Sarah Jessica Parker and her opinion on why women have a strong connection to Carrie Bradshaw:

"I’m not entirely sure. Once again, I think part of it has been the kind of writing, the storytelling and creating a character that’s not having anything to do with me, but creating a character that lives in a sort of hyper-real place. You know, New York, we kind of painted this portrait of this city. It’s not really New York City - I mean it is, but it’s sort of a hyper-real, the way we want to see New York. It has this kind of poetry and idyllic [with] all this potential and romance and architecture and literature, and then she’s living it. I think that was very exciting for women. But I think also she was a wreck of a person for a while. She’s sort of flawed and she’s very curious about people and has deep commitments for friendships, and I think those are interesting qualities to possess. But I don’t know if that makes her necessarily a role model, I just think it’s good writing and it’s a great character."

On the notion that women have learned through the characters and the "sex" in Sex and the City:

"It is funny, but I also think, or hope maybe, that there’s also been the bigger byproduct of this idea about friendship. I think that really is, because I think the sex toys and the candid talk and the salty stuff, that’s funny and fun, but it’s cotton candy. That goes away. So if it was only that that people responded to about the show, I just don’t think it would have lasted, because it’s like empty calories. I think it’s fun and funny and it’s titillating, but it’s the journey, dare I say, honestly, that people really, especially women, really connected to. And then all the dirty stuff was fun, too."

Parker on the show's gay appeal and the connection with the gay community:

"I don’t think I recognized until it was told to me, because I’m from a metropolitan city and I grew up in the world of theater. I always think that the gay community is part of culture. To me, it’s a natural progression of creating art or culture and entertainment, and obviously it’s a show about women in a city that has a large gay community. So yeah, it’s a natural. But I will say it became clear to us early on that they were a committed audience early, certainly before straight white men, definitely... definitely. But it’s hard to know, because there were a lot of women writers on that staff that worked. Michael Patrick was the head writer and Darren was there for the first season, and then he went off and did other things. But I think it became sort of this idea about it being run by gay men, but really it wasn’t. It was very out of balance actually, female to male. Michael Patrick was the only man on the writing staff, and everybody else was a straight woman, mostly single."

On whether this will lead to more Sex and the City movies:

"I think it would be putting the cart before the horse to talk about another. I mean, I’ve produced movies and this isn’t the first, and hopefully it won’t be the last. I mean, this is the biggest thing I’ve been a part of producing, just in terms of the effort and what’s at stake, but I don’t know about another Sex and the City movie. But I definitely loved producing it."

On working with fashion stylist, Patricia Field:

"She’ll tell you the same thing, I’ve never said no to Pat. Because here’s the thing: If I was dressing for myself I will always try something on, but I would say no. But for Pat, I would rarely say no, but I would always try it on. Pat will tell you, I will stay in a fitting for ten, eleven, thirteen hours. I will try on everything on the rack, because I think she has a point of view. And even if something looks absurd to me, nothing is funnier than an absurd outfit at 3 or 4 in the morning after a fourteen-hour day on the set. Nothing is better than a fitting with Pat. So, I’ve learned an enormous amount from her. And really, this idea that I’m some kind of fashion icon is, in large part, due to Pat. You have to look and say, 'This birth of this idea had a lot to do with my collaboration with Pat.' So I’ve learned she’s a remarkable person. And don’t be fooled by the red hair, she’s no Hostess Twinkie. She’s a really smart woman. And we begged her to do the movie. She was booked a million different ways and we really had to woo her. We had to court her for months."

On not having the same fashion or shoe fetishes as Carrie in her own life:

"Here’s the thing: It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that it doesn’t fit into my life in the same way. I think about shopping, I love shopping. On the rare occasion I get to do it, it’s really a treat. I don’t get the same kind of euphoric high. I mean I tend to feel guilty afterwards and then return stuff. But I like it because it’s a little bit of a respite. But, I find that I have a child, and so any free time I have, if I’d spent that running all the way uptown to a clothing store, I’d just feel crappy about it. It just doesn’t fit into my life in the same way. It doesn’t mean that I have any less affection, I just don’t have that kind of disposable time. It doesn’t mean that I also don’t look through fashion magazines and dog-ear a page and think, ‘I’ve got to get that shoe or that bag.’ I like it and I think about it, but it’s kind of a flight of fancy."

Parker on whether there's a downside to the female characters of Sex and the City, ie: obsession with fashion:

"No, because once again, I really think that if all of that were the thrust of the story, if it was only about women that talked about sex and shopped, and if Carrie wasn’t the person that she is - was then, is now - I just don’t think the show would last. You can’t just have a show that’s [all about the disposable], that’s fun, it’s a comedy; it’s not a drama. But it’s not the substance of what that show’s about, and if it had been, I really don’t think it would have lasted as long, and I don’t think people would have invested in the same way."

On whether the show was about friendship and growing up:

"About friendship and growing up and the decisions we make and the triumphs and the massive disappointment and the mistakes, and what you learn and what you don’t learn when you should learn. And when your friends are there and when they actually - I think a lot of this movie that’s surprising to people is this is a grown-up movie. Something happens that’s very [substantial]. The despair you feel when you’re 20 versus the despair you feel or the loss you feel when you’re 40 are vastly different. And the movie really addresses it, and it really looks at how important your friendships are. But when you’re friendships can no longer solve those things - when you’re 20, your friends can say, 'You’ve got to get out of bed, I know you're disappointed and I know he broke your heart but you’ve got to get out of bed and come to the club, or come to the restaurant or come to my apartment. We’ll watch a DVD or put a video in.' But there comes a point when you’re a grown-up that even your friends can’t fix it, they can’t distract you from the loss. And I think that’s what people connected to about the show, and that’s why I think Michael Patrick has done so beautifully in the screenplay. It’s really about who they are outside of the, the embroidery."

A scene or phrase that represents the change in Carrie at 40:

"I’m trying to think. The movie is so packed. There’s so much that happens; you can’t believe what happens in the movie. I think something major happens that changes who she is - that fundamentally changes who she is. So it’s hard to pick one phrase, because she’s a new person in a lot of ways in this movie, because she finds herself at the crucible for the first time, and everything is different."

Sarah Jessica Parker on how he she balances work with being a mother and having a child:

"He comes first. If he’s not content and well taken care of, then everything else kind of just doesn’t have the same [functionality]. Everything works if he’s all right, and if he’s not, or if I’m feeling or worried that he’s not getting the kind of attention that he needs, then everything else doesn’t get the same balance. But that doesn’t mean that - I constantly feel like I’m falling short, or someone’s getting the short shrift, or that there’s simply not enough time in the day. But this is the nature of being a mother. If you want to be a working mother, you are constantly in a state, you’re straddling this world of guilt. It’s just the nature of being a working mother. But the truth is, that’s my fault, because I like to be a working person and I like to think that it makes me a better mother. But I get to spend a lot of time with him."