Kim Cattrall is one of Variety’s Power of Women cover subjects. She’s having a full-blown career renaissance these days, scoring interesting supporting roles all over the place. She’s part of the reboot of Queer as Folk, she plays the “older” version of Hilary Duff in How I Met Your Father, and she’s in a new movie with Robert DeNiro. And with all of that, the bulk of this Variety interview is devoted to how she feels about Sex and the City and the new series And Just Like That, which is SATC-without-Samantha. While Kim left the series “clean” by saying no to the proposed third movie, there were bad feelings all around, especially between Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim. Kim said no to the third SATC movie because they were making Samantha’s plotlines so stupid. SJP slimed Kim in the media, trying to act like it was Kim’s responsibility to do the film no matter what. I still think SJP is such an a–hole for the way she behaved. Anyway, Kim is over it. But not so over it that she won’t spill some fun and sad tea with Variety.
Her Power of Women Award honors The Actors Fund: “It’s so filled with shame if you’re not working or you’re not wanted. Thank God I turned 65 and went on Medicare and I have a nest egg. But that’s scary, how vulnerable you could be.”
What happened to her during the pandemic: “I voted and I lost my health insurance. I’m a true American.
She still feels like Samantha is still with her: “Oh yes. Because parts of her are with me. I played her, and I loved her. I felt ultimately protective of her.. I would never want to look back on that with anything other than pride. That I did that, that it existed. I don’t know how I did it sometimes, because it was really scary…I felt like it was a show about single women. I felt like I was now cast as a cougar, which became not as positive as other aspects. People say, “You coined it.” I didn’t feel that was part of my character. There was never a desperation; it was always on her terms, which I loved.”
Whether she was asked to appear in ‘And Just Like That …’: “I was never asked to be part of the reboot. I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did — on social media.
Her take on AJLT: “The series is basically the third movie. That’s how creative it was.
She said no to the third movie because it involved Samantha getting d–k pics from Brady: “It’s heartbreaking. Why can’t Samantha, who owns her PR company — maybe she had to sell it because of financial woes? 2008 was tough. Some people are still recovering. She had to sell it to some guy who’s wearing a hoodie, and that’s the dilemma she has. I mean that’s a scenario that was kind of off the top of one of my reps’ heads, and I thought that’s a great idea. That’s a conflict. Instead of an underage boy’s …
Ultimately, she was ready to say goodbye to Samantha: “I would have preferred for all of us to have some kind of event to warrant a third film. That didn’t happen. But also, I was ready. And this is exactly what I wished for: to be in different places playing different characters because I’m a character actress. And as difficult as it was, and as scary as it is to stand up and not be bullied by the press or the fans or whomever — to just say, I’m good. I’m on this track. It was so great working with you. I so enjoyed it, but I’m over here.
How she felt during the second SATC movie: “Everything in me went, “I’m done.”
On SJP saying she wouldn’t be okay with Kim coming back to the series: “Well, it would never happen anyway. So nobody has to worry about that.”
Whether she watched AJLT: “I certainly heard about it. And I’ve come to the conclusion that really the greatest compliment I could have as an actor is to be missed.
All this talk about SATC & AJLT: “This feels like an echo of the past. Other than the really wonderful feeling of — it’s rare in my business — people wanting more, especially at 65. That feels powerful, that I’ve left something behind that I’m so proud of. I loved her. I loved her so, so, so much. It’s tough competition. The original show is in all of our imaginations. But for me, it feels clean. Yeah, it was years ago. It was 2017 when all this was happening. I just thought to myself, “No, this is right.” And you can’t go against that feeling. I don’t ever want to be on a set and not want to be there.
Whether she was friends with her SATC costars: “I guess it’s how you define friends. I think we were colleagues. My colleagues aren’t my friends. It was professional.
She sounds mature. It’s not about her age, it’s about her world view and professional goals. She’s still a working actress, she considers herself a character actress, and she wanted to just move on. She admits that she probably would have said yes to a third film if they were doing something better and more interesting with Samantha, but they weren’t interested in her notes and so she said buh-bye. I laughed at “Well, it would never happen anyway. So nobody has to worry about that” and “The series is basically the third movie. That’s how creative it was.” I love her.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Russell Thomas and actor Kim Cattrall attend the “Tell Me A Story” Premiere Screening on October 23, 2018 at Metrograph in New York, New York, USA. The show will be on CBS All Access on Thursdays starting on October 31, 2018.,Image: 530616797, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Platzer/Twin Images / Avalon
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- Kim Cattrall attends the World Premiere of “The Apollo” Opening Night of the Tribeca Film Festival on April 24, 2019 at The Apollo Theater in New York, New York, USA. photo by Robin Platzer/ Twin Images/ Avalon,Image: 531652842, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Platzer/Twin Images / Avalon
I underatand that SJP was arguably the most famous cast member when the show started but after a couple seasons the pay should have been equal and exec producer roles extended to all the ladies. Kim was a fan favourite and the only one to do full nude frontals,it reminds me of Pamela Anderson who later said her Baywatch pay never increased even though she sky rocketed the show. I guess not everyone can have the Friends cast camaraderie.
Somewhat disagree. The show was built around her. Darren Starr wrote it with her in mind. When the first pilot flopped, she tried to bail, and a new pilot was made, taking her suggestions and turning SATC into what it became. That is worth money. If she did that as a producer, not as an actress, she would be getting a hefty check for the run of the series, even if she left. (Provided she had a good contract in place.)
So yes, the other actresses deserved more money and some control, but SJP would always be earning more because of her work and bankability at the start. That means more money all along. Part of this is that when contracts are renegotiated after the show becomes a hit, the money for having been right about how the show was shaped goes up too. Behind the scenes make money on shows they started long after they are gone. This is one of the reasons Netflix cancels shows after season 2. They will have to pay the original creators more and also pay any new people who come onboard.
Oh i didnt know it initially flopped. I still dont like the fact that she clearly used her powerful possition to collect her minions who always side with her and hide her little mean girl behaviour.
Concern Fae—that explains a lot about Netflix. What a goofy business model.
@ Concern Fae, what bankablity? SJP has had a series of bad, bad movies! The show was based of the book and SJP was cast as the lead, but she wasn’t a bankable actor when the series was starting out. SJP had some influence as SATC progressed but she wasn’t the one that what was what drew audiences in.
SJP created and manifested a toxic environment within the cast against Ms. Catrall. That doesn’t bode well for a reflection of the purpose behind SATC. In fact it is against the series reflection off being a group of supportive friends as they evolve in NYC. Imagine the hurtful and emotional toll it took on Ms. Catrall being cast off as and not included in the group solely due to SJP’s power to “persuade” others from being kind to Kim. SJP wants people to believe that she is a woman of inclusion only, but she proved herself NOT to be inclusive towards Kim Catrall!
Carrie was always the main character since the opening of the show only showed carrie. It never showed the rest of the characters making her the lead.
Sex in the City is is an adaptation of Candace Bushnell ‘s newspaper column and a 1996 novel she wrote. So Carrie has always been the main character.
Samantha was always my favorite, though.
I liked SPJ at first, but her character got dumber and dumber and I was over it. The idea that women can never, ever get over that first big love makes me scream. We are not that stupid nor fragile.
Exactly this! Carrie was the focus and her friendships were the set-off but then the friendships and the friends became far more interesting than Carrie. Samantha was a hero. I cannot tell you how many of my male friends at the time said ‘women don’t talk like that.’ Ah, yes, yes we do! And we still do.
Samantha was my favorite too but the writers definitely stop pushing her character forward. “Lawrence of my labia” was really the last straw for me. I was embarrassed she had to say it. It was far too cheap for such a rich, confident, interesting and intelligent woman as Samantha.
She made the right decision regarding the series.The bejeweled arm netting/gloves are hideous.
LOL, I was just thinking to myself that I thought they were pretty.
Agree, it’s one of the rare covers that make me want to wear the clothes myself
I actually love the bejeweled gloves!!
As for her decision, it was absolutely right not to sign on to the third movie. Why would any woman want to place herself into a toxic work environment created by SJP?
And please stop asking Kim about a project she made perfectly clear that she said no to, again and again! Kim Catrall seems to be the most mature of the bunch after all of these decades! I applaud Kim and her acting is proof that she is just as powerful now as she has been her entire professional life.
The new series is horrible and I’m glad she’s out of it. I loved her video about her movie picks for Criterion.
And she seems the most mature of the four.
I said this on another platform and I’ll say it here. Everyone who keeps asking her whether she would ever do another SATC project, after she’s said no so many times, is like that “nice guy” who won’t take no for an answer and thinks the harassment is romantic.
She said no. Her answer hasn’t changed in four years. Leave it alone FFS.
+1
Ditto!!
@Izzy, you put into words why I feel so icky every time she’s asked about this or people speculate about her coming back or not. Great point.
Yes. I was going to say, and now we’ve heard her thoughts on AJLT, can we please never ask her again? FFS let’s move on.
I just love her. Just like that sucked big time. After half an episode, I was done.
You were able to get through more than I did! They need to stop perpetuating this story line. It’s dead, there is no more life left in it.
Kim is so talented.
IMO, Samantha was the true center of SATC.
And, SJP has behaved like a mean girl in the press by trashing and bitching about Kim not towing the line and agreeing to SATC movie #3. #2 was awful.
Nobody needed a reboot at all, clear money grab.
Samantha was the only character who was completely non-judgmental and self possessed. She seems like a very cool woman. AJLT is terrible.
Exactly, right? I’d want to hang with Samantha all the time. It makes no sense, for example, that a character like Big would die and Samantha wouldn’t be there in a flash; it goes against how she was written and how Kim played her. (I think someone said that here.) Kim is really showing a lot of admirable patience because she keeps being asked about this; her response that “it’s nice to be missed” is very mature and thoughtful.
I’d totally watch a “Sex and the City” following an older Samantha Jones in London.
Yes! Self possessed non judgemental mature but fun. It was more than the sex scenes that made sam the best part of the show
SATC #2 was one of the worst movies I’ve seen in my entire life. I don’t blame Kim for being done with the whole thing after that. Samantha was a good character for her but now she’s moved on and doesn’t want to go back. This wouldn’t even be a topic if SJP hadn’t trashed her in the press for her decision.
I just can’t get over SJP’s interview in 2017 when she said that they had a “beautiful beautiful script” but unfortunately Kim didn’t want to do it. Samantha receiving child porn is part of a “beautiful beautiful script”???
Cynthia Nixon kept me watching And Just Like… but the series revealed that Michael Patrick King and SJP are not brilliant storytellers and whatever creative spark that kept SATC going was not because of them.
All of this. Some people should not write and these are 2 of them.
What they did with Cynthia Nixon’s character was atrocious though. Almost unbearable.
CN’s better role this year was on The Gilded Age imo. Good show and a change of pace for her.
@CourtneyB agree! I’ve been loving her in that! Still not finished, but she’s great in that role.
She and Kurt should redo Big Trouble in Little China lol. With today’s…..adjustments. 😁
@Mabs:
I LOVED LOVED LOVED Big Trouble in Little China!!! Kurt was hysterical with his over the top acting and Kim was just so stunning. (Still is) I would definitely watch a reboot
Hell yes – I soooo loved this movie, soooo funny. You wouldn’t think it was directed by the great horror legend that is John Carpenter.
Kim is such a cool person and great actress – I watched Mannequin again the other day. I never get tired of that movie.
I love Mannequin! I’ve been watching Quincy reruns in the pandemic. That show holds up and is more political than I’d remembered. Kim was in an early episode. She must’ve been about 19. So beautiful.
I guess I’ll be the outlier because she sounds super salty to me. She’s been around a long time, so she knows that if she wants people to stop asking her about Sex and the City, she has to stop giving such clickable quotes. That makes me think she WANTS to talk about it while also appearing “above it all.”
She’s coming off snide, and it’s not a good look AT ALL.
Disagree. Snide looks wonderful on her.
They asked. She answered.
Teece, I will join you in being an outlier. Kim seems to bang on about SJP/SATC, whereas I don’t find SJP does. That time when her (Kim’s), brother died and SJP offered her condolences, well, Kim didn’t have to be a bitch in her response. It is noticeable too that the rest of the cast seem to be Team Carrie.
O so sorry that Someone who is grieving the loss of their sibling didn’t have “nice” response for someone that bullied them.
Not everyone everyone in the cars commented on it. Oh you mean the people who weren’t getting much word outside of sex and the city.
Over the years SJP has talked many times on the topic. Kim didn’t want to continue, no means no, but SJP couldn’t let go of the SATC gravy train. As for other cast members, I think it’s a case of knowing what side their bread is buttered on, because SJP was a producer.
In light of everything SJP had done leading up to that moment, condolences should have been offered privately, if they were sincere. Had I been KC, it would have pissed me off that SJP was even trying to turn my grief to her advantage.
What is Kim supposed to be “bitter” about how she got treated years ago? If so then yes she has every right to be, just like anybody else has the right to be upset about how poorly they were, treated at an old job.
Other than that what, SJP came crawling back to Kim and begging her over and over to do the movie her, answer for the last four years has been no. Kim doesn’t need clickable quotes lol nor is she running to every tabloid begging for attention.
And Kim is also not the one pretending that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
KC could comment all day long and it would still be a drop in the bucket compared to what SJP and her minions have put KC through. Instead, KC mainly stays above the fray and delivers the occasional killer comment. SJP’s nastiness is why I didn’t even finish watching the series, let alone touch the movies. And I’ll forever side eye the other SATC folks who went along with SJP’s mean girl behavior.
Yes @ Formerly Lithe!!! All day long!!!
Team Samantha then and now!
Couldn’t endure more than 10 min of the second movie. Never watched AJLT. Pity, I can’t make myself rewatch the original sitcom now – can’t stand SJP mannerisms.
I barely made two episodes of AJLT. I wanted to make it was really that bad and it was. An obvious money grab but why attache your name to something so bad? I like Kim. Good decision to leave the movie/series.
Hahah I didn’t know SJP specifically stated she wouldn’t be ok with Kim appearing on AJLT. I’m impressed Kim’s response to that was as measured as it was. Kim was NEVER going to be on the show. It’s like banning someone from a club when they’ve already refused to be a member!
Right thats such a a childish response .
I am so glad Kim commented on what they were planning to do with Samantha. All inter-personal friction aside, it is evident that SJP thought she could screw Kim with a bad storyline.
Also the way they explained Kim’s absence in the reboot is definitely a petty swipe! Very telling!
Love her. That reboot – oof. So try-hard and cringe. Couldn’t finish it. Kim played Samantha as powerful and in control of her sexuality and she made Sam into an icon. The other three have turned their characters into caricatures.
So Samantha’s dilemma was how to handle Brady’s pics?? OMG—it was very smart of Kim to pass on that mess.
Came to say that Kim looks great and is living her best life. Love the gloves with beads.
KC is so interesting and various and brilliant in “Sensitive Skin”, a Canadian series. It’s intelligent and amusing and she’s such a fine actress. I think you can watch it on Amazon streaming, but perhaps there are other ways to watch the series.
Oh, I saw that! It was wonderful, she was wonderful! I had no idea where it was going & cried my eyes out at the end. She was so, so good.
It was offered on Netflix but no longer. It’s offered on Amazon with a subscription to Acorn TV. I am sick of these “subscriptions” as they just are an excuse to generate more $$$ than they are actually worth.
I have been wanting to watch it and should have when it was still offered on Netflix. Damn, I’m pissed at myself.
Good grief no wonder she said no to the third movie. And I love her revealing that the series was just the third freaking movie revamped. Gah.
Wait, hold up. She’s 65? 65 earth years?!
Holy cow moly, she looks fanf*ckingtastic! My gosh, I want to know her skincare regime.
Seriously though, I absolutely loved Samantha on SATC. She was so authentic and that character really resonated with me. She’s a great actress.
Good for her for staying out of what sounds like a dumpster fire of a show. And for passing on taking less than her worth and putting up with toxic mean girl bs.
The pandemic caused a LOT of actors to lose their health insurance. You have to make so much per year to qualify, and they also have caps on how much you can earn per project. So if you make so much per episode that you meet the cap on the 1st payment, residuals don’t count. And that’s for young performers. For people over 65, the earnings cap has to be fully met with session earnings. Residuals don’t count for them.
So during the pandemic, when a lot of actors weren’t actively working but their work (shows/movies) were still being consumed in MASSIVE numbers by home-bound viewers, the actors weren’t getting credited for health insurance coverage.
Thanks for explaining this, Tiffany. Def didn’t know how all of that works and was rather confused by her comment.
I’m glad it helped, Kitten! It’s kind of a unique system.
It’s also due to the SAG merger with AFRTA, which changed the rules, raised the annual minimum for earnings, and has made it much harder for actors to keep their insurance. It’s kicking a ton of older retirees off the insurance plan, and is causing hardship for those who aren’t wealthy.
The health plan merger happened back in 2017, though, and the earnings minimum has always been raised every so often. The merger allowed actors who had previously split their health care earnings between 2 unions to combine them into qualifying for 1 plan, and that actually helped a lot of actors. The merger isn’t the cause of what is happening now.
There were many changes that happened in 2021 that were not related to the merger. This included taking senior performers off the SAG-AFTRA plan if they did not meet the minimum through sessions, and giving them supplemental Medicare coverage through Via Benefits. From my perspective, it is the change to meeting the minimum through only sessions that impacted the seniors the most.
When the pandemic started, that prevented a huge number people from having sessions to include as earnings. So that hurt seniors especially because sessions were a requirement for them, but it also impacted those under 65.
It reminds me of the Friends episode where Joey is going to lose his insurance because he hasn’t worked enough. He has a hernia but needs to get through a commercial so he can qualify and get it taken care of.
Oooof, it is so tragic how little health insurance has improved in the US all these years later! Health insurance should not be tied to employment. It is an insane system.
@ tiffany:), yes, thank you for explaining it as I didn’t understand it as well.
I listen to a podcast called, ‘Tiny Victories’, with Annabelle Gurwitch. She’s a TV writer, among other things, and during the pandemic she lost her insurance due to no shows getting produced. So she developed a cough, went to a walk in clinic thinking it was COVID, it wasn’t, she drove home, her car died at the side of the freeway, then she got a call from the clinic saying oh, so sorry, we misread your X-ray, you have Stage 4 Lung Cancer. Her car was repossessed, can’t remember if she & her kid had to move back in with her parents, but yeah–losing health insurance was a big one during the pandemic. Highly recommend her podcast, and google for her NY Times article explaining all this. She’s a great writer.
@ BeanieBean, thank you for the podcast recommendation!! How awful for Annabelle Gurwitch!! Our HC system is crap!! Compared to other countries we should considered our HC equivalent to Third world countries!! I am so fortunate to have HC now as a great deal of my adult life, I didn’t have it. You can’t afford to become sick in America, and the HC you do have has brought many being forced to file bankruptcy. It is also sad to hear so many people forgoing routine visits as they can’t afford it when they don’t have HC.
@ BeanieBean, I am reading about her book in an interview she did with NPR. Ms. Gurwitch seems to be a force of goodwill and truth!! I am so happy that you made the recommendation!!! Thank you!!!
Why don’t residuals count? I bet the IRS counts them as income…
Kim said something that resonated with me in that interview: “It’s powerful to say no.” Let Kim move on and let her great work on the show be testament to that.
Funniest part is that even though Kim wasn’t on AJLT, she still had some of the best lines just through her text messages to Carrie lol. Love Kim and only want good things for her.
Love her so much. I honestly am proud of her for not doing that movie or show. SJP is kind of gross.
There were rumors of the storyline for Samantha in the third movie involving something with Miranda’s son Brady…but hearing it confirmed, just UGH! No F**King wonder she SAID NO! Just horrifyingly gross and in such bad taste! And I completely understand Kim being done after that God awful second SATC movie! The writers trashed her character in that as well!
I respect her immensely, and she def made the right decision, not being involved in that trainwreck AJLT. Though we all miss Samantha
Love her. I would watch AJLT if Kim had been in it and that storyline about her PR company being sold to a millennial tech nerd or whatever she meant by that “hoodie” company had been used.
The d*ck pic from a minor story sounds dumb and exactly why I was never a fan of the original series. If it had been more about business and career (think ’80s career films like Baby Boom (Diane Keaton) and Big Business (Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler) with a bit of fashion and sex and love tossed in I’d have watched and being a fan probably. Also the other three, esp Kim’s character, got stupid storylines to make SJP’s character more palatable, am I right?
SJP was paid way too much relative to the others’ salaries. Also she played dirty against Kim for a long time and tried to be stealthy about it but it didn’t work. Kim won this PR war – started by SJP’s side – fair and square. Note Patricia Field and Darren Star were interviewed for this Variety feature, which suggests they’re on her side, for what that counts. Keep going, Kim; you’re awesome.
“ the other three, esp Kim’s character, got stupid storylines to make SJP’s character more palatable, am I right? “
Oh you’re definitely right. And IMO it didn’t work, Carrie was the least substantial, least sympathetic, least interesting character. All she cared about were shoes and Mr. Big. There was no progression. The other women changed and grew, Carrie didn’t.
I’ve liked Cattrall since her right-savvy interviews in The Devil’s Candy (about the Bonfire Of the Vanities disaster.) She’s had a fascinating career, and knows the business all too well. 😉 She should do a bio.
I would love her to do a book on her life!! I have adored since Big Trouble in Little China!!