Cynthia Nixon Keeps Secrets

May 30, 2008 — -- The familiar theme song of "Sex and the City" seemed ubiquitous in New York City this week as the film's premiere created a fever among fans and the media that permeated the city. The four stars vamped their way down the red carpet at Radio City Hall four long years after the friends hung up their Manolos.

What took so long? Cynthia Nixon, better known to millions of fans as Miranda Hobbes, confirmed that Kim Cattrall, who plays the sex-crazed Samantha Jones, was one of the reasons for the delay.

"I think that Kim, for maybe a variety of reasons, was not willing to commit to the film right after the series ended," Nixon said. "So that was the thing that kind of closed us down."

Nixon denied reports that Cattrall's holding out for more money benefited her or Kristin Davis, who plays the good-hearted Charlotte York. "Her deal is separate from our deal. So it did not have an impact.

In the interim, Nixon was far from idle. She won acclaim for her role as Eleanor Roosevelt in the HBO film "Warm Springs," and a Tony for her lead in the Broadway hit "Rabbit Hole," not to mention the screaming tabloid headlines when she left the father of her children for a new partner ... who just happens to be a woman.

A "Sex and the City" movie did not seem to be in the cards. But once the decision was made and the movie went into production in New York, "It was a blast and half," said Nixon.

Teeming crowds of usually jaded New Yorkers gathered for every shoot. "We felt like Frank Sinatra at the Paramount. I mean, it was, you know, 'wahoo!' It was wild. It was wild."

The television program tapped into the worries of real women about their boyfriends and their fascination with the latest fashion trends, what the central character, Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, calls the two Ls: Labels and Love. The movie tries to evoke the same winning formula.

Despite the big screen camaraderie, reports about troubles between the four real women dogged the television series and the movie set. When asked directly whether the four get along or not, a slightly uncomfortable Nixon said, "Yes, we definitely get along," then added, "In the course of six years, people have disagreements. It does happen."

As for the rumors that the flamboyant Cattrall had been the source of friction, Nixon said, "Well, there have been, you know, differences about things, but we love Kim and she loves us."

Over the course of the series' six-season run on HBO, the character Miranda evolved from a single, career obsessed lawyer into a married mother -- though in the movie she can still be something of a killjoy alongside her more happy-go-lucky co-stars.

"I think partly the thing about Miranda is she is very aggressive and strong and opinionated, but she's also just in a panic, you know," Nixon said. "So there's a lot to admire about Miranda, but there's also a lot to say, 'Oh, honey, oh, honey, just take it down a little bit.'"

Which brings us back to the burning question on the minds of "Sex and the City" fans everywhere: What happens to the four of them in the new film? When we tried to pry some of the closely guarded plot details from the cagey Nixon, she didn't give an inch.

Does Carrie marry Big? "I cannot tell you, " she said, unflinchingly.

But we know from the trailers she has a wedding gown. Nixon is unfazed. "You know, Carrie Bradshaw has been in fashion shows in the past."

And those bridesmaids? She doesn't miss a beat. "Fantasy sequences are not unheard of."

Those trailers certainly imply that things go terribly wrong.

Nixon is ready: "It's not too unbelievable that maybe Charlotte might be having a nightmare about something that could happen to Carrie."

The woman is good. There's no breaking her. She's keeping their secret. After all, that's what friends in the city do.