show] we had no idea it would take off like this; but when I was first sent the script I thought I had to maximize my chances of getting in this. It's really interesting. It's about women, which is so interesting, and unusual—and more important the other [reason]—is that it shoots in New York and so little [is shot] here. It's definitely one of the reasons I got teamed up with [the series] in the first place, and then, of course, it continued to shoot here and that was just an incredible thing.
Brad Balfour: It is so mind boggling how universal the show is...
Cynthia Nixon: That was our main thought when we started doing the series. These are four very specific-aged women in a very high income bracket[living on] this tiny little postage stamp that is Manhattan. I say anyone other then the 10,000 women who are these women going torelate to this? But amazingly, yeah.
Brad Balfour: Do you think there is a fantasy element that's part of the appeal to the show?
Cynthia Nixon: I think there is definitely a fantasy element to the show. When people come up to me on the street and say, "I just came from Iowa two weeks ago. Your show made me come here." I'm like, "Oh no!" [Laughs]
Brad Balfour: Was there a scene or sequence that you filmed where you felt like,"Yes, we're back"
Cynthia Nixon: I have to say that when we were walking down the street the very first day, in our high heels and our outfits, we were doing our dialogue and trying to stay in unison, I was like, and "I can't believe this we're back." It was the third day of shooting but it was the first day that Kim and I shot
Cynthia Nixon: How do you feel about the idea that Miranda's happiness is inexorably linked to Steve?
Cynthia Nixon : I feel like her happiness is inexorably linked to her relationship with Steve but I also felt that the reason her relationship with Steve blew up was that she painted herself into this corner, this angry,unhappy, stressed out, over extended corner. Basically what Steve did got her out of that corner. It's not just that she can't be happy without Steve, but it's like what she did to the two of them, more then to anyone herself, was destructive and she had to rethink and find a way to be loving again and be joyful in her relationship and every other aspect of her life.
Corine Cohen: I wanted to thank Brad Balfour for giving me these interviews. I am a very big fan of the series and the film and hope the rest of the interviews from the film will be up soon.
In the meantime, go and see The Sex And The City Film and you can watch the reruns on TV.
Cynthia Nixon is over 40 and fabulous! Thanks to Cynthia and Brad for this wonderful interview!
