Sex and the City on The Huffington Post

"Sex And The City 2" TRAILER: First Look At The Sequel (VIDEO)

2009-12-23T11:00:12Z

The first trailer for May 2010's "Sex and the City 2" is out just weeks after the poster was released.

As seen below, the girls are back in Manhattan and Morocco and who knows where else. It also seems Carrie still owns her old studio and has Big, Miranda is still with Steve, Samantha still likes hot young men and Charlotte is baking dozens of cupcakes.

Take a look at the trailer and decide.

WATCH:

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Pledge 24 In 2010: Cynthia Nixon Joins WE TV's Volunteer Campaign

2009-12-18T13:36:34Z

We^TV wants you to volunteer at least 24 hours in 2010 as part of their latest campaign. Of course, giving is its own reward, but to sweeten the pot, they're giving a "grand prize winner" a two-day trip to New York, with dinner at a trendy restaurant and a $200 shopping spree at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Yesterday, "Sex And The City" star Cynthia Nixon signed on to be We^TV's spokesperson for the Pledge 24 in 2010 campaign. Nixon's 24 hours will be spent volunteering for Alliance for Quality Education, a group that seeks to provide high quality public education for all children.

The PSAs are themed "What a Difference a Day Makes," and seek to encourage women to become active, thoughtful, public advocates, with Cynthia Nixon as the example.

See photos from the We^TV WeVolunteer event:

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What Not To Read After A Break Up (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-12-18T07:00:00Z

There's no good time to go through a break up and the holidays are just about the worst. The last thing you want to do is rub salt into a wound by reading the wrong book. So if you're recently out of a relationship, here are some of the best books to save for another time.

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Evan Handler: Your Health Insurer Now Has Plans (and Permission) to Rob You Blind

2009-12-16T16:35:58Z

This post is a call to arms, and a warning. The U.S. government's, and the U.S. citizenry's, unwillingness to embrace universal health care coverage (which, as my last post emphasized, is enjoyed by citizens of every other industrialized nation on Earth) is only the first assault on your wallets, and on your well-being. Prepare now for your current health insurance providers to raise rates, and cut benefits, with no fear of repercussions. (After all, with a newly stamped, government endorsed lock on the market, what repercussions will even be possible?)

Unless you're willing to stand and fight.

Here's opportunity one:

Blue Cross of CA website: Our mission is to improve the health of the people we serve.

According to medical professionals who have asked me for help in raising awareness, Blue Cross of California has notified its contracted Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy providers that it will severely cut reimbursements for services as of February 1, 2010. Blue Cross of California has not, however, notified any of its individual paying subscribers, or any of the unions, corporations, or institutions (such as the Screen Actor's Guild, and the UC school system) who offer Blue Cross coverage to their workers of this scheduled cut in benefits.

Oh, and while cutting benefits available to those that need them, Blue Cross of California will simultaneously be raising the cost to employers of purchasing coverage for their workers.

Charge more, provide less. Nice deal (if you're Blue Cross).

Here are the specifics, as provided to me:

Beginning February, 1, 2010, Blue Cross of California will be capping reimbursement for PT, OT, and ST at $75 per visit, regardless of the treatment provided or its intensity. Depending on specific contractual rates, which can vary from facility to facility, this reimbursement model represents a decrease in service payment of 25% to 200%.

Physical Therapy, when prescribed to help patients recover from, live with, or overcome surgery, injury, autism, cerebral palsy, stroke, vertebral disc herniation, car accident, war wound, or any number of common human mishaps and maladies, is necessarily performed in one-on-one sessions between a licensed therapist, and a single patient. It's common, and essential, for helping small children overcome all sorts of developmental delays in speech and motor skills. I have experienced, as both a patient and a parent, PT sessions provided in an institutional setting, such as a large hospital, and in a private facility, and I can vouch for the fact that private facilities often offer much more space, much better equipment, much more patient familiarity, and far greater expertise than their institutional counterparts. However, with Blue Cross's announced reductions in reimbursements (announced to providers, that is, not to subscribers), private facilities will simply not be able to afford to continue operations. Payment of $75 for an hour of one-on-one treatment, conducted by a highly trained, skilled professional, in a well-equipped and well-maintained independent facility, makes staying in business an impossibility.

To add a bit of insult to the injury, Blue Cross of California announced its intentions to service providers in a letter that stated the hope that "these changes will be viewed by our therapy providers as exciting and positive." I've been contacted by a dozen or so of those providers, and none of them find the changes exciting or positive. They find them terrifying -- for themselves, and for their patients.

Here's what's in the cards for anyone needing PT, OT, or ST: long waits for appointments at large, impersonal institutions (wait; isn't that what all the "no single-payer" people warned would happen with government provided healthcare insurance?); little or no choice of therapist (the same, again); poorly trained and less experienced care givers; small and poorly maintained facilities; limited, old equipment; increased payments for insurance company mandated reports.

Here's what's in the cards for Blue Cross of California: more money from you and your employer.

None of the above seems likely to "improve the health of the people we serve." In fact, I don't see how any of it "serves" the people Blue Cross takes money from at all.

I wrote a letter of protest to several Wellpoint (parent company of Blue Cross) executives last week, letting them know of my outrage, and my intent to spread word of their secretive and harmful plans. I have received no response.

So... I urge everyone to immediately contact Blue Cross of California and let them know these changes (and the others that will surely follow) are unacceptable. Let all your friends and relatives know, in case they're Blue Cross subscribers. Let them know that, as soon as Blue cross starts cutting benefits, ALL insurers will surely follow their lead. Then, without delay, contact your employer, your union, your school, and tell them you do not want health insurance coverage through Blue Cross of California. Better yet (much better), make sure ten of your friends do the same, and that ten of theirs do, as well.

This is the fight we're going to be in, from now on. It's going to be medical care consumers versus insurance companies, with the insurers newly licensed to charge more, and provide less. The only remedy to planned cuts in benefits is to threaten them with significant losses of customers. With the probable death of any meaningful public option in proposed health care "reform," complete control over the future of health care is being given over to "free market" forces. Unless you want companies like Blue Cross of California deciding what you're entitled to, I encourage you to force those market forces your way.

To aid in your campaign, I'd suggest sending notices of outrage, and intent to cancel policies, to the following individuals:

Nidhi Jagani, Director of Network Management
Nidhi.Jagani@wellpoint.com
(818) 234-3593

Kathleen Brozee, Senior Provider Network Manager
Kathleen.Brozee@wellpoint.com
(818) 234-3399

Paul McBride
Vice President, Health Care Management and Services
21555 Oxnard Street, CAAC08-08A
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
818-234-8355
Paul.mcbride@wellpoint.com

Alissa Fox, Senior Vice President
Office of Policy and Representation
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
225 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312.297.6000
alissa.fox@bsbsa.com

Lucinda "Cindy" Ehnes, Director,
California Department of Managed Health Care
980 9th Street, Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95814-2725
cehnes@dmhc.ca.gov

Barbara Reagan,
Assistant Deputy Director, California Help Center
California Department of Managed Health Care
980 9th Street, Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95814-2725
breagan@dmhc.ca.gov

Honorable Steve Poizner, Insurance Commissioner
California Department of Insurance
300 South Spring Street, South Tower
Los Angeles, CA 90013

pcu@dmhc.ca.gov.(Dept of Managed Health Care State of CA)

And it can't hurt to urge these folks to get involved:

LA Times
steve.lopez@latimes.com
lisa.girion@latimes.com
david.lazarus@latimes.com

Sacramento Bee
Bobby Calvan bcalvan@sacbee.com (identified as a healthcare reporter)

San Francisco Chronicle
Bernie Beck bbeck@sfchronicle.com (identified as a healthcare reporter)

San Diego Tribune
debbi.baker@uniontrib.com
jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com
karen.kucher@uniontrib.com
susan.shroder@uniontrib.com
health@uniontrib.com

EvanHandler.com

Evan Handler's latest book, "It's Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive," tells the story of the twenty years since his unexpected recovery from acute myeloid leukemia.

"Sex And The City 2" POSTER: Love It Or Lame?

2009-12-10T16:31:19Z

Below is Carrie lovers' first look at next summer's "Sex and the City 2" movie that's been filming in New York and Morocco, in the form of a poster.

PHOTO:

"Bitch Is The New Black": Author Of Upcoming Book On The Struggles Of Young Black Women (VIDEO)

2009-12-10T13:03:00Z

Helena Andrews, author of the upcoming book "Bitch Is the New Black", was profiled today in The Washington Post, which reports that the film rights for the book were bought before it was even finished. Pitched to HarperCollins as "part 'Bridget Jones's Diary', part 'Sex and the City'," the book is a satirical look into the lives of young urban black women and what lies beneath the surface of so many successful and so-called "strong" women.

In an interview with the Post, Andrews talks about the difficulties that young, successful black women still have to face.

WATCH:

TV Shows That Ended This Decade: Which Will You Miss? (PHOTOS)

2009-12-05T11:45:16Z

Even the best, slow burning story arcs must one season come to an end, and the noughties saw the end of some television favorites. Which of these shows will you miss for years to come and which reruns will you avoid?

Did we forget your favorite? Let us know in the comments and we'll add a few.

PHOTOS:

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Sarah Jessica Parker Has 'Enormous Regrets'

2009-12-02T12:20:41Z

Sarah Jessica Parker, who became the mother of twins Marion and Tabitha via surrogate in June, is feeling both blessed and regretful as she tries to juggle her career with raising three kids.

She's promoting her new comedy with Hugh Grant, 'Did You Hear About the Morgans?,' out December 18, and appears on the cover of January's Glamour. Here are some choice quotes, you can read the whole interview here.

On her expanding family:
"Nothing can really describe what it's like to have two new little girls. It's been very different than when James arrived, since our family expanded in an untraditional way. We didn't plan on having two, but were doubly blessed, and it's been just wonderful. [Tabitha and Marion] just turned four months old today! One would prefer to be held 24 hours a day, and the other is already suffering from type A issues. It's been amazing but complicated because of my current work schedule, which I have enormous regrets about."

On being a working woman with a nanny:
"It is the eternal conflict of every working woman, and I am not complaining, because I've done this to myself. And I have a wonderful, wonderful nanny who allows me to be a working person. The great challenge for me is to be all things to all people; I want to be a great mother, and I want to feel good when I'm at work. But it is hard."

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Chris Noth In A Bathing Suit Heats Up Miami

2009-12-01T12:22:05Z

Sex and the City star Chris Noth gave the ladies in Miami something to look at yesterday when he stripped off his clothes and went for an afternoon dip in the sea.

PHOTO:

Melissa Silverstein: New Moon Brings a New Dawn in Hollywood

2009-11-23T10:18:38Z

On Friday morning Hollywood woke up to the realization that fangirls
can be as rabid as fanboys. By Saturday morning they realized that two
BIG records had been broken, including the highest midnight screening
opening and the best opening date in history. On Sunday morning, they
woke up realizing that New Moon had not only shattered all
even optimistic expectations, it had coattails helping to fuel a big
and unexpectedly good weekend at the box office Entertainment Weekly wrote that: “this one of the most lopsidedly female-driven weekends in Hollywood history.”

Here are the numbers:

New Moon made $140 million dollars this weekend.

It made more on Friday than Twilight did it’s first weekend. That means the franchise is growing in strength.

New Moon has the third biggest opening weekend numbers.

Women accounted for 80% of the tickets buyers; and were divided evenly between women under and over 21.

The film also kicked butt overseas bringing in over $118 million overseas.

The film scored a high A- in exit polling done when people left the theatre.

TOTAL WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: $258 million for the weekend.

And while everybody expected New Moon to be big (but not
this big) what is more astounding to me is how well Sandra Bullock’s
movie did opening opposite the juggernaut. The film actually performed
way better than industry estimates which were at best $20 million and
it cements Bullock back as a powerhouse. The Blind Side topped her great opening this summer with The Proposal bringing in $33.6 million.

The film, more than New Moon, showed the power of women,
even the much maligned older woman. The film’s success was built on
59% female ticket buyers with 75% of them being over 25. If you
really think about it, it is older women who made this weekend a huge
success because 50% of the audience for New Moon were over 21, and 75% of The Blind Side’s audience were over 25.

AND let’s not forget Precious. The film widened to over
600 screens and took in $11 million and is still raking in high per
screen averages. It will roll out wider this holiday weekend.

So what does this mean?

It seems to me that while Hollywood felt comfortable dismissing Sex and the City, Mamma Mia (because the audiences for those were primarily over 25), and even Twilight
(as a one time wonder), there is no way that these numbers could be
dismissed as a fluke. They are just too big. Women and girls are
looking for material that they connect with just as much as guys and
boys are, but the thing that blows me away about the success of New Moon and even The Blind Side
is that the theatres were just packed with women not caring if the guys
came with them. This was a weekend where the gals went in bunches and
left the guys home cause they wanted to see this movie more than they
wanted to see whatever their boyfriends or guyfriends wanted to see.

As I’ve harped on FOREVER there is an audience out there hungry to
see films that appeal to them. I’m not trying to say that all women’s
films will be as successful as New Moon because that’s silly. These
kinds of movies come along rarely cause Hollywood hardly makes them.
But this weekend’s number indicate that they should make more of them.

I think we need to keep New Moon in perspective. Like I stated
above, these films come along rarely and Hollywood has a tendency to
try and replicate successes very quickly. Lots of times those
replications don’t work. I think the actual film New Moon suffered because it was rushed to the screen. But that didn’t matter one iota to the fans. They loved it.

I think this is an opportunity for Hollywood to be smart and
creative and to think about how to build on the women’s market because
it is clearly out there.

But don’t think that New Moon’s huge success doesn’t give me
pause. The misogyny which I have been told about (and refuse to read)
that has made it’s way onto the web calling girls stupid and screaming
idiots and worse (so typical) for enjoying the film makes me angry.
Because we have had so few films that has a woman at its center do as
well as New Moon it is being held to an absurd standard.
Yes, I wish the film would have been better. I thought it was cheesy
and the last third was just useless (a total waste of Dakota Fanning
and Michael Sheen’s talents.)

I love how people are complaining about the objectification of
Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson. Now you’re upset about the fact
that movies taunt and flaunt? The only thing that makes this different
is that Megan Fox had to keep her short shorts on in Transformers, and Taylor Lautner spent most of New Moon
with his shirt off. If you’re going to complain about these guys being
sexualized, you will have a hard time getting anyone to take you
seriously. Women are sexually objectified in basically every Hollywood
film.

But at the end of the day the success of New Moon (there are many other people having better conversations about the content of New Moon
and whether it sets back women and if it is anti-feminist), is a HUGE
triumph, and has the potential to be a game changing moment in the film
business. The fact that a film fueled by woman power and starring a
woman has called such waves in Hollywood is unprecedented. The
business must figure out ways to build on it. If they don’t they are
squandering a huge opportunity and all their shareholders should have
them fired.

New Moon Shines at Box Office (Variety)

New Moon Tops Foreign Box Office (Hollywood Reporter)

Originally posted at Women & Hollywood

Aleta St. James: Move Over Brangelina! Here's a Real Fairy Tale Romance

2009-10-09T12:33:03Z

Move over, Brangelina. This is what I call a real fairy tale romance.

Once upon a time and far away, there were no such things as, say, sex tapes while dating, Instead, there was something called "courtship." It worked like this: a man found a woman that he liked and tried to win her over. It was called "wooing." Wooing occurred during courtship. Maybe you could look it up on Wikipedia.

How times have changed! Now it's Brangelina's exploits in the tabloids and everyone is hooking up on eHarmony and match.com. Everyone's desperate to get a date, and there's four women to every man in New York City. They guarantee results in cyberspace, photos a plus. Make sure your Blackberry is on, because it is love by text these days. Get ready to look good for your next video date. How romantic, right?

Or maybe you could gather in close and let me tell you a story about my mother and father, Frances and Chester, who have been married 65 years. It's be the best way to illustrate this old-fashioned concept called courtship.

Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved to pick up my mother's wedding album and page through their incredibly romantic journey. The images of that special day are etched lovingly into memory: my mother in her wedding dress surrounded by her many sisters, getting ready for the big day... my handsome father standing proudly at the altar waiting for his bride.

My mother would tell me over and over again the story of how they first met during the war (World War II), and that when she saw my father for the very first time, she saw a halo around him, or an aura, like you would see in a church.

My mother also told me stories of how before she met my father when she and her best friend Helen were painting the town red with a date every night! New York was knee deep in men, and they weren't going to miss out on the fun! In their girlish exuberance, Helen and my mom had concocted a sort of tag team dating ritual: if Helen had a date, her date had to bring a friend for mom to double with, and vice versa. That's how it was done. My mom was spectacular, drop dead gorgeous, a burgeoning model, so this was not hard to believe.

It was all about dating for my mom -- no hanky panky however, as she was an obedient Catholic girl who never even let a guy get to first base! The last thing my mother expected was to end the whirlwind of male attention by falling in love.

But she did! Here's how it happened: Helen organized a dinner party and promised to serve an Italian feast to a group of visiting officers.Unfortunately, Helen was Polish and knew nothing about cooking.. or boiling a Kielbasa! My mother had no intention of going to this dinner party, but Helen threatened to never speak to my mother again unless she cooked some pasta. My mom begrudgingly donned an apron, grabbed the Parmesan cheese and cooked up a fabulous meal.

When my father Chester showed up to the apartment with a loaf of Italian bread hooked under his arm, my mom looked up and saw a handsme man with blond hair, blue eyes and a golden aura around him. He loved the pasta, but he loved my mother even more. After the dinner party, he escorted Frances home on the LL Canarsie Line, to the very last stop. When they arrived at her family home, one of Mom's other suitors was sitting in the family parlor, awaiting her return.

Now, my mother was no desperate Sex and the City girl! She was seeing other people (her beaux included Richard LaFleur and a lawyer named Anthony Sugamelli) but that didn't dissuade my father. Not one bit!

Once, when Mr. Sugamelli was in the family parlor courting my mother, my father arrived and refused to leave! My father also won the heart of my grandmother (and that was no easy task!) with his kindness, integrity, and big blue eyes.

I wonder if the art of courtship is long gone. I also wonder if what my mother and father have had together will ever be seen again.

On Sunday August 23rd of this year, my parents, Frances and Chester Sliwa, celebrated the renewal of their vows in the Lady Chapel in St. Patrick's Cathedral, the very chapel where they first tied the knot, in 1944.

It was a very heartfelt moment, to see my children, Gian and Francesca, now almost five, and Curtis and Mary's son Anthony, participate as ring bearers and flower girl in the place where it all began.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! How lucky you were to come of age when courtship was in style!

www.dailynews.com/08/09/24

The Most Anticipated TV Weddings: Which Is Your Favorite? (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-10-08T07:47:33Z

***Scroll down for trailer of the 'Office' wedding***

Pam and Jim finally tie the knot this week on 'The Office,' and even though they had the foresight to schedule the ceremony far away from Scranton in Niagara Falls, it appears their coworkers will make it a memorable event.

You can visit Pam and Jim's wedding site here.

How will this wedding go down in the cannon of television nuptials? Take a look back and decide.

PHOTOS:

WATCH 'The Office' wedding teaser:

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Aleta St. James: Move Over Brangelina! Here's a Real Fairy Tale Romance

2009-10-07T16:17:19Z

Move over, Brangelina. This is what I call a real fairy tale romance.

Once upon a time and far away, there were no such things as, say, sex tapes while dating, Instead, there was something called "courtship." It worked like this: A man found a woman that he liked and tried to win her over. It was called "wooing." Wooing occurred during courtship. Maybe you could look it up on Wikipedia.

How times have changed! Now it's Brangelina's exploits in the tabloids and everyone is hooking up on eHarmony and match.com. Everyone's desperate to get a date, and there's four women to every man in New York City. They guarantee results in cyberspace, photos a plus. Make sure your Blackberry is on, because it is love by text these days. Get ready to look good for your next video date. How romantic, right?

Or maybe you could gather in close and let me tell you a story about my mother and father, Frances and Chester, who have been married 65 years. It's be the best way to illustrate this old-fashioned concept called courtship.

Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved to pick up my mother's wedding album and page through their incredibly romantic journey. The images of that special day are etched lovingly into memory: My mother in her wedding dress surrounded by her many sisters, getting ready for the big day ... My handsome father standing proudly at the altar waiting for his bride.

My mother would tell me over and over again the story of how they first met during the war (World War II), and that when she saw my father for the very first time, she saw a halo around him, or an aura, like you would see in a church.

My mother also told me stories of how before she met my father when she and her best friend Helen were painting the town red with a date every night! New York was knee deep in men, and they weren't going to miss out on the fun! In their girlish exuberance, Helen and my mom had concocted a sort of tag team dating ritual: If Helen had a date, her date had to bring a friend for mom to double with, and vice versa. That's how it was done. My mom was spectacular, drop dead gorgeous, a burgeoning model, so this was not hard to believe.

It was all about dating for my mom -- no hanky panky however, as she was an obedient Catholic girl who never even let a guy get to first base! The last thing my mother expected was to end the whirlwind of male attention by falling in love.

But she did! Here's how it happened: Helen organized a dinner party and promised to serve an Italian feast to a group of visiting officers. Unfortunately, Helen was Polish and knew nothing about cooking ... Or boiling a Kielbasa! My mother had no intention of going to this dinner party, but Helen threatened to never speak to my mother again unless she cooked some pasta. My mom begrudgingly donned an apron, grabbed the Parmesan cheese and cooked up a fabulous meal.

When my father Chester showed up to the apartment with a loaf of Italian bread hooked under his arm, my mom looked up and saw a handsome man with blond hair, blue eyes and a golden aura around him. He loved the pasta, but he loved my mother even more. After the dinner party, he escorted Frances home on the LL Canarsie Line, to the very last stop. When they arrived at her family home, one of Mom's other suitors was sitting in the family parlor, awaiting her return.

Now, my mother was no desperate Sex and the City girl! She was seeing other people (her beaux included Richard LaFleur and a lawyer named Anthony Sugamelli) but that didn't dissuade my father. Not one bit!

Once, when Mr. Sugamelli was in the family parlor courting my mother, my father arrived and refused to leave! My father also won the heart of my grandmother (and that was no easy task!) with his kindness, integrity, and big blue eyes.

I wonder if the art of courtship is long gone. I also wonder if what my mother and father have had together will ever be seen again.

On Sunday August 23 of this year, my parents, Frances and Chester Sliwa, celebrated the renewal of their vows in the Lady Chapel in St. Patrick's Cathedral, the very chapel where they first tied the knot, in 1944.

It was a very heartfelt moment, to see my children, Gian and Francesca, now almost five, and Curtis and Mary's son Anthony, participate as ring bearers and flower girl in the place where it all began.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! How lucky you were to come of age when courtship was in style!

Cross posted at the Daily News.

Miley Cyrus Confirmed For 'Sex And The City 2'

2009-09-26T08:37:09Z

For weeks rumors have swirled that Miley Cyrus will have a role in "Sex and the City 2."

Well, Gossip Cop has an answer.

Gossip Cop can confirm that in the current script, Cyrus has one scene, and in it she wears the same dress to a red carpet event that Kim Cattrall's character buys to look "hot and young." In the script, Mario Cantone's character Anthony responds by exclaiming, "Mother of God: She is wearing the same dress as Hannah Montana."

Mr. Skin: Rated TV-MA: How Sex Came of Age on Television

2009-09-22T14:33:06Z

Sunday's 61st Primetime Emmy Awards saluted television's finest accomplishments this year, and it was a daunting task, to be sure -- but perhaps not in the way it seemed for most of the previous six decades.

For whereas FCC chairman Newton Minow famously declared the medium a "vast wasteland" all the way back in 1961, today's TV landscape has blossomed - here a Lost, there a Mad Men - to supersede movies as popular culture's premiere venue for, indeed, culture.

Or, as Newsweek noted: "Film has always been The Four Seasons to television's Motel 6. Not anymore."

Another way of looking at it is that TV long ruled as the "electronic babysitter", programmed to pacify while mom and dad enjoyed a night out at the theater.

Now television is what adults stay home to do while the tykes get their brains blown out by the latest CGI humungous at the multiplex.

TV has grown up and, as with all maturation processes, a lot of that has to do with sex.

Of course, sex has illuminated the boob tube -- pun, of course, intended -- probably since the first Miss America Pageant aired and most notoriously during the 1970s "jiggle TV" phenomenon of Three's Company and Charlie's Angels.

But consider that point of view -- leering, giggly, adolescent and, it seemed at the time, permanent.

By the 1980s, sitcom couples, married or otherwise, could share a bed (a hard-line taboo in the days of I Love Lucy and relegated from there to The Munsters and The Flintstones until, in the revolutionary year 1969, Mike and Carol snuggled a blow for liberation on The Brady Bunch).

Broadcast outlets kept sex in the background while pay cable channels such as HBO and Showtime put it sharply in the forefront, first with subscriber-baiting softcore concoctions such as The Hitchhiker and Red Shoe Diaries and, then, in the programs that have come to define the great mass-consumed art of the modern era.

You know: the ones that contain nudity.

Many cite HBO's 1999 debut The Sopranos as the genesis of this modern, previously unimaginable phenomenon. And it's certainly hard to argue against what that moment made possible: The Wire, Six Feet Under, Big Love, Damages, Entourage, In Treatment, Sons of Anarchy, and so on.

And in a clear case of competition proving to be a good thing, the networks followed suit with House, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, 30 Rock, Gossip Girl, etc.

Now think about the quality of Hollywood movies congruent with that same decade. We can even extend that challenge even to independent and foreign films.

Can you name one title that you'd group in the same league as those programs? Indeed, what was your last experience in a theater that moved you in a manner typical of what one can find these days with a remote control?

Has there been a suspense film as nerve-rattling as 24? A comedy as uproarious as Curb Your Enthusiasm? A police saga as intense as The Shield? A chiller as sardonic as Dexter?

As for the heady pleasures of on-screen sex and nudity, cinema is not the place to look. At least not at those prices! So let's follow the money.

Observers point out that big-screen movies cost so much that studios dare not diminish the size of the largest possible (paying) audience. Television, by contrast, can afford to take risks. It can fund creative visionaries (Aaron Sorkin, David Milch, Denis Leary) and their often palpably adult visions (The West Wing, Deadwood, Rescue Me).

In the event of failure -- which almost all TV shows prove to be -- reality programming saves the day and keeps the machine fueled, literally, by cheap thrills.

Another issue arises as to what it precisely is, then, for which we wish to pay.

Movie-going today is very often about experiencing sensory overload: astounding visuals and gut-shaking sound-effects that are not possible on even the most elaborate of home theaters. Explosions and mechanical mayhem have supplanted plot and character at the movies and, thus, the simple art of storytelling has moved into living rooms (and bedrooms).

And where plots develop and characters grow, sex happens (particularly when there are no giant robots rampaging in the way).

Underlying all this is that all on-camera erotic entertainment -- from hardcore porn to Baywatch -- has been automatically consumed at-home since advent of the VCR a quarter-century ago.

Just compare the prospect of paying to view a fleeting nude scene in public, surrounded by strangers, to the same opportunity at home, behind a closed door, with fast-forward, pause, and rewind buttons.

Nudity is no longer a draw at the box office, but it does remain a tantalizing sales-point when a customer considers making the leap from basic to premium cable.

As such, naked vampires on True Blood will grab more eyeballs (and dollars) than any equivalent playing at a theater, even if Kate Beckinsale were to lose her leather catsuit in those Underworld movies.

This circumstance also indicates why the film Powder Blue (2009) - which contains the debut nude scene of universally lusted-after A-lister Jessica Biel -- just barely warranted a theatrical release in three small markets, and why it is guaranteed to run on cable in perpetuity.

Had the former TV sweetheart of Seventh Heaven deigned to first bare flesh on an episode of Entourage, for example, her revelation would have generated record ratings and word-of-mouth on par with, say, Sharon Stone's leg-crossing in Basic Instinct from all the way back in the olden days of 1992.

In time, TV nudity will doubtlessly be supplanted by technology that may very well beam images of unclothed starlets directly into our brains.

But that's then. TV is now. And it is the height of what's hot to remain tuned in and turned on.

'Sex And The City' Sequel To Revisit The 80s? (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-09-10T09:32:00Z

Will the 'Sex and the City' sequel include an 80s flashback or is this getup just Carrie's way of dealing with her rumored marital problems with Big?

Sarah Jessica Parker looked like she was channeling an earlier incarnation of Madonna on set in New York Wednesday, in black lace tights and sleeves, a corset and tutu. Kristin Davis appeared as the perennially preppy Charlotte York, save the outdated white tennis shoes and bangs. Let's hope they use some soft-focus lenses to make the time travel complete.

PHOTOS:

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'Sex And The City' Sequel Secrets And Spoilers

2009-09-10T08:55:04Z

The new Us Weekly (on stands today) has all the juicy plot details of the Sex and the City sequel as told by the movie's stars and on-set sources.

According to a casting notice obtained by Us, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) who wed at the end of the first movie could face plenty of drama in the sequel (due May 28, 2010).

Nicole Williams: Celeb Career Thermometer: Sarah Jessica Parker vs. Miss USA

2009-09-09T15:42:26Z

Best Career Move of the Week: More Sex for Sarah Jessica

Sarah Jessica Parker was spotted around New York City this week filming the sequel to the box office hit Sex and the City, and sources say she looks pretty happy to be back to work. Lest you think she's getting a little "Carried" away with this role, let's not forget that before the SATC craze, it was flop after rom-com flop for this fashionista. So why should she quit a good thing? After all, you can never have too much Sex -- and you have to admit you're a tad bit curious to see if Big will become a baby daddy.

Worst Career Move of the Week: Miss USA Defends Heidi Montag

In case you missed the performance Heidi Montag gave at the Miss Universe pageant a few weeks ago, let us fill you in with four words: Painful Britney Spears ripoff. I mean, you must know that Heidi Montag has zero rhythm. Even Brit on her worst day hasn't looked that uncoordinated. So the fact that Miss USA is defending the aspiring singer speaks of her poor taste. "I thought she did a great job as a performer," said Kristen Dalton. Seriously? Where's Carrie Prejean when you need an honest answer?

Carrie Bradshaw's 'Sex And The City 2' Clothes: Love 'Em Or Leave 'Em? (PHOTOS, POLL)

2009-09-02T17:00:23Z

The filming of the 'Sex And The City' sequel is in full swing, and it looks like Carrie Bradshaw's clothes won't disappoint this time around either. See the three looks that have been snapped so far, and tell what you think.

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Sarah Jessica Parker Starts 'Sex And The City' Sequel

2009-09-01T14:06:13Z

Yesterday, Sarah Jessica Parker looked stunning in white while filming an outdoor scene for the much-anticipated SATC sequel.

Sex And The City's Willie Garson Adopts A Son, 8

2009-08-08T09:53:55Z

Willie Garson will soon be packing his bags and relocating to New York to film Sex and the City 2; this time, however, he will not be making the move alone.

Following years of planning, Garson tells TV Guide Magazine that he is in the process of finalizing the adoption of an 8-year-old boy, Nathan.

Sex And The City Madness: Women Vie To Be Extras In Film

2009-08-04T18:21:15Z

They lined up by the hundreds - some as early as midnight - putting their best heels forward for a shot at a few seconds on the big screen.

By 10 a.m. Tuesday, more than 500 people vying to be extras in the upcoming "Sex and the City" sequel were in position outside the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th St.

WATCH: Fashionistas Flock To 'Sex And The City' Extra Auditions

2009-08-04T15:56:57Z

Are you a fashion model, celebrity type or upscale socialite? Then get yourself over to Chelsea for the extra auditions for the 'Sex and the City' sequel!

Of course you will have to elbow out these self-proclaimed fashionistas and models who are rather confident they've got the right look. Amy Robach of the 'Today Show' reports from the eye of the storm.

WATCH:

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Mihal Freinquel: Sex and the City 2: More Sex, Hotter Sex, Your Sex

2009-07-28T15:24:03Z

Living in NYC certainly has its perks. Yes, it's more expensive than God can afford, 75 percent of enclosed public areas smell like urine and if you're a city driver you might as well resign yourself to parking in Stratford ... but trust me, living here is better than not living here. Here is why:

For one, the food. All kinds, any time, anywhere. Greek, Ethiopian, Colombian. Cheap, gourmet, your way, their way, any way.

Second, the fashion. Yeah okay, I heard the rumors, we're no longer number one in the worldwide style poll whatever. Eff that, we are.

Third, unless you live in a cave (read: really far out in Queens) everybody always knows somebody who knows somebody famous -- making everybody practically famous themselves. One of my friends is friends with Anne Hathaway, for example.

Fourth ... well, actually I'm going to go back to number three, because for the purposes of this post, this is the only one that matters. Most of the time, I'm hustling -- I wanna be better, I wanna be sassier, I want really expensive shoes on sale -- but today and today only, I'm here to help you. How can I help you, you ask? I'm here for you to be that person who knows somebody who knows somebody famous and get you thismuchcloser to fabulousness.

Sex and the City 2 -- the second SATC movie -- is having an open call for extras. They're looking for fashion models, celebrity types, upscale socialites, fashionistas, urban club goers, gays and lesbians, international types (Middle Eastern, Arabic, Asian, European, British), and professional soccer players, among many more. If you're just really, really hot or have a really, really great wardrobe, that will do as well. Where and when?

Open Call:

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street
between 6th & 7th Avenues.

SAG (Union): 10am- 12:30pm
NON-SAG (Non-Union): 1:30pm-4:00pm

If you can't attend the open call, email a recent picture and contact info to: sexandthecity2@gwcnyc.com.

If you're not excited I'm just really not sure how to please you. This is the time, my fabulous New Yorkers (and folks from surrounding areas). Time to shine, time to look your best ... time for Sex.

Alexis Maybank: Outsaving the Joneses

2009-07-02T15:01:20Z

In just one short year, we have seen NYC shift from a city of "keeping up with the Joneses" to one focused on "outsaving the Joneses." Now what does this mean? We have started to see a sea change in behavior.

Instead of comparing weekend homes, vacation destinations or slapping down the Black Amex, New Yorkers are now making "saving" a game of one-upmanship. Out with conspicuous consumption in with conspicuous savings. We of course have no anthropological proof of this trend, however it is something we are witnessing more often when out to dinner with friends or in conversations with work colleagues.

It is neither gauche to compare deals obtained on a new dress, nor is insider savings through, say, cardholder benefits taboo to mention in polite conversation. Instead, people point to their "Staycations" in place of former far-flung vacations and to practical vehicles purchased instead of to a husband's new Maserati. To show one's savviness in savings is to show your intelligence and general shrewdness.

Some might say we experience this so often because of our role in starting an online fashion sales site, Gilt Groupe, focused on extending our members designer fashion at insider prices (up to 70 percent off). And yes, our members do flock to us in the interest of showing us a new dress, a pair of earrings or work suit they purchased at a great price. They proudly display purchases on our site and are quick to mention the price point with a sense of satisfaction.

However we have personally witnessed this new behavior outside of work: amongst friends and family members. We do think that this general shift in behavior signals a new culture of saving in New York and nationally. There is self-assurance and a sense of "winning" when obtaining value that suggests the intelligent and in-the-know consumer... saves! This makes sense given Goldman Sach's recent prediction that "the national unemployment rate will reach 9 percent by end of 2009, and could continue rising into 2010." While times are certainly tough nationally, especially here in NYC, Gothamites are trying to promote their savviness in savings -- and we think they are intelligent for doing so. To miss this trend as a company or marketer is to be out of touch with the times.

From our vantage point at Gilt Groupe, people are stampeding online for our insider deals. And even though they are saving, and proudly so, they are still spending... And spending a lot! They spend, however, in a way that shows they are not willing pay for the overhead that comes with the prices at retail stores any longer. They spend not wanting to leave a store with three bags in each hand a la Sex and the City. And they spend, as long as in their spending, they are obtaining savings. Counterintuitive, but we think this new era of obtaining value in shopping is with us for at least another three years. We would love to hear your read on the topic. Are you seeing what we are seeing?