 |
|
|
|
Cindy Chupack has been with the show since the middle of the second season. The first episode she ever watched was "The Baby Shower" from Season One, and she says it was love at first sight. "I was especially impressed with how complicated and real the characters and storylines were, and as a single woman, I knew it would be a dream to write for this show."
Chupack was working as a writer/Co-Executive Producer of Everybody Loves Raymond at the time, but she got special permission to meet with Darren Star and Michael Patrick King as a potential SATC freelancer. She was hoping simply for the chance to write an episode, but the meeting resulted not only in Season Two's "The Chicken Dance," but based on that script, Chupack was brought on full-time. She joined the staff in New York just in time to see "The Chicken Dance" film.
She is now an Executive Producer, and episodes she penned ("Evolution," "Attack of the 5'10" Woman," "Just Say Yes," and "Plus One is the Loneliest Number") have been nominated for WGA and Emmy® awards. She has a deal to develop future television projects for HBO, and in August 2003 St. Martin's Press is publishing her first book, a collection of humorous essays about dating (and not dating) called "The Between Boyfriends Book."
We asked the writers and producers of Sex and the City about their experiences working on the series. Here's our exclusive interview with Cindy Chupack:
What is the best part of your job?
The fact that there are no bad dates, just good material. The people I work with, who are the best in the business. That we're on HBO, where you're encouraged and inspired to do your best work.
What's the biggest challenge of your job?
Trying to stay ahead of the audience. Trying not to write the episode that makes people say, "That used to be such a great show."
What is your own process when writing an episode?
Nothing really comes together for me until I figure out the question (in Carrie's column), because that basically becomes the theme of the episode, and that's the filter through which we try to see each character's story. I know I'm on track when the question is something I truly want the answer to, like "In a city as cynical as New York, is it still possible to believe in love at first sight?" or "Are we sluts? How many men is too many men?" or "In a relationship, is honesty really the best policy?" (That was the question that broke up Carrie and Aidan.) Then once I have a good outline - and our staff works together on those so you get lots of great help - I truly enjoy the writing, and I like nothing more than to stay home all day in flannel pajamas and work on a script. The outline is the hard part for me, because that's when you figure out the story problems, so once that's done I just see it as connecting the dots and letting the characters talk. If there's a scene that I'm not excited to write, there's usually a good reason, like there's a story problem, or I need to do a little more research, or it involves a new character that I don't have a good handle on yet. My favorite scenes to write are always the ones with the four women together.
Do you write from your own personal experiences?
Yes, unless my parents are reading this, in which case the sex is, of course, fictional. I also talk to friends, and I love when we brainstorm as a writing staff, and sometimes we'll poll the actors and crew to see if we're in a fertile area, because you get the best stories from real life. Michael also tries to assign episodes according to "who has the most heat" around something, because when the writer personally identifies with the story, the script is always better. I think that's why the emotional stories we tell resonate with our viewers (and with all of us here), because we always try to write from an honest, empathetic place.
How does being a New Yorker shape your writing?
Like most of our writing staff, I'm bi-coastal, living part of the year in Los Angeles. However, as soon as I arrive in New York, I find it much easier to think about the show. Every restaurant you go to seems like a possible set, and you overhear great conversations, and you can't help getting ideas because they're all around you.
Which SATC character do you identify with most?
It depends where I am personally. At the beginning of every relationship I guess I'm Charlotte (all hopeful and romantic). Then I start getting in my own way like Miranda, then the relationship blows up and I decide to be Samantha for a while, and then I'm Carrie (processing it, writing and laughing about it) until I meet someone great and become Charlotte all over again.
Does your life reflect any aspects of the SATC lifestyle?
Yes, except I have tried on those spiky Manolo Blahniks, and I can barely get around the shoe department, let alone Manhattan. But yes, in every other way but footwear, I identify with the show. Especially because I am a 30-something single woman living at least part-time in New York, so when people say "Isn't it a little depressing that these women are still dating?" my response is, "Hey, they're not getting married until I get married!"
Cindy's book Web site is located at www.betweenboyfriends.com.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Look
Browse fashions from all six seasons of Sex and the City. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
