WEBVTT - The Beginning... 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:04.880 Hi, I'm Kristin Davis, and I want to know Are 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:11.719 You a Charlotte? Welcome to Are You a Charlotte. This 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:15.480 is our very first podcast. It's kind of crazy, very nervous, 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:19.319 but we're just going to press on together. Okay. We 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:22.960 are doing this podcast Are You a Charlotte because we 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:26.599 want to look back at our wonderful show Sex and 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:30.000 the City and kind of relive it. I'm going to 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:34.839 rewatch it, but also just tell you how I remember it. 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:36.760 You know, what was happening in life, what it was 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:39.760 like filming it, all the different memories that come up 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:41.800 when I'm watching it. I watched the pilot last night 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:46.080 and wow, wow, I have so many thoughts. But also 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:48.839 we really want to you know, have guests on. We 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:50.680 want to hear from the fans. We want you guys 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.040 to write in and call in and maybe come visit. 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:57.040 I just want to create a community around the show 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.520 that we were Sex and the City, the movie and 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:05.480 just like that, our whole trajectory, and communicate with everyone 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:08.360 about the themes that we talked about back then and 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:11.480 how relevant they still are now. I want to acknowledge 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.200 all of our writers who've contributed, our creator Darren Starr 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:19.800 originally and Michael Patrick King currently. You know, we would 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.640 not be able to be here if they're writing and 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:26.240 their ideas were not so so good and brilliant and 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:28.960 have really stood the test of time. 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:30.440 You know. 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:34.080 When I'm Mountain Life, I run into fans and have 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.440 just the most amazing conversations, and sometimes people cry and 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:39.440 tell me about things in their life, or some of 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:41.800 those people are like, remember that time you guys, you're 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:44.360 on the sateline ferrier, you know whatever. It is different things, 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:48.600 and it's such a connecting kind of a thing with people, 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:51.520 and sometimes I'm in a hurry and I can't connect. 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:53.440 And so that's kind of part of the reason that 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:57.240 I felt like this podcast was the right time and 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:01.000 kind of the right time for me life to reflect back. 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:02.559 There used to be a time where I never wanted 0:02:02.560 --> 0:02:05.640 to see the old show because I felt like I 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.560 would be living in the past because obviously it takes 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:11.600 me back. But I feel at this point that it's 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.400 really interesting to look back, and it has been so 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:17.520 long and we are luckily still playing these characters, so 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.680 super fascinating to think about how we all began and 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:24.760 what we were thinking then and how we have been 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:28.960 able to evolve. So welcome to Are You a Charlotte. 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:30.800 So the first thing that I was going to talk 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:35.160 about is like my life and how I got cast 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:36.680 in the show and what it was like to get 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:39.800 cast in the show. So I had been on Melro's Place, 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:44.400 which Darren also created Darren Starr and very luckily cast 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:48.000 me as this character Brooke Armstrong, and I was on 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:50.440 for a season. But a season of Melro's Place was 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.440 like thirty six episodes, which is totally insane to think 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:58.919 about now. And then I died, well, yes, I died 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:01.120 in the pool. I died to remember for a second. 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:03.399 So I was out of work. Basically, I was out 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:06.360 of work. I'd had this big, big, great job that 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.600 was fun but also very bizarre. Melor's Place was like 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:14.000 a you know, cult kind of a soap opera show, 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.079 a lot of people watching it. It was my first 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:20.080 big job. And then I went back to being kind 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.680 of an out of work actor, auditioning all the time, 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:24.560 all the time, all the time, trying to figure out 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:27.480 what I wanted to do. And I had this wonderful manager, 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:29.840 Dave Fleming, who's still my manager, and he said to 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:32.639 me one day he said, you know, I really think 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:36.080 that you should do comedy because you can do comedy 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.880 and not everyone can. And so you've been on a 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:42.920 soap and we probably are going to have to work 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:46.040 to get you cast in comedy. So I auditioned for, 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:49.440 for instance, Seinfeld. I think I auditioned, I want to say, 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:51.840 six times, and then finally got a guest star on 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:55.280 Seinfeld an incredible, amazing. Then I was had a little 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:58.400 part on r with Clooney, also amazing. You know, little 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:00.960 things that where I was just trying to you know, 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:04.320 you're trying to find your thing. And I got this 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:06.760 script from Darren and I had a little note from 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:10.839 it and he said, Kristin, you know, I really want 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.200 you to read this for the part of Carrie. He 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.640 didn't say, will you do the part of Carrie. I 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.640 think that's some rumor that's out there that I was 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:19.640 offered the part of carry No, no, No. One was 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:22.040 offering me any roles at this point in life. Okay, 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.320 I was reading scripts and auditioning. So he sends me 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:28.000 the script and he says, read this for the part 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:30.640 of Carrie, and I was like, okay, And Carrie is 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:33.600 very clearly the main part, and she is described as 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:37.480 having the body of Heatherlocklear with the mind of Dorothy Parker. 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:40.960 And I'm like, what, I can't what I can't do that? 0:04:41.440 --> 0:04:43.520 So I'm like I was stressing, And in the pilot 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:46.520 she swore a lot and she smoked a lot. She 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:50.679 was much more like the Candace Bushnell of the time, 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:53.520 which Candace wrote the column that then became the book 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:56.719 Sex and the City that Carry is based on. So 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:01.320 in the pilot she was not as you see her 0:05:01.360 --> 0:05:04.120 when Sara Jesska does eventually play her. So I thought 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:07.480 to myself, I can't I can't possibly pull this off. 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:10.520 At the time, I definitely was like, no way, But 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:14.080 I like this other girl, Charlotte, because Charlotte and the 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:16.279 pilot there was not a lot on the page, but 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:17.920 it was very clear that she had a different point 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.039 of view than the other girls, that she was more 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:25.520 focused on, you know, relationships and love, which I kind 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:28.560 of related to. But also I'd grown up in the 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:32.080 South where everyone's trying to get married, and I just 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:36.200 felt like she was more hopeful and less I don't 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:39.600 know how to put it, but she seemed more younger 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:43.680 in her viewpoint and open than the other characters, which 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.560 at the time I related to a lot when I 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.440 watched the pilot. I have some other thoughts, but we'll 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.400 get to that in a second. So I was like, well, Darren, Darren, 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.400 I can't, I can't possibly play that part. I think. 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:55.360 I called him and said, I can't, I can't play Carrie. 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.120 I don't even know what you're thinking, but I could 0:05:58.160 --> 0:05:59.880 play this other girl. I want to play this other girl. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:02.200 He was like, oh, okay, okay. You know, we have 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:04.640 Sir Jisca Parker and we really want her to play Carrie. 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:06.760 And I was like, that would be amazing. I was 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:10.599 a huge fan of Sarah's I'd seen ELA's story multiple times, 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.400 and she does other things too, but I just loved her. 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:14.359 I had seen her and Annie when I was little 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.680 and she was little, but I hadn't been aware of 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:20.039 her as being her at that time. But I was like, 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.400 you should make that work with Sara Jessica Parker because 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:27.279 she's incredible and intelligent and so fascinating and this would 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:28.880 be a great part for her. And she lived in 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:30.839 New York and she was very of New York, you know, 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:32.720 so I thought that would be great. So I said, no, no, 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:34.800 I need to play this other character. So she said, okay, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.320 we'll bring you in for the other character. So I 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:41.000 go in. And I really wanted it because at that 0:06:41.120 --> 0:06:46.359 point in time, I can't remember any shows that were 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:50.360 led by women and only women at that time filming, 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.040 and nothing filmed in New York except for cop shows 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.440 like Law and Order. So the idea that you would 0:06:56.440 --> 0:07:00.480 go to Manhattan, that these four women were the the 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:02.359 through line of the thing. It was unclear in the 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:04.479 pilot exactly what would happen with the four women, but 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:07.000 it was clear that Carrie was the lead and that 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.400 these other women were in the mix. And the idea 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.200 that we would like walk around Manhattan in these like outfits, 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:15.880 you know, and go to the met you know, staircase 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.800 to record, you know, do the show, do the you 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:23.440 know locations whatever. It was very it was a very 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:29.080 glamorous idea and kind of like outside the box of 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:31.880 what was currently happening in nineteen ninety seven, which is 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:34.000 the year that we filmed the pilot. So I really 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:37.960 wanted it. So I go to test at the HBO 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:41.840 building over here in Century City and in la and 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:43.880 they were seeing people in New York seeing people in 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:46.160 la There was a lot of people in the mix. 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:48.600 You'd hear like, oh, they want a comedian to play Miranda. 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:50.440 Oh they wanted this, Oh they wanted that. You'd hear 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:53.440 all these different things, but everybody wanted these parts, and 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.480 so I go. I think I just went directly to test. 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.720 I don't remember going in before that. And this is 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.440 back in the olden days where we had fax machines 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:06.760 and we went to test on the day, and you 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.960 had this You had to have a pilot deal, which 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:14.120 was this really lengthy, like seven year contract, which was 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.280 how television worked at the time, and it would have 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:20.560 like you would be in this many episodes each season 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:22.720 for this year, but they had to have seven years 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:27.000 of your commitment, which was a lot. And their fax 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:30.600 machine at the office had broken, so they wouldn't let 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:34.160 anyone read for the part without signing the final contract 0:08:34.360 --> 0:08:36.920 that were being sent by all of our lawyers. So 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:40.360 I was there. Willie Garson was there, and I knew 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:43.920 Willy already. I had met Willy in Vancouver probably the 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:47.640 year before, and I loved him so much, so thank 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.160 god he was there, because I do wait for hours 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:52.400 before I could go in and read. Darren was there, 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:55.520 but he was inside reading with whoever got their contract first. Right, 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:57.880 So I'm sitting on a counter at this point, and 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.200 Willy is sitting up there with me. Were there for 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:03.320 so long that like, I'd be nervous, and then I'd 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:05.120 get unnervous, and then Willie would tell me a funny 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:06.920 story made me laugh. I'd be unnervous, and then I'd 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:08.800 get nervous again. Darren would come out, and Darren looked 0:09:08.840 --> 0:09:11.719 very stressed. And I think the backstory for Darren is 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:16.280 that he had had a big deal at Fox because 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.720 of nine o two and Oho and Melrose, and he 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.960 really wanted to change up what he was doing. He 0:09:22.000 --> 0:09:25.360 wanted to take more risks, he wanted to film in Manhattan. 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:29.560 So he had gone with HBO for less money because 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:31.679 he felt like he'd have more freedom, which he absolutely did. 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:36.040 Because at that time the networks were very specific and 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:40.640 safe and advertiser driven, and cable was brand new. So 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:45.120 HBO had only had a show. I think they had 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:49.720 had dream On, which was an odd show where every 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:52.640 episode some woman took her top off, and then they 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:54.880 had had the Larry Sanders show, which I had also 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:57.560 guest starred on, which was incredible, but that was it. 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.200 So there's no sopranos. There's nothing else on HB You 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:02.680 and HBO was like, we're going to try this. We 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:06.480 don't know, we're not a real network. So we're in 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:08.760 the testing, you know office. We're in the office of 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:13.360 HBO and Darren's nervously coming in and out. Willie's like 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:16.320 making me laugh, making it so much better. But it 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:19.160 goes on. I might have waited five hours, I can't remember. 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.560 It was very long, and I was I was pretty 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:24.160 nervous because I really really wanted the part of Charlotte. 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.480 So I go in, I read that, I go back out. 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:28.520 This is how testing worked, and you have to wait 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.040 and then they're going to come back out and give 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:32.080 you notes or tell you to go home or whatever. 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.400 It's like very stressful, and will he's just like, oh 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:37.559 my god, I've had it. You know, he's so funny. 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:41.040 So Darren comes out. I had gone in, I had read, 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:43.120 I had come back out. You know, Charlotte doesn't have 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:44.679 a lot in the pilot, so I had done the 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:49.200 best with what I had and it wasn't like jokes 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:53.200 or like funny funny. It was, you know, more it 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:54.640 was the scenes with the guy, so it was more 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:57.840 relationship whatever stuff. So he comes out and he's like, Kristen, 0:10:58.240 --> 0:10:59.880 you've got to be funnier. You've got to be funnier. 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:01.840 And he's waving his hands like this, and I'm like, oh, god, 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.200 is super nervous. I was like, okay, I've got. 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:04.640 To be funnier. 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:06.080 Oh my god, what am I gott to do? So 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:07.240 I was like, welly, what am I going to do? 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.000 He was like, oh, you know, just make it bigger, 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:10.920 make it bigger. And I was like okay, okay. So 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.200 I go back in and I think there were three people, 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:16.200 like that's how small HBO was. It was Chris Albreck, 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.600 the head of HBO, Carolyn Strauss, who was the head 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:21.200 of original programming, and I think Michael Hill, who was 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:24.280 like the executive in charge of the new shows. I 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:28.400 guess I think that, and maybe are casting people Billy Hopkins, 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:31.600 Orkerry Barton. Not hardly anyone there. So I go back 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:34.199 in and I remember Chris standing up and Chris was 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.000 wearing like a complete riding outfit, like with tall boots 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:39.040 and whatever. And I was like, this is so fascinating, 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:41.720 and he was like, you know, can you you know, 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:45.840 make her, you know, more funny, and I was like, okay, 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:49.320 I'll try. So I really tried to make that funny, 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:51.360 but I think it was the scene on the met 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:55.880 staircase which wasn't funny. But anyway, whatever, I did my best. 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:58.120 And I was like, oh, please God, let this work, Please, 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:01.440 let this work. So believe. And the way that the 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:03.760 contract was was you would test and then I think 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.440 they had two weeks to tell you. Oh, the longest 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:09.320 two weeks of my life. Like they waited and waited. 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.280 Every day. I'd call my people, did you hear anything? 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:14.360 Did you hear anything? They're like non or anything, Oh 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:16.520 my god, Jesus God, wor they don't do it. So 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.679 at the final day, you know, it was like, you know, 0:12:19.760 --> 0:12:21.640 the time is ticking and I was like, I'm just 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:23.120 I'm going to go to the movies. So I went 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.120 to a Brad Pitt movie, I remember it, and I 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:28.760 like ran to the car afterwards, called on like my 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:32.040 ancient cell phone and they were like, yes you got. 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:34.880 I was like, oh thank god. So I was super 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:37.880 excited but like really nervous, and then I don't remember 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:42.400 anything in between there except getting to Manhattan. I had 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:45.120 lived in New York before I'd gone to Rutgers in 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:49.080 New Jersey. I had gone all over Manhattan, and this 0:12:49.120 --> 0:12:51.120 is when I get to watching the pilot. I watched 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.920 the pilot and I was like, first of all, I 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:56.560 seem like I'm twenty five years old, and second of all, 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:59.240 I seem like I've literally never been to Manhattan, like 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:03.200 everyone else is so much more sophisticated than me. And 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:07.760 I don't know. I don't know if it's like the 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:11.880 Charlotte element. I remember, Okay, so I had long hair 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:15.920 previous to getting there for this, you know, hair like 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.080 kind of like how it is right now. I get there. 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:20.920 One of the first things they say to me is 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.719 that they want me to cut my hair. And I'm like, why, well, 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.080 I do want me to cut my hair because to me, 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:29.880 I didn't feel like all the New York ladies had 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:31.960 their haircut or whatever. But they were like, we want 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:34.880 you to look like Jill Hennessy, who's on Law and Order. 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:38.240 And I was like, well, but Jill Hennessy is like 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:42.800 really tall and extremely beautiful and she's got there's long neck, 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:44.920 and how am I ever going to look like Jill Hennessy. 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:46.520 And also my hair is wavy. I was like, if 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:48.600 you cut my hair like she had like a short 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.400 bob at this time, right, I'm just gonna have like 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:53.800 a poof, I'm gonna be like a poodle. So the 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:58.880 hair guy on the pilot really sweet guy, very much 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:03.360 like a like a regular journeyman hairdresser on TV shows, right, 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:05.920 and he's like, you've got to get your haircut, and 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.280 if you don't get your haircut, I'm going to cut 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:10.360 it for you on your first day of work. And 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:14.760 I'm like what. So I get in a panic. And 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:17.560 at this point I don't really know Sarah Jessica well 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:19.600 enough right to go to her, Like now, I know 0:14:19.680 --> 0:14:22.400 I should have gone to her asap, okay, but I 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.560 didn't know. I didn't know yet. And I also probably 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:26.480 should have gone to Darren. I don't know if Darren 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:28.560 was aware they were trying to chop my hair off, 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.200 but I was like, oh god, oh god. So I 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:34.360 go to like this salon on Madison Avenue and they 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.080 had a booklet that you had to go through and 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.480 like pick out like a haircut. So I was like, 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.520 I guess this one. So I picked that weird haircut 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:43.480 that I have. It's like here, it's like a very 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.000 halfway haircut. But I was so scared that that guy 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.200 was going to cut my hair in the trailer at work, 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:51.880 which seemed really like not a good idea. So I 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:54.440 get this haircut and then I remember Sarah Juska being like, 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:57.760 what happened to your hair? And I was like, that 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:00.760 dude made me cut it. She was like what, And 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.400 then I realized, like, this is who I need to 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:06.800 talk to about things. Then I get there, he doesn't 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.840 like my haircut and he wants me to put this 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:13.880 massive velvet scrunchy on the back of my head. It's 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:17.040 literally like as big as my face. And I'm like, oh, 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.680 sarataisica no, because at that point I realized that you 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:22.760 need to run things by her. She's going to help you. 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.560 So I'm like, he wants to put this scrunch She 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:31.200 was like, no, no scrunchies, no banana clips. We're in Manhattan, 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.600 and I'm like, okay, thank god. Right, So I've got 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:39.040 that strange little like flip in that oof that first 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.400 scene where I'm talking to camera. Oh gosh, it's not good. 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:43.160 It's not good. And then, thank goodness, they put my 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:45.000 hair up. I think for the rest of it, at 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:46.560 least for the date they put my hair up. I 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:50.120 can't remember for the Chinese restaurant, but I mean, oh, 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:52.800 that was stressful. So after that I grew my hair out, 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:55.440 you know, thank goodness. And I think at that point 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:57.160 and this is the other I mean, I don't even 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.840 know when I should get into the rewatching, but rewatch 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.640 I say that I live at Fourth and Bank. When 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:06.760 did Charlotte ever live at Fourth and Bank. I'm like, 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.520 oh my god, I'm in the village. I was in 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:11.880 the village and I didn't even know it, and that's 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.720 like a dream address. I'm like, maybe they asked Kristin 0:16:14.800 --> 0:16:16.760 where she'd like to live, and I would have said 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.960 Fourth and Bank, but I had no idea Charlotte's uper 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:21.920 east Side, upper west Side. I was upper west side, 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:23.360 that it was up eastside. But I mean, it's all 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:25.960 very interesting. But the main thing I want to say 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:28.680 from that is that we didn't know what we were 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:29.520 in a way, do you. 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:29.960 Know what I mean? 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:34.160 Like it seems now kind of like we did, and 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:39.240 I think Sarah Jessica did, but I didn't know at 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:40.120 all what we were. 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:40.440 You know. 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.920 I remember thinking like, I've got to walk around and 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.120 look at the women and try to figure out, like 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:49.080 who these characters are. And I also knew that Charlotte 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:56.480 in the book Sex Andicity wasn't really she wasn't prominently featured, 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.640 and she wasn't like a through line. And later on 0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:02.160 I thought that she was based on different people. So 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:06.040 Kendis had kind of compiled different stories of different friends 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.560 of hers into one person, which is why when you 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:10.440 read the book, you're like, in the book, I think 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:14.520 Charlotte takes psychedelics and goes roller skating, like what you 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:17.359 know what I'm saying. So I remember just being like, huh, 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:21.600 that's really interesting. But I was just trying to navigate. 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:24.240 And I'm wearing that short skirt when you first see me. 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:27.840 What on earth? I mean, that's definitely a Melrose place, 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:32.080 you know, That's what we wore predominantly. But I'm just like, oh, 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:35.439 oh my god. But it was ninety seven also, so anyway, 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:39.280 and we didn't have pat Field yet. So many things 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.040 I remember, so many things. I remember meeting Cynthia. I 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:44.240 had seen Cynthia when she was doing two plays on 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:46.879 Broadway across the street from each other, and I had 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:48.560 read an article about her than the New York Times 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:52.960 and thought, like, this woman, Oh wow, she's got the life. 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:55.359 You know, she's incredible, and she was so good in 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:57.439 these two plays, the Real Thing and her liberally like 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:01.520 incredible actress. So I was very kind of like starstruck 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:05.840 in a way. And Sin had a baby Sam at 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.040 the time, and I was like, aren't you nervous. I 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.159 remember she had like a little picture of Sam on 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:12.920 her notebook. I said, aren't you nervous to go to work? 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.200 And she was like no. And I was like, this 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:19.159 woman's cool, so cool and fascinating. Right, She's like no, 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.800 what do you mean. I'm like, okay, all right, all right, 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:24.920 So it's fascinating. And I remember meeting Kim. I think 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.000 I met Kim in Vancouver. There's like one hotel when 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:30.119 you work in Vancouver all the actors stay in. But 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:31.720 I hadn't really talked to her, and then we were 0:18:31.720 --> 0:18:33.399 in an elevator because I think we were staying in 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.320 the same hotel. I think remember being in an elevator 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.080 with her and talking about Jazz. I mean, it was 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:42.320 so long ago, so long ago, but I mostly remember 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:46.360 in terms of all of us being together, would be 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.720 the scene in the pilot when we're in the Chinese 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:51.359 restaurant that I guess is Miranda's birthday, which is also funny. 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.480 I didn't remember that. That was really the only time 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:56.840 in the pilot that worked together in the way that 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.720 we come to be together obviously as part of the show. 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:04.240 And I remember that day super well. I was super 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:06.800 excited to get to work with everyone. And I remember 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:10.440 Sarah Jessica called me to a trailer. She's like, come 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:13.120 come with me, and she had this huge thing of 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:16.280 Krispy Kreme donuts. And I grew up in South Carolina, 0:19:16.320 --> 0:19:18.960 where cream are from, and I was like, first of all, 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:22.480 how is this tiny, tiny little actress eating Krispy Cream donuts? 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:24.960 And second of all, hallelujah because none of that was 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:26.920 having at Melo's place right. I was like, we're gonna 0:19:26.920 --> 0:19:29.159 eat donuts, Oh my god. And we chatted and she 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:32.000 was asked me questions about myself and she's just so 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:36.119 incredibly sweet. And then we went into the scene and 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:39.280 it was really you know, we've got the you know, 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.840 drag queens and the crazy Chinese things, and it was 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.840 like so many people, and it was so different from 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:49.639 anything in the Melrose world and really fun and exciting. 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:54.240 And at that point that's when I remember the talking 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:57.199 to the camera thing. So I don't know if you 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:00.119 all remember we used to talk to the camera. That 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:02.399 was like a part of the pilot that was, you know, 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.040 really interesting and very different, and it was just on 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:09.640 the page. So I don't remember as a person thinking 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:11.720 like should this be here? Should this not be here? 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:14.520 I just remember it being very hard to do, like 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.840 when I had to be like, you know, these men 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:20.439 are threatened by successful women and so you just have 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:22.800 to be quiet and play the game or something I say, 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:25.720 like so hysterical, but like the fact that you would 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.239 actually look in the camera was so weird for an actor, right, 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:30.040 like you were like, am I on a commercial? What 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:32.639 am I doing? What am I doing? And I feel 0:20:32.720 --> 0:20:36.760 to some extent that what I remember about the Chinese 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:41.080 restaurant scene was Sara Jessica talking to Darren about it 0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:46.640 because there was some kind of debate about how much 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:49.640 should she talk to the camera or in what way 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:51.520 should she talk to the camera, especially if we were 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:53.359 in a group scene, Like in what way would she 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:55.879 turn and just start talking to the camera like it 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:58.480 was strange to break the fourth wall in that way, 0:20:58.520 --> 0:21:01.000 and she seemed to feel at the time, I remember, 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:05.000 not super comfortable with it. And I remember watching her 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:07.720 talking to Darren about it and thinking like, this woman 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:13.840 is so strong in herself and knows herself so well 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:17.119 and is talking to him in such a great way 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:20.640 of like an equal footing in terms of the creative process. 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:23.040 And I hadn't really seen that. I had. I hadn't 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:26.280 really been around that. I mean maybe in theater I had, 0:21:26.359 --> 0:21:30.840 but not in television up to that point. And she 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:34.440 really was really just trying to navigate her own way 0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:36.440 to make it organic, because it's a really odd thing, 0:21:36.480 --> 0:21:38.639 like you're in a scene, you're doing your regular acting, 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:40.320 and then you have to turn and be like blah 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:42.920 blah blah blah blah. It was a strange, strange thing, 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:45.080 and I knew at the time that she was uncomfortable. 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:47.919 So when I was going to do this podcast, you know, 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:51.080 I have obviously talked to everyone about it in our 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:53.480 world and they have given their blessing, and I said 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:54.720 to you, I just want to check in with you 0:21:54.760 --> 0:21:57.159 about the talking to the camera because I remember that 0:21:57.240 --> 0:21:59.879 day at the Chinese restaurant, and I remember you and 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.520 Darren kind of negotiating how it would go or how much. 0:22:02.880 --> 0:22:06.120 And she reminded me of a couple things that I 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:09.440 would never have remembered. One is that she felt really 0:22:09.520 --> 0:22:12.520 uncomfortable about it because she felt like, it's really hard 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:15.800 to do It's hard to make it organic because you 0:22:15.840 --> 0:22:18.360 are in a scene. And also this what I hadn't remembered. 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:21.119 Matthew Brodrick, her husband, had done it in Ferris Bueller 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:23.960 and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, in case you haven't seen it, 0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:29.359 is a huge classic film that was, you know, a 0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:33.119 touchstone for all of us as we were growing up, 0:22:33.160 --> 0:22:36.440 like it was a formative kind of a viewing experience. 0:22:36.720 --> 0:22:39.880 So for Sarah, she felt like, well, Matthew did this 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:43.440 so brilliantly, how am I going to live up to that? Which, 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.240 of course I would never remember that, and probably no 0:22:46.320 --> 0:22:49.040 viewer would remember that, But it makes perfect sense when 0:22:49.040 --> 0:22:50.880 you think about it, because that was an inherent part 0:22:50.880 --> 0:22:53.199 of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, right that you're kind of 0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:56.560 with the Farris character going through it all and he's 0:22:56.600 --> 0:22:58.600 just talking to you in this kind of like kind 0:22:58.600 --> 0:23:01.720 of smart, alec adorable, charming, Matthew way, And I think 0:23:01.880 --> 0:23:05.119 Sarah felt like that was too hard to do for 0:23:05.160 --> 0:23:07.880 an entire show, you know, And it's a good point. 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:09.720 It's a lot. It's a lot of her talking to 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:11.520 the camera. I only had to do it a tiny bit, 0:23:11.560 --> 0:23:14.119 and I remember being very hard. So that was really 0:23:14.119 --> 0:23:16.400 interesting for me to think about. But then the other thing, 0:23:17.080 --> 0:23:18.560 I don't even know if I should get into this 0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:20.640 get or whatever, but like all the other people talking 0:23:20.680 --> 0:23:22.200 to the camera and the fact that you don't even 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:24.520 see the rest of us for so long, I'd forgotten 0:23:24.560 --> 0:23:27.600 all these things until I rewatched it. And then also 0:23:27.840 --> 0:23:30.280 Sarah Winter, who's kind of our guest star, and her 0:23:30.520 --> 0:23:33.400 her storyline is so fascinating, and then we never find 0:23:33.440 --> 0:23:36.000 out what happens. I'm like, what happened to that character? 0:23:36.440 --> 0:23:39.720 She just gone? She got ghosted by this guy? Oh? No, 0:23:40.359 --> 0:23:43.000 where is she? Is she? Okay? Why don't we ever 0:23:43.080 --> 0:23:45.720 talk about her anymore? Like it's super fascinating, you know, 0:23:46.000 --> 0:23:47.800 I've forgotten all that we're gonna talk to Sarah. I 0:23:47.800 --> 0:24:02.320 know what, I haven't seen the pilot and probably I 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:05.600 mean at least twenty years maybe more, because I was 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:09.760 never a fan of the pilot. I was like, I 0:24:09.800 --> 0:24:14.720 don't know about the pilot. I knew in my gut 0:24:14.440 --> 0:24:19.040 that the show was like a living, breathing thing that 0:24:19.080 --> 0:24:21.000 we should do and that I should be on it 0:24:21.080 --> 0:24:24.040 as well as everyone else, but I didn't When I 0:24:24.040 --> 0:24:27.000 saw the pilot, I was like, I don't know in 0:24:27.119 --> 0:24:30.240 terms of a pilot, right, because back then we were 0:24:30.240 --> 0:24:34.639 in like more networking television. It was a different vibe. 0:24:35.400 --> 0:24:37.919 And when you see our show, it is also a 0:24:37.920 --> 0:24:41.199 different vibe, like it's kind of rough, Like when they 0:24:41.200 --> 0:24:42.840 go to Chaos, which I'm not in that scene, and 0:24:42.840 --> 0:24:44.440 everyone always asks me about cast and I'm like, I 0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:47.480 don't remember casts. That's because I wasn't there. Chaos is 0:24:47.520 --> 0:24:51.919 a mess. You're like, what what's happening here? Like did 0:24:51.960 --> 0:24:54.880 they just take a camera in there and film people? 0:24:54.960 --> 0:24:55.080 Like? 0:24:55.119 --> 0:24:59.240 It's messy and interesting. I mean, very very different from 0:24:59.240 --> 0:25:02.360 network TV. Very different. I guess part of my response 0:25:02.400 --> 0:25:07.359 to the pilot back then was that it didn't seem polished, 0:25:07.640 --> 0:25:12.040 It didn't seem smooth. It seemed kind of choppy and hectic. 0:25:12.320 --> 0:25:14.760 But I also feel my personal theory on pilots in 0:25:14.760 --> 0:25:17.240 general is that if they're too good. If the pilot 0:25:17.359 --> 0:25:21.359 is too formed, the show might not be good. Like 0:25:21.400 --> 0:25:25.080 what you want in a pilot is like a like 0:25:25.160 --> 0:25:29.320 a spark, like a something like a fissure, like an energy, 0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:33.320 and then the show can run on that and you 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:35.720 can form it into something like Clay. And then you 0:25:35.760 --> 0:25:37.720 can form it into something if you have the right 0:25:37.760 --> 0:25:39.880 creative people and if you have a network who will 0:25:39.920 --> 0:25:42.960 allow you to form it, which luckily we did an HBO, 0:25:43.520 --> 0:25:46.919 thank god, because we really we went on such a 0:25:47.000 --> 0:25:52.000 course of you know, finding each character and the show's vibe, 0:25:52.080 --> 0:25:55.080 you know, over the years really and it's actually still 0:25:55.640 --> 0:25:58.040 a journey, which is amazing and amazing that we've been 0:25:58.080 --> 0:26:01.640 allowed to do that. But I remember watching the pilot 0:26:01.760 --> 0:26:04.920 myself at the time, and the scene that I remembered 0:26:04.960 --> 0:26:07.400 and loved, and I feel like everyone feels this way 0:26:07.600 --> 0:26:09.719 is the last scene with Big and Carrie in the 0:26:09.720 --> 0:26:12.800 car and when she gets out, and first of all, 0:26:12.840 --> 0:26:16.840 the village, I mean, it's unrecognizable, Okay, the city in general. 0:26:16.920 --> 0:26:20.560 You're just like, I can't even believe it's changed as 0:26:20.640 --> 0:26:23.320 much as it's changed. I mean, it's still glorious, but 0:26:23.359 --> 0:26:28.639 it's just it was like it looks like the seventies, 0:26:28.760 --> 0:26:32.320 almost true. I mean that's at a little questionable to say, 0:26:32.320 --> 0:26:33.840 and people who are in New York and the seventies 0:26:33.880 --> 0:26:36.760 might disagree with me, But I mean it's rough looking. 0:26:36.800 --> 0:26:40.960 It's fascinatingly rough looking, except for the met stairs of course, 0:26:41.160 --> 0:26:44.239 very glamorous, but Sarah on the street and we used 0:26:44.240 --> 0:26:46.920 to film in Super sixteen, which is very different than 0:26:46.920 --> 0:26:48.960 how we film now, so it's got a kind of 0:26:49.000 --> 0:26:53.840 a rougher quality to the actual film stock. And it's 0:26:54.040 --> 0:26:57.639 just so interesting, like an indie film. It reminds me 0:26:57.680 --> 0:26:59.680 of an indie film, and also an indie film in 0:26:59.760 --> 0:27:02.680 terms of like, you're here, you're there. There's not a 0:27:02.720 --> 0:27:05.720 lot of explanation, there's not a lot of backstory. People 0:27:05.760 --> 0:27:08.200 are just talking to you, and then you're in chaos 0:27:08.280 --> 0:27:10.840 and people are smoking cigars and like it's a very 0:27:12.200 --> 0:27:17.919 interesting and slightly chaotic situation. But really I wanted to 0:27:17.960 --> 0:27:20.280 know more, Like when I watched it last night, I'm like, 0:27:20.960 --> 0:27:23.679 I want to know all about Miranda. I feel like 0:27:23.760 --> 0:27:28.720 Miranda in that suit with that hair eating, you know, 0:27:29.000 --> 0:27:32.159 like calling a skipper skippy and then she pushes it 0:27:32.480 --> 0:27:34.240 up against the wall. I don't remember any of this. 0:27:34.359 --> 0:27:35.919 I obviously wasn't there when they filmed it, but I 0:27:35.960 --> 0:27:37.920 was like, I want to go with her, Like, what's 0:27:37.960 --> 0:27:40.280 her job? What's she doing? And I guess it said 0:27:40.320 --> 0:27:42.440 corporate lawyer, But like, I want to follow her there. 0:27:42.560 --> 0:27:45.879 You know, she's super fascinating and funny and weird. And 0:27:45.920 --> 0:27:51.080 then Samantha is so sophisticated and powerful. You know, this 0:27:51.160 --> 0:27:52.720 is my other thought. When I was watching the show, 0:27:52.760 --> 0:27:55.440 I was like, the three of them are very powerful. 0:27:55.600 --> 0:27:59.480 Charlotte not so powerful, not so powerful at all. Charlotte's 0:27:59.480 --> 0:28:03.280 like a puppy. You know. I really was like, this 0:28:03.440 --> 0:28:06.399 is super fascinating. So I have this other story. So 0:28:06.840 --> 0:28:08.840 I told you about testing, and I had this big, 0:28:08.880 --> 0:28:11.760 big deal. It was like a big, thick, seven year deal. 0:28:12.760 --> 0:28:18.280 When we're doing the pilot. This producer, I think she 0:28:18.440 --> 0:28:20.600 was like a maybe a line producer, like not an 0:28:20.640 --> 0:28:23.080 executive producer. One day I'm in my trailer and she 0:28:23.119 --> 0:28:24.680 comes to my trailer and she knocks on my door 0:28:24.720 --> 0:28:27.360 and I opened it and you know, yes, and she says, oh, well, 0:28:27.359 --> 0:28:29.199 we have this paperwork we need you to fill out. 0:28:29.200 --> 0:28:31.240 And I was like, okay, I take the paperwork and 0:28:31.280 --> 0:28:33.520 I look at it and it seems to be like 0:28:33.560 --> 0:28:35.879 a new contract, but it's only two pages long, and 0:28:35.920 --> 0:28:38.320 I'm like, what is this? And it says like, you know, 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:41.640 you will be a recurring character and you will be 0:28:41.680 --> 0:28:45.120 paid five thousand dollars And I was like what, So 0:28:45.160 --> 0:28:48.520 I call my lawyer. I'm like, Jason, he's still my Jason. 0:28:49.240 --> 0:28:52.480 Just give me this newpaperwork. What do I do? He said, 0:28:52.800 --> 0:28:55.040 do not sign it. I was like, but but they're 0:28:55.040 --> 0:28:57.400 gonna ask me. What am I gonna say? Because I'm 0:28:57.400 --> 0:28:58.880 a good girl, you know, I'd like to do my 0:28:58.920 --> 0:29:00.840 things right. And he's like, I just just say you 0:29:00.840 --> 0:29:03.480 forgot it. So you forgot it. And I'm like, Okay, 0:29:03.640 --> 0:29:05.520 what is going on? He said, I don't know. I'm 0:29:05.560 --> 0:29:07.360 going to find out. I'll call them. I don't know. 0:29:07.680 --> 0:29:09.880 I know that the pilot's costing a lot and that 0:29:09.920 --> 0:29:12.400 they're stressed at HBO about it. I think the pilot 0:29:12.440 --> 0:29:14.720 costs like two point five million roughly, which at the 0:29:14.760 --> 0:29:17.680 time was a lot because no one really filmed in Manhattan. 0:29:17.760 --> 0:29:19.680 Right when you look at it, it does not look 0:29:19.760 --> 0:29:22.160 like it cost a lot. But I think just being 0:29:22.200 --> 0:29:24.720 in the locations we were in cost a lot. So 0:29:25.800 --> 0:29:28.160 I was like, oh God, Oh Jesus, what are they 0:29:28.160 --> 0:29:29.760 trying to do to me? He goes happening. I was 0:29:29.840 --> 0:29:32.280 so stressed, and then I was just like, I'm just 0:29:32.320 --> 0:29:34.120 not going to mention this to anybody else. I'm just 0:29:34.200 --> 0:29:37.200 going to pretend like everything's fine, you know. But inside 0:29:37.240 --> 0:29:40.360 I was really really nervous about it, and I didn't 0:29:40.400 --> 0:29:42.720 know what it meant. Darren didn't say anything to me 0:29:42.800 --> 0:29:45.280 about it, so I thought, well, if Darren's not saying 0:29:45.280 --> 0:29:47.440 anything to me about it, then everything must be okay. 0:29:47.880 --> 0:29:50.080 I don't know. I was scared. But it was also 0:29:50.240 --> 0:29:53.760 very clear from the book and from the script and 0:29:53.800 --> 0:29:57.560 from the pilot that Charlotte's point of view was a 0:29:57.560 --> 0:30:00.280 different point of view than the other girls. Now that 0:30:00.280 --> 0:30:02.240 they all share the exact same point of view, they don't. 0:30:02.400 --> 0:30:04.560 But when we do have that group scene about trying 0:30:04.600 --> 0:30:06.760 to have sex like a man, and I'm like what 0:30:07.080 --> 0:30:09.040 you know? And I make crazy faces, you know, like 0:30:09.080 --> 0:30:12.200 what romance? You know, it's very clear that I'm on 0:30:12.280 --> 0:30:15.000 a different trajectory, And you do kind of think, like, 0:30:15.280 --> 0:30:17.600 how did Charlotte get to be friends with these girls? 0:30:17.680 --> 0:30:20.160 Like this is interesting, right, but do you feel like 0:30:20.640 --> 0:30:22.400 that is how friend groups are like you're gonna have 0:30:22.440 --> 0:30:24.200 a variety of friend groups. I always thought that was 0:30:24.240 --> 0:30:26.480 weird through the years, when people would bring that up 0:30:26.520 --> 0:30:27.840 to me, like why are you friends with them? I'd 0:30:27.840 --> 0:30:29.480 be like, why wouldn't I be friends with them? Right? 0:30:30.040 --> 0:30:32.920 They're fascinating, They're interesting. I think Charlotte was trying to 0:30:34.480 --> 0:30:38.280 like learn from them, or you know, hopefully some of 0:30:38.280 --> 0:30:40.520 that would rub off on her or whatever. But honestly, 0:30:40.560 --> 0:30:43.040 when I looked back on it, I was like, well, now, 0:30:43.080 --> 0:30:45.360 I do think they were trying to save money, but 0:30:45.440 --> 0:30:49.600 I also think that they were like, well, she's so different, 0:30:49.960 --> 0:30:56.200 and the other three are kind of powerful, like in control, 0:30:56.440 --> 0:30:59.360 trying to navigate this relationship thing where we're talking about 0:30:59.400 --> 0:31:01.720 these issues, and you know, can women have sex like 0:31:01.800 --> 0:31:05.320 men and not have feelings? You know, like what does 0:31:05.360 --> 0:31:06.440 it mean to be ghosted? 0:31:06.520 --> 0:31:06.720 You know? 0:31:06.760 --> 0:31:09.440 Why are there so many incredible single women and all 0:31:09.440 --> 0:31:12.120 these toxic bachelors Like I get all of the points. 0:31:12.160 --> 0:31:14.920 And then to have Charlotte be kind of this looking 0:31:14.960 --> 0:31:19.600 for love, you know, naive character, which obviously I knew 0:31:19.600 --> 0:31:22.720 she was. It is different. It is definitely different, But 0:31:22.880 --> 0:31:26.960 in my gut, I felt like it was really important 0:31:27.040 --> 0:31:30.000 to have this other character. So even though I was 0:31:30.120 --> 0:31:35.800 super stressed about this weird paperwork thing, I did feel like, no, no, 0:31:35.920 --> 0:31:38.640 they need me, you know. I felt inside that they 0:31:38.680 --> 0:31:40.960 needed me. And I'm so happy that I did, because 0:31:41.320 --> 0:31:45.040 obviously it could have really gone wrong, right, like anyone 0:31:45.080 --> 0:31:47.640 could get recast or cut out or at any time 0:31:47.720 --> 0:31:49.920 in our business. But in my gut, I didn't feel 0:31:49.920 --> 0:31:52.959 like that would happen. And I'm so thankful that I 0:31:53.640 --> 0:31:55.600 that I didn't and that I had faith in myself. 0:31:55.960 --> 0:31:59.200 I really am unsure why. In some ways, you know 0:31:59.240 --> 0:32:02.160 what I'm saying. I wasn't the most super confident person 0:32:02.280 --> 0:32:04.600 or whatever, but I do feel like when things come 0:32:04.640 --> 0:32:08.080 to you and you have something that connects with that 0:32:08.520 --> 0:32:10.760 and you have something that you want to be able 0:32:10.800 --> 0:32:14.080 to express or create or whatever, and something that you 0:32:14.120 --> 0:32:16.160 want to be a part of, because I know, I 0:32:16.240 --> 0:32:18.800 desperately wanted to be a part of it, like I 0:32:18.840 --> 0:32:22.400 thought it was like the most incredible job ever, you know. 0:32:23.040 --> 0:32:26.280 And when I watch that group scene, all I see 0:32:26.560 --> 0:32:28.680 is how much I want to connect with them, you know, 0:32:28.760 --> 0:32:31.080 how much I want to be with them and fit in, 0:32:31.720 --> 0:32:34.120 which is kind of heartbreaking in a certain way, but 0:32:34.200 --> 0:32:37.320 also that is kind of Charlotte. You know, that is 0:32:37.440 --> 0:32:39.560 kind of in a way like she wants to be loved, 0:32:39.560 --> 0:32:42.120 she wants to find love, she wants to have love 0:32:42.120 --> 0:32:45.520 with her girlfriend, she wants to connect, you know. And 0:32:45.600 --> 0:32:47.400 I do relate to that still, But when I look 0:32:47.440 --> 0:32:49.680 back on it, I'm like, wow, I was like a 0:32:49.720 --> 0:32:55.040 floppy puppy and they're like sophisticated power, you know, like Samantha. 0:32:55.160 --> 0:32:57.960 I mean, I was just like, she's like a purring 0:32:58.280 --> 0:33:03.360 cat of power, and you know, like she's in there 0:33:03.440 --> 0:33:06.920 using her tools, and Kim does it so well, and 0:33:06.960 --> 0:33:11.760 then Miranda is like an awkward power you know what 0:33:11.840 --> 0:33:15.000 I'm saying. Like, and then Carrie, I forgot this whole 0:33:15.040 --> 0:33:16.760 scene where she goes to try to have sex with 0:33:16.800 --> 0:33:19.600 Bill Sage's character and gets out of bed and is like, 0:33:19.880 --> 0:33:21.680 you know, good luck. He's like what about me, and 0:33:21.720 --> 0:33:23.680 she's like never mind and she gets out of bed. 0:33:23.760 --> 0:33:27.080 I was like, wow, I totally forgot about this. How incredible. 0:33:27.360 --> 0:33:30.960 But I do remember that we were it was, you know, 0:33:31.120 --> 0:33:33.880 shocking in many ways to be talking about sex in 0:33:33.880 --> 0:33:36.080 this kind of open way at the time, and I 0:33:36.080 --> 0:33:40.000 remember that we were nervous about the response, like would 0:33:40.080 --> 0:33:42.080 women like it? Like we were trying to make it 0:33:42.080 --> 0:33:43.520 for women, but we were like, are they going to 0:33:43.560 --> 0:33:45.600 be turned off? Because I do think there's a lot 0:33:45.640 --> 0:33:49.000 to think about in terms of like the male gaze 0:33:49.400 --> 0:33:52.640 and how like at that time in films there was 0:33:52.760 --> 0:33:55.840 a lot of sexuality, but it was from the director's 0:33:55.880 --> 0:33:58.280 point of view or the male actors, like it was 0:33:58.320 --> 0:34:03.160 from the male gaze, not necessarily from empowering women. I mean, 0:34:03.160 --> 0:34:05.520 with a few exceptions, like I can think of like 0:34:05.800 --> 0:34:08.040 that Melanie Griffith movie in Manhattan, what was it culed? 0:34:08.080 --> 0:34:11.520 Do you remember sidebar? We'll figure it out later. Working girl, 0:34:11.560 --> 0:34:14.600 good job, good job, working girl, working girl. Incredible, Like 0:34:14.640 --> 0:34:18.120 there were like like here and there a little and 0:34:18.160 --> 0:34:22.000 we talk about the Last Seduction. We talk about that 0:34:22.200 --> 0:34:24.280 in the film, and that was also like a super 0:34:24.360 --> 0:34:29.399 powerful female character, Linda Fiorentino, remember her, You're too young anyway, 0:34:29.560 --> 0:34:32.239 you know, like there were things here and there where 0:34:32.239 --> 0:34:36.279 the women were powerful kind of sexual beings, but there 0:34:36.320 --> 0:34:39.160 was no TV show like that at all. Right, So 0:34:39.280 --> 0:34:43.040 like from that perspective, I think about how amazing it 0:34:43.120 --> 0:34:44.759 was to be a part of it and how much 0:34:44.840 --> 0:34:48.120 fear we had about the response of it to it, 0:34:48.239 --> 0:34:50.880 you know, but also how incredible that we got to 0:34:50.880 --> 0:34:53.560 do it, you know, and how far everything has come. 0:34:53.600 --> 0:34:57.279 But yet when you look back, we don't use the 0:34:57.360 --> 0:35:00.720 term ghosting, but obviously Sarah Winter's character is ghost before 0:35:00.760 --> 0:35:02.600 we had a term for it, which is always a 0:35:02.680 --> 0:35:05.360 very perplexing thing and still very much something you know, 0:35:05.400 --> 0:35:09.120 we discuss in our culture. And then also, you know, 0:35:09.239 --> 0:35:11.160 can women have sex like men? I mean, I think 0:35:11.160 --> 0:35:14.000 it's a valid question. I do feel like that part 0:35:14.239 --> 0:35:17.880 of the conversation has definitely come a long way. Like 0:35:18.320 --> 0:35:21.279 I feel like, you know, the casual hookup became very 0:35:21.440 --> 0:35:25.200 like acceptable in a certain way, in a more kind 0:35:25.200 --> 0:35:27.840 of equal men and women way, which is great, but 0:35:27.960 --> 0:35:30.839 wasn't true in the nineties. I don't feel like, I mean, 0:35:31.000 --> 0:35:32.200 it might have been true, but I don't know that 0:35:32.239 --> 0:35:34.800 we were open about it, you know. But anyway, I 0:35:34.800 --> 0:35:36.840 think those things are super fascinating, and those were the 0:35:36.880 --> 0:35:40.160 two big themes of the show. And then also, I mean, 0:35:40.239 --> 0:35:42.160 I thought so many things watching the show, but one 0:35:42.160 --> 0:35:44.520 of the things I thought was, like, every male character 0:35:44.560 --> 0:35:48.239 in this show is awful. Okay, they're awful. Why do 0:35:48.320 --> 0:35:52.040 we even want to date them? Why? Why? And thank 0:35:52.080 --> 0:35:55.279 god we wrote toxic bachelor on each one, because all 0:35:55.360 --> 0:35:58.839 of them, all of them, even Skipper, I mean, he's 0:35:58.960 --> 0:36:01.480 just I don't know, well, I'm not I'm not buying 0:36:01.480 --> 0:36:03.680 the Skipper of it all. I hadn't really remembered the 0:36:03.680 --> 0:36:06.360 Skipper of it all. I just love how Miranda is 0:36:06.400 --> 0:36:08.879 with him, where she's just like Skippy. You know, it's 0:36:08.960 --> 0:36:13.000 just so funny. But I mean it's super fascinating all 0:36:13.040 --> 0:36:15.319 of it, all of it. And then I mean there's 0:36:15.320 --> 0:36:17.399 so many other things that I've left out. For one thing, 0:36:17.400 --> 0:36:18.919 I just want to talk about Sarah Jessica. We're gonna 0:36:18.920 --> 0:36:20.799 have a little Sir Jesca talk right now. She's got 0:36:20.800 --> 0:36:23.520 her brown hair. Love it. I love it so much. 0:36:23.600 --> 0:36:25.560 I know we had to go blind, but like to 0:36:25.640 --> 0:36:30.480 see her brown hair curly natural and her eyes, My 0:36:30.600 --> 0:36:34.239 good Lord, like, thank God, we built an empire on 0:36:34.280 --> 0:36:38.200 this woman. She is incredible, dur I'm saying, like I 0:36:38.360 --> 0:36:41.680 was floored. I had not watched this thing is so long, 0:36:42.200 --> 0:36:47.799 and her ease and grace and like also intelligence and depth. Right, 0:36:48.040 --> 0:36:49.760 but like the scene on the street where she meets 0:36:49.760 --> 0:36:52.160 Big and she drops the condoms, but then also when 0:36:52.160 --> 0:36:54.520 she's leaving, you know, she almost like she has to 0:36:54.520 --> 0:36:57.520 fix her skirt behind her Like her physical comedy is 0:36:57.560 --> 0:37:02.319 so brilliant but also subtle. And then also like when 0:37:02.320 --> 0:37:03.960 she has this scene with Bill Sage where she's like, 0:37:04.239 --> 0:37:06.520 oh my god, I forgot Willy. Oh my god, when 0:37:06.560 --> 0:37:08.879 Willy comes on the screen, I might cry. Sorry, but 0:37:09.080 --> 0:37:11.799 you know, he's so young and he's so beautiful and 0:37:11.840 --> 0:37:15.600 I really had forgotten, you know, sorry, but I had 0:37:15.640 --> 0:37:16.000 to stop. 0:37:16.040 --> 0:37:18.040 When I was watching it, I was like, oh my god, 0:37:18.680 --> 0:37:21.080 we were just little little babies, you know. And he's 0:37:21.120 --> 0:37:23.719 so funny and their relationship is so great and they 0:37:23.719 --> 0:37:25.560 had been friends for so long. So I love it 0:37:25.880 --> 0:37:26.800 that it's on camera. 0:37:27.760 --> 0:37:40.600 I have to stop this for a little seconds in 0:37:40.680 --> 0:37:42.920 the scene, I was thinking about the scene that Willy 0:37:42.960 --> 0:37:44.399 and Sarah are in together and. 0:37:44.760 --> 0:37:46.680 You know, he's telling her like, don't go talk to him, 0:37:46.719 --> 0:37:49.160 and she's like, no, no, you know, I'm doing research. 0:37:49.640 --> 0:37:53.200 And she's so seductive and funny and like her eyes. 0:37:53.520 --> 0:37:56.120 I'm like, well, who could say no to her? Like, 0:37:56.719 --> 0:38:00.440 who could say no to her? She's incredible. That was 0:38:00.480 --> 0:38:03.799 fun to watch, Like, I don't know that I think. 0:38:03.800 --> 0:38:08.600 I was just like, I'm just gonna do everything she tells. 0:38:08.360 --> 0:38:10.400 Me to do. Like that's what I feel like at 0:38:10.400 --> 0:38:12.400 the time when I met her, you know, she seemed 0:38:12.440 --> 0:38:16.160 so much more sophisticated, and I mean she frankly just 0:38:16.280 --> 0:38:19.279 is more sophisticated than I am. And I just remember thinking, like, 0:38:19.440 --> 0:38:21.440 whatever she says, I'm gonna do it, I'm going to 0:38:21.480 --> 0:38:23.319 try to do it. Like if she says to grow 0:38:23.320 --> 0:38:25.000 my hair, and I'm gonna grow my hair out. You know, 0:38:25.080 --> 0:38:26.839 if she says to wear longer shirts, I'm gonna wear 0:38:26.880 --> 0:38:29.479 longer shirts. I'm just gonna try to do whatever she says. 0:38:29.960 --> 0:38:33.240 And I did, which is great. But it's really funny 0:38:33.640 --> 0:38:39.640 to look at everything she brings and how she shifted 0:38:39.680 --> 0:38:43.360 the role of Carrie to kind of suit her, but 0:38:43.520 --> 0:38:47.720 also she made her more kind of like every woman 0:38:47.760 --> 0:38:50.719 in a way. I mean, I know this is obviously debatable, 0:38:50.800 --> 0:38:52.680 and the show goes on a long time and everyone 0:38:52.719 --> 0:38:57.719 has opinions about Carrie, but you know, she's so fascinating 0:38:57.840 --> 0:39:02.319 and I don't think that our whole trajectory would ever 0:39:02.520 --> 0:39:06.080 have worked if Sarah had played less, do you know 0:39:06.080 --> 0:39:09.760 what I'm saying? Like she added so much depth and thinking, 0:39:09.880 --> 0:39:13.080 Like her intelligence shows through in so many ways because 0:39:13.080 --> 0:39:15.600 she is a columnist, and she is thinking about, well, 0:39:15.600 --> 0:39:19.480 why this and why that? And you know, she is 0:39:19.520 --> 0:39:23.480 the reason that we could all deepen out, you know, 0:39:23.560 --> 0:39:25.680 because if she hadn't brought that, then the rest of 0:39:25.760 --> 0:39:28.000 us would have been able to do that. So I 0:39:28.000 --> 0:39:31.440 thought about that watching it like, it's a pretty incredible performance, 0:39:32.000 --> 0:39:35.960 even in the messiness of us trying to find ourselves 0:39:38.440 --> 0:39:41.120 and her apartment. Oh my god, I still can't get 0:39:41.120 --> 0:39:43.520 over that apartment and what I think it was, because 0:39:43.600 --> 0:39:46.240 I mean, obviously we changed to the Perry Street apartment, 0:39:46.440 --> 0:39:48.040 which was not supposed to be Pari Street. It supposed 0:39:48.080 --> 0:39:49.480 to be that our breast side, which is where Candace 0:39:49.560 --> 0:39:52.719 actually lived. And Candace I believe, did actually live over 0:39:52.760 --> 0:39:55.239 a coffee shop. Remember they show that neon side of 0:39:55.280 --> 0:39:58.640 the coffee shop and then that really really incredibly messy apartment. 0:39:59.160 --> 0:40:02.359 I mean, it's super interesting, but I was shocked. I 0:40:02.360 --> 0:40:05.200 do not remember it being that dark and that messy, 0:40:05.239 --> 0:40:07.719 and I'm really glad that we changed it. Okay, So 0:40:07.840 --> 0:40:10.120 as you can see, I have many stories. I have 0:40:10.160 --> 0:40:12.600 stories for days, stories for days, and I look forward 0:40:12.640 --> 0:40:15.560 to telling them all to you. But I also have 0:40:15.600 --> 0:40:17.960 an exciting guest who're going to bring the very first 0:40:18.000 --> 0:40:20.919 guest star, Sarah Winter in to talk to me. She's 0:40:20.960 --> 0:40:23.200 the very first face that you see in the pilot 0:40:23.600 --> 0:40:25.720 and she's so lovely and I have such fond memories 0:40:25.719 --> 0:40:27.480 ever and I can't wait to see her again. And 0:40:27.520 --> 0:40:29.759 that is going to be on our next episode of 0:40:30.200 --> 0:40:32.400 Are You a Charlotte? And I think we're gonna ask Sarah, 0:40:32.440 --> 0:40:34.680 are you a Charlotte? Let's ask her, let's find out 0:40:35.120 --> 0:40:36.160 thanks for being with me.