‘I might not make it’: Sarah Jessica Parker on the stress of reading two books a day
Sarah Jessica Parker was the subject of some unwanted headlines over the past few weeks after saying she reads two books a day.
While speculation of her reading capabilities circulates, the actress continues the challenging mountain of novels she has to get through in order to be a judge for the Booker Prize.
The actress is part of a panel of judges for the literary award which announces the “Booker Dozen” of 12 or 13 books on 29 July, its shortlist on 23 September and the overall winner on 10 November. The winner receives £50,000.
“I have one by my side now,” Sarah Jessica tells Sky News during an interview for her show And Just Like That.
“It’s been hard these last two weeks because we’ve been promoting the show and I thought I would be able to read between interviews, but you can read two words. You can read these three sentences, so I’m feeling very anxious about how many books I have yet to read for our next deliberation,” she says.
The Sex And The City actress compares the workload to preparing to take an exam.
“I’ve not ever felt this behind, including in high school. Like, I really am not entirely sure how I’m going to read the required amount of books by our next deliberation,” she says.
“I thought about this last night in bed, that even if I stay up every day and don’t sleep, I might not make it. So I’m not sure how. I have to not make dinner for anybody, not do anybody’s laundry. I have cut out all tasks. So we’ll see. It’s pretty fantastic, this burden is pretty wonderful.”
Turning to her spin-off series, she says she never paid much attention to the cultural impact Sex And The City had on portraying women in their 30s on screen without a rose-tinted lens.
“I think we’re just always wanting to tell interesting stories,” she says.
“And the rule in the writing room has been, for as long as I’ve known, the story can only be as far removed as one person from the writer, so every single story told has either happened to a writer or to a friend or family member or colleague of the writer.”
She says what makes it real is that the show deals with real moments that happen to women as they age, from children flying the nest to navigating the dating pool.
“You don’t flat line at 50 or 60. People are living pretty colourful, interesting, exciting lives and they have influence and authority. They’re trying new things. They’re leaving marriages. They’re saying goodbye to kids. They’re starting new jobs, they’re leaving jobs, and they’re getting married, they are widows, there’s just endless amounts to talk about and it should be,” she says.
Kristin Davis
‘It is insane there aren’t more shows like us’
Her co-star Kristin Davis agrees and states her main hope for returning was to break certain taboos for women now in their 50s.
“It is insane that there aren’t more shows like us, you know? I’m hoping that there will be,” she says. “It’s very interesting that somehow women, especially at a certain age, you’re just supposed to just vanish. I don’t know where we’re supposed to be and that just makes no sense.”
Cynthia Nixon
Sex And The City was ‘incredibly white’, says Cynthia Nixon
For Cynthia Nixon, playing Miranda now as a lesbian character allowed the show to explore the challenges that face people coming out later in life and navigating the world they find themselves in.
She says although Sex And The City broke taboos for white women in their 30s, she felt the original iteration of their show wasn’t as reflective of the real world as it could have been.
“The one thing that didn’t really sit well with me in the past was how incredibly white the show was,” she says. “So, I think to expand the universe of, you know, who gets to be centred in the show has been a tremendous boon. Whether you’re talking about people of colour, whether you’re talk about queer people, people of different ages. We used to have a wonderfully fascinating lens, but it was fairly narrow.
“We’ve moved in our view of queer people… for so long, if you wanted to put a gay person on screen, one of the ways to make them palatable was to really emphasise their funniness and I think we have many very funny gay characters, but we’re able to, I think, have a more well-rounded view of them.”
And Just Like That is available on Sky and NOW.
Entertainment
Boyzone explain why Mikey Graham missed reunion announcement – and Louis Walsh won’t be involved in show
Boyzone say Louis Walsh has no involvement in their forthcoming reunion show and will not be taking a cut of the profits.
One of the biggest boybands of the 90s, the Irish group announced they will be reuniting for their “biggest show yet” next summer, performing at the Emirates Stadium in London on 6 June.
But while all four remaining members of the band had been due to attend a press announcement at the London Irish Centre in Camden on Tuesday, Mikey Graham was not in attendance.
When asked if they had been expecting him, Ronan Keating tells Sky News: “Mikey apologises for not being here today in person for personal reasons. We’ll see him soon, and he will be there on the night.”
He goes on: “We’ll see Mikey in 20 minutes, and he will be there on 6 June”.
It will be the first time the four band members have been back in the same room in nearly seven years, following a five-night run at the London Palladium in 2019.
Keith Duffy admits: “It’s a big moment.”
Shane Lynch, who has been open about previous disagreements with his fellow bandmates, says: “I can’t wait to see Mick. And I’m super excited for him.”
‘We stopped talking to Louis Walsh’
Mention of their former manager is met with less warmth.
When asked if Louis Walsh is involved with the one-off show, Keating says: “No. Louis hasn’t been involved in Boyzone for a very long time, before the documentary, even well before the documentary. We stopped talking to him.
“He’s very much working with Westlife and those things.”
As for whether Walsh will be taking a cut of the profits, all three band members laugh like drains at the suggestion.
Lynch is the first to stop, gathering himself and saying: “Louis, he was the beginning of the band at least, you know, certainly it’s not the end of the band at this point. I love and respect the man by all means. But we have moved on.”
Boyzone on 19.06.1995 in Köln / Cologne. | usage worldwide Photo by: Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
‘Going out on a high’
Indeed, the four Dublin lads are in a very different place 33 years after they were thrust into the limelight as teenagers, with just Graham just a little older than the rest at 21.
Keating clarifies this time, they are the ones calling the shots: “We’re the ones in the driving seat… We’re doing on our terms.”
This time, Keating says it’s a journey he intends to make the most of: “We didn’t get to celebrate the 90s at all. We didn’t get to enjoy our success. Everybody else did, we didn’t. You know, boo hoo, we’re not crying. We had a hell of a time. We’re okay with that… We’re going to go out on a high”.
He’s also adamant this is a one-off: “It’s not gonna go further than the show. This is it.”
Boyzone performing at Wembley Arena in 1999. Pic: PA
Read more: Ronan Keating on boyband fame in the 90s
Of course, Stephen Gately’s untimely death in 2009, as a result of an undiagnosed heart condition, means the full band will never again take to the stage, but Keating, Duffy and Lynch say the show will be a time to remember Gately.
Giving away no details as to how, Keating says: “There will be a moment in the show for Stephen… Getting that right is important.”
With around eight months to prepare, the pressure is now on the band to deliver.
Duffy says: “It’s a big effort to get this kind of show together. It’s been seven years. We didn’t expect it. It’s not like every five to seven years, we always had an idea, we’ll end up seeing each other and sharing the stage together. It was a definite no.”
Boyzone: No Matter What
All three admit the three-part Sky documentary Boyzone: No Matter What, which aired at the start of the year, has played a big role in their change of heart.
And now, with a new chapter ahead of them, could there be a fourth part in the works? Keating is hopeful.
“Wouldn’t it be lovely to have that, closure and that fourth episode? Never say never.
“We haven’t agreed anything, it hasn’t been planned. Yeah, there are cameras around and it’s a decision we’ve made with Curious [the production company who made the documentary] to document this, because it’s a monumental time for us.”
Monumental indeed, and following the recent trend for 90s reunions, the band’s members – no longer boys but in some cases grandfathers – will be hoping fans turn out to show their love, no matter what.
Boyzone will perform at the Emirates Stadium in London on 6 June, with yet to be announced special guests.
Boyzone: No Matter What is available on Sky and streaming service Now
Federal prosecutors in New York are urging a judge to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to more than 11 years in prison.
Following the hip-hop mogul’s conviction on prostitution-related charges, they also want him to be fined $500,000 (£372,000), according to court filings.
Last week, defence lawyers urged a 14-month sentence. Due to time served, that would enable him to walk free almost immediately – following his arrest in September last year.
But he could, in theory, face up to 20 years in jail after being found guilty of two counts of transportation for engagement in prostitution. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Judge Arun Subramanian, a US district judge, is due to sentence Combs in Manhattan on Friday.
Combs reacts after the verdicts are read in July
During his trial, prosecutors said Combs coerced two of his former girlfriends to take part in what were described as “freak offs”.
He was found guilty of transporting male prostitutes across state lines to take part in those events.
Both women testified that Combs physically attacked them and threatened to cut off financial support if they refused to take part.
However, while jurors believed Combs broke the law over using sex workers, they did not find the sexual encounters involving the women were non-consensual, which is what prosecutors had argued.
Combs was cleared of the more serious charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Read more from Sky News:
JK Rowling hits out at Emma Watson over transgender issues
Penny Lancaster says she felt ‘belittled’ by Gregg Wallace
In a written legal submission, his defence team has detailed “inhumane” conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
They said the food sometimes contains maggots, that the rapper is routinely subjected to violence, and that he has “not breathed fresh air in nearly 13 months”.
They also said his “career and reputation have been destroyed”.
His legal team said Combs had been “adequately punished” already, was sober “for the first time in 25 years”, and had helped other inmates by creating an educational programme on business management and entrepreneurship.
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