Carrie Bradshaw is finally getting married to her Mr Big. But her three best friends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr Big to jilt her.
Sex and the City 2 "wasn't as bad as critics made it out to be," says Chris Noth. Source: Supplied
IT seems like every other week a media outlet — news.com.au included — speculates feverishly about the possibility of a third Sex and the City film.
The latest batch of rumours carried more weight than usual, originating as they have from a flurry of excited tweets between the show's co-stars Carrie Bradshaw and Kristin Davis, who teased fans with hints that something big was in the works.
What perfect timing, then, that Carrie's Mr Big himself, actor Chris Noth, is in Australia this week for a publicity tour. An opportunity for us to get the facts from someone in the know.
Led to Noth's hotel suite for an interview, however, this writer was issued a warning: after a long day of answering a million and one questions about Sex and the City, Noth would likely be in no mood to discuss anything related to the show. In fact, one errant SATC question and he may just shut down the whole interview.
To paraphrase Carrie Bradshaw, I couldn't help but wonder: Was it possible to interview Chris Noth without actually discussing Sex and the City?
Thankfully Noth — also familiar to viewers for his long-running roles in Law and Order and The Good Wife — was happy to discuss his best-loved role. Charming, earnest and unexpectedly frank about the successes and failings of the Sex and the City franchise, he told us why he thought the roguish Mr Big was misunderstood — and why he thinks the success of Girls has lessened the chances of a third film ever happening.
Q. You seem to have managed to avoid the fate that befalls a lot of TV actors, who find themselves forever associated with one role — as well as Sex and the City, you've had lasting success in Law and Order and The Good Wife.
A. I didn't know I did avoid it, actually! Frankly, it feels like Sex and the City stuck in a way that I could never escape. In fact, I don't try to escape it anymore. In the beginning, Law & Order was the hit, but then when I did Sex and the City, that was a whole other thing. The reaction to that was just overwhelming and shocking, frankly. I don't think I've ever gotten over it; it completely changed my life. When I was younger I resented that — 'Oh, I've got to destroy that image' — but people want to see you as they want to see you.
Noth As Peter Florrick in The Good Wife. Source: Supplied
In Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Source: Supplied
Q.So you worried about being typecast, post-Sex and the City?
A. It's funny, because even with The Good Wife people accuse me of always playing powerful men. But they're flawed — Big was powerful because he had a lot of money and he seemed to have the upper hand in the relationship, but emotionally he was a wreck.
Actually, no: he was what he was. One of the things I tell people is that he never tried to pretend he was anything other than what he was. It was [Carrie] who tried to pretend he was something he wasn't. He was always honest about himself — he never cheated on her. The relationship just didn't work, and he went on to get married while she went on to … how many boyfriends did she have? She was such a whore! [laughs] There's a misconception that Carrie was a victim of him, and that's not the case — she was a strong, smart woman.
Now I feel like people see me as the Governor from The Good Wife, and they want to stick me in that box … but that's fine. I'm not actively trying to break a mould; I'm just interested in good material.
Is another Sex and the City film in the pipeline? Source: Supplied
Q. And do you find most of that good material is on television? It's where you've spent most of your career.
A. Not necessarily — there's a lot of crap on TV. But nowadays you have these tent pole movies — Sex and the City 1 and 2, although 2 didn't really work out I guess — these movies about superheroes and Transformers and all that s**t, where they throw massive amounts of money at them. Where's the actual movie in all that?
I think a lot of people over 40, particularly women, wonder what movies are going to give them. That's why you see older actors and actresses like Glenn Close coming across to TV.
Q. What do you think went wrong with the second Sex and the City film?
A. I don't think it was a bomb, but I think because they're greedy, it didn't make as much money as they wanted. But I think it was considered an indulgence and a distraction because it hit right when the recession happened. People were like, 'Who gives a f*ck about these broads going to Dubai when we can't pay our mortgage?'
It was originally intended as a romp between these friends, but I think it was a mistake to leave New York City, because New York is an integral part of that show.
Without that, it just went on too long. The critical response was overwhelmingly negative … there was not one good review of that film. Not one. And I think it was very hurtful for the girls, because [the reviews] got personal. The media can be dogs. Just f*cking ravenous dogs. And they just tore it apart — unjustly, because there are a lot of other romantic comedies that are dumb and stupid, and they give them a pass. It's like they were gunning for us. [The film] was flawed, yeah, but it wasn't as bad as they made it out to be.
She wore a BIRD ON HER HEAD for you, Big. Source: Supplied
Q. It's a fine line, surely — that fantasy element was something people originally loved about the show. Carrie lived a pretty lavish lifestyle for a writer who only penned one column a week.
A. The New York that Sex and the City depicted is not the New York that I love — New York was a much bigger, more interesting place than just fashion and glitz and all that crap. It's become its own nightmare — it's become Dubai, which is why I don't spend much time there anymore. It's full of tourists, Times Square is Disneyland … it is safer, and that's good, but what we've lost is the character of the city itself. Street art, street life, the fabulous ethnicities and cultures, the middle class — a lot of that's gone. There used to be so many eclectic stores in New York. Go to Manhattan now and it's nothing but drug stores and banks. It's all about money — all the foreigners, the rich Chinese and rich Russians, come in there and buy everything up, don't even live there and raise the prices up so high … Manhattan used to have a real rainbow coalition of class and ethnicity, but it's being pushed out. It's almost like New York became the [fantasy] city that Sex and the City depicted, which I find particularly boring.
Q. No doubt we're the millionth people to ask you this, but-
A. Is there going to be another [Sex and the City] movie? The tweets! I can't believe those girls are tweeting, they're being very naughty. I don't go near Twitter, it's all bulls**t. I'll believe it when they say 'Action!' and until then I don't pay any attention. Sure, I've heard rumours, but they've been sayin' that s**t for 10 years. It'd be a great thing, but for now it's all just Tweety-pie s**t.
Q. Sex and the City writer Michael Patrick King has form, though. He's just resurrected his short-lived post-SATC show The Comeback for a second season after a decade off the air.
A. That's terrific, isn't it? I remember when he came out with that and it didn't catch on, and now HBO's picked it up again. He's brilliant. He'll always have successes. But I don't know how you'd reinvent Sex and the City, and I don't understand the hunger for it from some people. You've got Girls now, which is much tougher and more realistic …. I'm not sure there'd be an appetite for it? It's kind of had its day. He'd have to be really smart to make it relevant. I mean, we're all getting older … What would it be? "Carrie, goddamnit, my bladder!"
Sex and the City writer/director Michael Patrick King with the cast. Source: Supplied
Q. Yeah, that might destroy the Sex and the City fantasy.
A. It's interesting, there was a fantasy to it that people get caught up in, but there was also a core reality: the friendship of the girls, the comedic elements of sex and the humiliations, compromising positions and complications men and women find themselves in. It's interesting that Girls now is one of the most popular shows out there, seeing as it really shows the reality of the struggle [in New York]. Sex and the City was very materialistic, with the fashions, shopping and apartments, and the reality of living in New York is very different for young people.
Q. You're in Australia in your role as ambassador for Chivas Regal Extra Scotch. You don't seem like the sort of actor who'd sign on for any old celebrity endorsement. Why this association?
A. You know, I have a rock n roll bar in New York [The Cutting Room], so I know you want to have the best stuff possible. I figured, I'd rather be a spokesman for something I actually use and like, rather than just being a guy for hire. I'm actually gonna drink this stuff a lot, it's going to be at my bar.
Q. You met your wife [Tara Wilson] at your bar, didn't you?
A. I hate when people bring that up! Yeah yeah, I fell over on my stool and I was about to get thrown out when I saw this bartender…. [laughs] Yeah, she worked there. In a way, it's tough to have a bar, because first of all your friends want to drink there for free, and second of all it can become a habitual place to hang out — and if you like to drink, as I do, you can find yourself there an awful lot.
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