I love the idea of modern art in a home that isn't totally modern. There's a certain energy that comes out of that juxtaposition.
In the moment when you're doing a show, you're thinking of that moment, but you don't think of, 'Here's down the line how people will be relating to the characters.' There's something very universal about 'Sex and the City' that people are still tapping into, where every generation seems to be discovering for itself.
I think people have this sort of idea that 'Sex and the City' was this overnight sensation, and that can't be farther from the truth.
Cable's on fire. Traditional broadcast TV's hearing a death knell. I sample as much television as possible. I like 'Homeland,' 'Game of Thrones,' 'Veep.' Now reinvention's important.
In general, I think writing characters, no one is 100 percent good or bad, and certainly, the bad characters never think they're bad themselves. Even the worst characters don't feel like they're bad guys on the inside.
The idea of viewers getting invested in a series is that you're getting invested in the reality of these characters' lives that, in fact, don't have an ending.
I never did theater. I was a theater major at USC my first year because I didn't get into the film school. I was biding my time, hoping to be accepted to film school, and I ended up transferring to UCLA my sophomore year.
I grew up feeling Israel is very important, and I'm very supportive of Israel. At the same time, I think you can be really supportive of Israel and not look at it as a black-and-white situation.
Male nudity, full-frontal nudity, has always been considered a lot more taboo than female nudity. As far back as I can remember, there's been a double standard between men and women. I think it's time that men get equal time in terms of nudity.
Network's rating dependent. A show might not stick. A lot's timing. Like, my Bradley Cooper in 'Kitchen Confidential' didn't always work. Cable supports young shows. TV Land, which you can find on Hulu, Amazon, iTunes, wanted 'Younger.' They came to me.
I think 'Sex and the City' is a chapter that will never close. In a wonderful way, it's always going to be an open chapter because it seems like new generations discover the show and relate to it, which is amazing, and you can't hope for that.
When I did 'Sex and the City,' it was like, 'Let's do a comedy where the humor is not coming from innuendo but from the a truthful place. This is a show where we're going to be able to say and do what we want.'
Women are really emotional creatures, and men are kind of closed in terms of emotions. I think women are just a lot more out there.
I think women have such rich emotional lives that they are expressive about. I also think they're funny. I like watching strong female characters, and I like writing them. I don't know if it's conscious that I gravitate towards women, but it's certainly evolved that way.
I think certainly that looking for love is a big part of the show, but I think that if - there's one thing that is different about 'Sex and the City' and the message that I think has resonated with viewers, especially women. It's that you don't need to get married. You don't really need that love to be fulfilled.
'90210' was looking at teenagers from a perspective that hadn't really been seen on television, though it had been seen in movies like some John Hughes films. I don't know if you want to say '90210' was real, but what the characters were going through was relatable - in a very glamorous environment.
'Younger' is about reinvention and how age is very much a state of mind. I think the show is ultimately about reinvention. I do think it explores, ultimately, the differences between generations, through the prism of reinvention. That reinvention is possible.
I realized early on I was not an actor. And it was a great thing to have that realization. To see actors and see what that talent is... it wasn't me.
When I brought 'Sex and the City' to HBO, I wanted to do something independent, where I could be like, 'I don't care if anybody watches this thing. Just let me do something that I would love to see.' Honestly, the success of 'Sex and the City' was what was most surprising to me. It was sort of like the anti-TV-show in my mind.