Sarah Jessica Parker Q&A: New movie, New Yorker

The Associated Press, Friday, December 18, 2009, 5:26am (PST)

LONDON (AP) -- Sarah Jessica Parker is looking forward to a family Christmas.

That's because she won't be the only female in the house this year; her baby girls, Marion and Tabitha, will also be part of the festivities. The twins were born last June to a surrogate and the actress is eager to, well ... spoil them.

"I bought dolls for the first time in my life, it was very exciting," she said.

Parker was in London recently to promote her latest movie "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" which opens Friday. Luckily, she's also been able to stock up on presents for her children during her visit. Beside the twins, she has a son, James, with husband Matthew Broderick.

Just like Parker and Carrie Bradshaw of "Sex and the City," her new character, Meryl Morgan, is a New Yorker. Unfortunately for Meryl, she is banished from her beloved Manhattan along with her estranged husband and forced to hide out in Wyoming after the two witness a murder.

Full of exuberance about New York, family, the holidays and, of course, her new movie, Parker sat down for a conversation with The Associated Press:

AP: So what attracted you to the "Morgans" role?

Sarah Jessica Parker: Hugh Grant. The idea of a romantic comedy with Hugh Grant.

AP: Would you class yourself as a New Yorker?

SJP: I would, I've lived there for 32 years now; it's the only place I've lived as a grown up and it's everything I know. My home's there, my children, my extended family, my parents. I love a city, and I specifically love New York City, and I have from the very first moment I stepped foot on the island.

AP: How would you define a New Yorker?

SJP: Independent, candid, devoted, impatient, hospitable, proud.

AP: There's a scene in the film where Grant's character gives your character a CD of New York noises so that she can sleep. Do you share some of those feelings?

SJP: I really actually do, I have a problem with too much quiet — from the time I was a little girl, I think partially because I'm one of eight kids. It was always just chaos in my house. I always remember noise and for me, it's honestly like a lullaby — the sound of sirens and taxis honking and people honestly screaming at each other, which we hear all the time. I love that.

AP: There's a moment in this film when she's going to the country and she can't decide what clothes to take with her. Are you a fashion conscious person?

SJP: I love well-made clothes and its fun and it's a delight to get to borrow them and wear them. I love fittings as part of an actress' life, but it's not a preoccupation for me and I think that's the difference. I have tremendous respect for designers. ... I'm very fond of the world, but I'm not preoccupied. That's a big difference between myself and Carrie Bradshaw.

AP: Do you like this time of year, the festive season? What are your plans?

SJP: I can't wait and get the house ready. We're going to buy our tree on the 19th. It will stand naked until Christmas Eve, and we'll put the children to bed and we'll decorate the tree when the children are in bed. We'll leave cookies and milk for Santa, and oats for the reindeer, and wake up Christmas morning and they'll start ripping through presents.

AP: What kind of present buyer are you?

SJP: It's all here (gestures to her head) like all women across the globe. We don't need to write down things, we don't need to make lists. It's all here.