New York City is bustling with 'Sex' Fans

Filming for Sex and The City: The Movie has been in progress since September, but according to an article in the New York Times, more and more fans have been lining up to watch.


The madness of the fans was hard for the filmmakers and actors to deal with. According to the article, a short 60 second scene being filmed in front of the New York City Public Library took hours to get right due to the multitude of fans gathered around the perimeter.

"When “Sex and the City,” the movie, began shooting in New York this fall, the
sight of its stars was both commonplace and traffic-stopping, breathlessly
chronicled by bloggers and gossip writers. (Gawker.com cattily called it “The Most Important Movie Ever Filmed
in New York.”) Every outdoor setting inspired wicked speculation about story
lines and behind-the-scenes relationships. Even the cast and crew were surprised
by the level of attention."

In the article, Melena Ryzik talks about the cosmopolitan slurping, promiscuous Manhattan socialites, but with a different air then what would have been said three years ago when the famed HBO series ended. Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are getting older, but nonetheless wiser in the upcoming film.

“That sort of wanton lust, it’s just not at the surface of their skin anymore,”
[Sarah Jessica] Parker said. 'What’s important to me is that Carrie isn’t frivolous and silly, that there is sophistication to her. She’s making a serious attempt
at making grown-up decisions about love and about life choices.'”

There have also been many spoilers (or maybe not...) posted on celebrity websites such as Perezhilton.com; pictures of Carrie in a wedding dress, or Charlotte with a pregnant belly have led many fans to question the plot and wonder whether or not the filmmakers are trying to trick them.

The film is set to be released on May 30, 2008. As a big Sex and The City fan myself, I am very excited to see a final end to my four favorite gals' Manhattan tales. Like myself, I am sure they have become more mature over the years and hopefully the movie will showcase that. I will end with saying thank you to whomever decided that television shows on DVD would be a good idea since that is how I became such a big fan of the series. I salute you.

No More Puffing in the Movies? Might Happen Sooner Than We Think...

Oh, smoking. You've had a tough time these last few decades. When will the negativity stop and things can go back to normal when smoking was cool? (Please sense my sarcasm...)

According to an article in today's New York Times, non-smoking advocates are attempting to petition the movie studios to halt smoking in movies with ratings of G-PG-13.

The move comes specifically from Universal Pictures, the sixth largest movie studio in America. In reference to the New York Times:

General Electric, the corporate parent of Universal Pictures, decided last April that, with few exceptions, “no smoking incidents should appear in any youth-rated film.”

As a non-smoking advocate myself, I somewhat agree with this decision, at least for movies that have a rating of G or PG. I don't think that kids, especially those watching animated films, should see adults or other children or teens puffing away like a chimney. Because, let's face it, no matter what anyone tells you, smoking does look cool when pretty people are doing it. ESPECIALLY if it is done by someone who you look up to and wish to emulate. Also, kids and the new generation of "tweens" are very driven to do things that their parents tell them that they should not be doing or things that look dangerous or wrong. It is part of growing up.

However, we must take into consideration the timely effect that smoking has on a film. What if it took place in 1945? Smoking was as prevalent back then as eating and sleeping. It was a part of every day life and to not include that in a film, especially in a biographical piece would be wrong. People should be able to see the way life was lived before anti smoking legislation became like the plague.

According to Bill Condon, who wrote and directed the Oscar winning film, Dreamgirls:

“Movies are supposed to reflect reality. You’re taking away a detail that is one of the more defining aspects of a lifestyle.”

Another large aspect of the article surrounds the fact that if you take smoking out of movies, shouldn't you take guns, drugs, alcohol and everything else that is bad out too?

Yet Hollywood is also waking to the realization that a committed band of advocates is rapidly changing what is permissible in the movies. And that precedent could embolden other groups campaigning to rid movies of portrayals of gun use, transfat consumption or other behavior that can be proved harmful to the public.

This is a tough call. I guess the question to whether or not children are affected by seeing others who smoke in Hollywood films needs to be answered to decide whether or not smoking should be banned.

For a fun tidbit, however, the article talks about a website, scenesmoking.org, which is a watchdog site for smoking in movies. Reading bits from the site is sort of hilarious. Here is a quote from the Bourne Ultimatum:

"Its easy for Jason Bourne, in The Bourne Ultimatum, to jump from building to building, drive in high speed chases and fool the bad guy when he doesn’t have the negative affects of tobacco slowing him down.”

Andrew P., TUTD Reviewer

We'll see how this continues to play out...