‘Sex & the City 2’: the Photoshop disasters keep coming

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At some point, someone high up in the entertainment industry just has to come out and say it – there isn’t a Photoshop program big enough, advanced enough, hardcore enough to make the Sex and the City ladies look like they’re still in their 30s. It wouldn’t be so bad, except for the simple fact that no one wants to acknowledge that all of the women are past 40 years old, and they don’t need to look 30. Except that Hollywood is afraid, I think, of marketing a film about four women over 40 years old. They simply don’t know how to do it. Thus, we get these horrible Photoshopped magazine covers and posters, where it looks like the women are cartoons – Vaseline-covered cartoons. Blurry, unfocused, frozen, waxy. Ugh.

Meanwhile, In Touch Weekly is still promoting their cover story this week with endless stories about Sex and City 2. Here are some of the stories compiled, although I only think one of the quotes is really interesting – they spoke to SATC costume designer Patricia Fields at length, and she’s bitching about how the girls are styled for the promotional images. Woman, you’re looking at their clothes?!? What about their cartoon faces?

As any Sex and the City fan knows, the clothes help tell the story, so who better to give the scoop on the new movie than famed costume designer Patricia Field? “I’m very, very happy,” Patricia tells In Touch of the finished product. “I give it an A and I don’t give As out very often. It was different than any other movie I’ve seen lately. I could call it ‘Sex and the City musical.’ It’s just one happy surprise after another. It was visually beautiful.” A lot of that is thanks to Patricia, who also helped design an exclusive bottle for SKYY Vodka based on Sex and the City style — but there’s one part she wants nothing to do with. “I did not do the movie poster — that’s why it didn’t look like it should,” she reveals. “I guess they didn’t want to pay my price!”

With the glitzy backdrop of Abu Dhabi and 41 costume changes for Carrie Bradshaw — including pieces by designers like Halston, the late Alexander McQueen and Pucci — it’s no surprise that stylist-to-the-stars Phillip Bloch, who was on the set, estimates the Sex and the City 2 wardrobe budget at a whopping $10 million! “Some of these pieces cost more than an SUV,” he says. “But they get better mileage!”

Fans will not be disappointed with the pricey accessories and stunning designs worn by Carrie and her pals. SATC stylist Patricia Field — who Sarah Jessica Parker calls “indispensable” — worked her wardrobe magic again, flawlessly mixing high- and low-end pieces for stylishly innovative looks sure to set trends across the globe. “When you’re in a recession, you want to have a good time!” says Field. As if we weren’t envious enough of the clothes already, Kristin Davis reveals that the actresses get to keep their wardrobes! “We’re really careful though, because they’re often one-of-a-kind samples from the runways,” she says. “So we don’t eat in them!”

[From In Touch Weekly]

Come on, that’s really what the movies are about at this point. Where the television series always had good or interesting fashion porn, the focus really was on character development and the relationships these women had with men and with each other. Not anymore – now the films are just about the fashion and how with enough Vaseline on the camera lens, you too can pretend that you’re 35.

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EW cover & poster courtesy of HuffPo.

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47 Responses to “‘Sex & the City 2’: the Photoshop disasters keep coming”

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  1. Melinda says:

    Kim Catrall looks like a completely different person, and SJP just looks frightening.

  2. Kazoo81 says:

    it’s getting ridiculous. i saw the EW cover yesterday without realizing it was supposed to be the SATC girls. it took me like 2 minutes to figure out who the hell these women were supposed to be.

  3. canadianchick says:

    Their promo machine is revving into overdrive-I like SATC, their fans are loyal, no need to crank out ridiculous posters and to oversaturate their fans.

  4. Oi says:

    This is hilarious! Lets just laugh and move on.

  5. Atticus says:

    Agree that Kim Cattrall looks nothing like that. Good to see SJP is actually allowing the other three women to appear on the poster…the earlier versions I saw were just of Carrie.

  6. Heather says:

    In the top picture, if you look at their feet you can see that Cynthia Nixon looks to be standing a couple feet in front of Kristin Davis, but they have their arms around each other.

    Like some weird MC Escher effect.

  7. meme says:

    i hate all things SATC.

  8. BW says:

    “. . . including pieces by designers like Halston, the late Alexander McQueen and Pucci . . .”

    If I’m not mistaken, Halston and Pucci are “late” too.

  9. LondonLady says:

    SJPs eyes are really a bit too close together in this poster. Kristin Davis seems to have lost her legs and Cynthia Nixon by all rights should have toppled over by now, and at that angle..

  10. Missfit says:

    These pictures are creepier than the characters from Yo gabagaba and Barney.

  11. RHONYC says:

    “…the simple fact that no one wants to acknowledge that all of the women are past 40 years old, and they don’t need to look 30.”

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    precisely.

    hey. i’m a fan of the show from even back when carrie was typing on a *gasp* desktop in the pilot.

    they are taking this sh%t too far. enough already.
    sjp needs to wise up, & stop perpetuating the message that older gals = young threads.

    jaclyn smith
    meryl streep
    michelle obama

    all represent older, sexy gals, who are in great shape & are NOT trying to dress like miley.

    & i still maintain that…
    minis over 40 = youth desperation

    *eyeroll*

  12. Novaraen says:

    Way too much shadow around their faces…makes it look as if their heads are floating out in front of their necks. Especially Kim…wow…lol. Bad bad photoshop.

  13. Chico says:

    @ Rhonyc. Totally agree. A little much with the clothes.

    I guess they didn’t realize or care how much of a joke they were w/the first movie posters; so, they decided to go even more OUT THERE this time.

    Oh well, I’m sure SNL, and everyone else, will have fun spoofing them.

  14. Cindy says:

    The entertainment magazine cover is ridiculous, poor Cynithia Nixon in the first picture they made her look as short as SJP and in the second one half her body has been photoshopped out of the picture.

  15. jover says:

    Just bad. Does these women not know or care that they are being turned into cartoons, or are they and the studios/pr teams/media simply indifferent as long as the cash from the movie comes in. Anyway, I thought in order to be a true fashionista you didn’t need to advertise it, it was something that was part of your demeanor/behaviour etc. These women try so hard but I know very few women that pay attention to them let alone would adopt their “looks.” And isn’t that part of what being a fashionista is?

  16. alexandra says:

    It is a movie, FYI Carrie Bradshaw the fashionista is a movie character. Not real.

  17. Beth says:

    Sarah and Kim always look ridiculous. Cynthia and Kristin just look touched-up in these photos.

  18. original kate says:

    more 40-something women photoshopped to look 30…film at 11:00. why can’t women in hollywood ever age? there’s nothing wrong with being 35, or 45 or even *gasp* over 50! sexist bullcrap.

  19. freckles says:

    I agree with 11, and with you Kaiser. This is a movie about 40+ year old women, why pretend it’s anything but that? Why not use this as a chance to break the mold.. I mean it’s a popular series so they shouldn’t have much to lose, and we all know they’re 40+ anyways.

    Either way though, I’d rather die that see it. I regrettably saw the first one.. never again

  20. Green Is Good says:

    If they allowed these characters to “mature”, look their age, they would be doing a great service to all actresses in Hollywood who aren’t 20-something tartlets.

    Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Catherine Keener, Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver, to name a few off the top of my head that have managed to forge successful careers.

  21. Ally says:

    Ditto @ Freckles & GreenIsGood

    Also, I would appreciate letting them mature in intelligence and manner. Unless dementia is setting in, which might explain why the characters talk & act younger and dumber than they did 10+ years ago in the first season of the show.

    The actresses you cite are inspirational not just because of their talent and how they look, but the dignity and depth they bring to each role. At this point, onscreen, the SATC women have the brains of Jessica Simpson and the dignified allure (not) of your average “Real Housewife”.

  22. Cindy Kennedy says:

    They might as well have just painted pictures of them, instead of bothering with photography.

  23. Missfit says:

    Well as sad as it is to say this, this stuff happens in real life. I didn’t watch this show much, but I take it these women date lots of dudes and are pretty much whores on the show and what not? My mother-in-law and even my own mother are like that and they are in their 40s and 50s! I don’t get out much, for I am a stay at home mother at home and I’m in my 20s. I don’t think all women settle down, I’m not saying all women should get married and have kids, but they should still be lady like and have some morals for themselves and life. Unfortunately lots of them keep going out to the clubs and bars or whatever or out there looking for that piece of ass (just like men do). I know, there is that whole thing about if men do it, why shouldn’t women, well being whores isn’t excusable in either party or sex. It would depend on the severity of the situation. And IRONICALLY my mother-in-law LOVES this show! Uggh, lame, gag! lmao

  24. Shay says:

    The SATC vehicle basically promotes insecurity as a necessary personality factor for women – even though it isn’t.
    I can’t relate to how women of that age and success would even go to such neurotic lengths about relationships. European women aren’t so insecure as the characters portrayed in SATC.
    You wouldn’t see successful women over the age of 40, and in Kim Cattrall’s case, 50 (she is 52 I think), to bother about relationship trifles like the characters in SATC do.
    Who writes these films? Gay men?
    On occasion, I’ve found the content and very portrayal of professional women, offensive because it veers beyond satire. It generalizes on many levels: sexually, professionally, emotionally.
    I liked the TV series, but even that became ridiculous in its last two seasons, basically portraying the ‘happily ever after, even if an asshole is the shining knight’ ending, and that was it for me or so I thought, until I saw the film in the cinema in a group – it wasn’t worth the fight as it didn’t change the mob mentality associated with this franchise. Good luck to Candace Bushnell, she has profited as a writer but I can’t call it literature.

  25. S.V. says:

    I am so freakin’ bored with SATC. Kim Cattrall doesn’t even look human in the movie poster.

  26. Celebuton says:

    Let’s be realistic, SJP is not pretty at all and without the make-up she looks wrinkly, old, and she has big dark bags under her eyes. She only became a fashion icon cause of the designer clothes she wears (I’m sure a brilliant stylist helped her every step of the way). I consider her lucky. Part two looks like a big flop. They should have stopped a long time ago.

  27. Orbit says:

    “When you’re in a recession, you want to have a good time!” says Field.

    Let’s see: Pucci dress or rent? Rent or Pucci dress?

  28. Lindsay says:

    @ Heather; your MC Escher comparison is right on and made me laugh. The poster is beyond help. Did they start off with a real photo? Because they shouldn’t have bothered. The cover is better but poorly done the positions that they are in and the hands and limbs are confusing. At first I was trying to figure out where the rest of her arm went and part of her leg is gone. Maybe they used the best shot they had over each one and cobbled it together. Bu who ever did this didn’t have the skill or the time to make it look right. If they were going to piece together a photo they shouldn’t have had them touching.

    The director was really funny on the Daily Show, probably funnier than the movie will be.

    @ Orbit: the dress clearly, you should “have a good time” at least until the economy gets better and no one wants to have a good time anymore. $10 million is crazy; I am guessing it is more high end than low end.

    @BW – they were referring to their fashion houses/brand and not the particular designer. They both died in the early 90’s so their individual designs won’t be in the show, Alexander McQueen died recently enough that his personal designs will be in the movie.

  29. saintdevil says:

    Wow…wonder what voodoo the make-up and lighting artists will have to work to make the movie look anything like the promo-posters!

    What I hate most about SATC is that Carrie acts like a tantrummy egotistical 14-year-old. Lost patience with her spoiled-brat antics and her shallowness after the first TV series.

  30. onyx says:

    I find this hilarious. I cannot believe
    that somebody way up high in the industry actually okayed this and got paid for it. this must be an inside joke.

  31. EMV says:

    Kristin is the only one who looks remotely like herself…

  32. aperson says:

    Missfit: just because you chose to settle down in your 20s (which is wonderful, I don’t look down on you for that) doesn’t mean that those who are sexually active in their 30s and on are whores.

    Women have been persecuted for centuries because of that sort of mentality.

  33. Aitch says:

    The poster doesn’t look photoshopped, It looks like a computer generated image NOT even based on human form or features.

  34. Bella Mosley says:

    If Hollywood is frightened of making movies where the females leads are over 40 then I have to ask why. After all the person who has won the most Oscars/nominations is Meryl Streep and she is over 60.

  35. Kelaa Khaa says:

    I grew up watching V, SJP totally reminds me of Diana, so it would be interesting if the next SATC would take a science fiction twist.

  36. ViktoryGin says:

    @ Shay

    Dead-on assessment. I was 14 years old when this hit the airwaves, and even at that age I hated the conceptualization. I was like…this is what I’m supposed to value as a young woman? I’ll leave it. Thanks.

    This shit reeks of desperation, and what’s unfortunate is that I just think that the ladies are just trying to stay employed. They can’t have that many casting directors scouting them out for roles.

  37. Zelda says:

    @Missfit
    You’re right.
    The world would be a much better place if everyone were as self-righteously stick-up-the-ass prudish as you.

  38. Chris says:

    My first thought when I saw this picture was to wonder why Kirsten Dunst was in the picture.

  39. Ellen says:

    To the reader who referenced Jaclyn Smith: I wouldn’t cite her as representative of growing old gracefully. Did you see her on the recent episode of Law and Order SVU? Unfortunate plastic surgery. She’s naturally gorgeous, but the surgery is all wrong.

  40. lucy2 says:

    After that HORRIBLE poster, I looked at my EW cover and thought well, at least it’s not as bad as that. But then Heather brilliantly pointed out the weird positioning of Cynthia and Kristin, and WOW, this one is as bad, if not worse! And you can tell they thought they’d cover up the weirdness with the big X. LOL.

    Why did they make Cynthia’s face look so…troll like? That doesn’t look like her at all.
    They overdid the shadows under all their heads, to the point where gorgeous Kristin looks like she has a beard.
    SJP never photographs well, but they somehow made her look worse. The bottom half of her head looks too big or something.
    Kim’s been so altered on all of these, I don’t even remember what she really looks like.

  41. Tess says:

    This francise has unintentially blundered into a comedy bonanza.

    May I suggest “Death and Sex in the City Becomes Her” for the next sequel.

    From there, the possibilities are limited only by copyright laws and the casts’ willingness to milk the joke further.

    “Twilight and Sex in the City” could be fun, while simultaneously solving the problem of how to keep the cast young.

  42. archiepelago says:

    Kim Catrall looks like Kendra Wilkinson in the second photo and Kristin Davis’s calves have been slimmed beyond recognition in the first. Kristin is the true beauty of the ensemble but thin legs she does not have. They even had an episode about that (where the women talked about their flaws). The trailers are worse – the beauty work (which is hand done by VFX artists in post production) is out of control!! I can imagine how much some dude LOVED de-horsefying SJP every day at work.

    Loved the first movie but I have a feeling I won’t love the second. The franchise has been gay’ed up from the floor up!

  43. Chico says:

    @Bella. Streep is lucky, and she can act, so that’s why she gets roles. Typically, Hollywood dosen’t give roles to talented ppl. Good actors get shunned in favor of the Diazes, Anistons, Garners, or whoever has a fan base, which will bring in the cash. SATC has a fan base. When the fans go away, so will these so-called “actors” and their lame movies.

  44. pumak says:

    nixon turns out to be the best looking i think

  45. Terri says:

    Good Lord, people. You act as if they were in G-strings and pastees. Give them a break. Yes, they are in their 40’s and 50’s, and I hope to look as good as Kim Catrall when I’m 52. She looks pretty damn awesome. They are not whores. The series was a lot more than just sex, but you have to have intelligence to see that, so some of you are just lost causes. Also, who can say who is beautiful or not? I bet many consider SJP to be a beautiful person. I certainly think Matthew Broderick does.

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