One of the earliest forms of nonfiction cinema was the “actuality” film, a very short motion picture devoid of narrative displaying a brief shot of reality. The Lumière brothers are responsible for some of the best examples of actuality, one among them being La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon. The 46-second film consists only of a single, continuous shot of female workers leaving a factory in Lyon — a brief, unadorned look into their real lives. One of the latest forms of non-fiction cinema was Sex and the City.
Big. Aidan. The rest. Did you know they really happened? It’s true, according to Cynthia Nixon via IMDb Asks via Page Six without any context:
“They had a rule … Nothing can be written that didn’t literally happen to someone in the writers’ room or someone they knew firsthand,” Nixon told IMDb Asks. “It couldn’t be my father’s brother’s sister’s shoe repair guy — the outlandish physical, sexual things that happened … really did happen.”
Charlotte getting free shoes from that guy. Miranda watching a British TV show. Carrie going to Paris and breaking her necklace. Big having balloons in his car. Aidan saying he wants to get Maui’d. Carrie running out of column ideas because she wasn’t having any sex and she’s like, “Are men like socks?” Charlotte having two dates in one night. Miranda meeting Gob because they both like history books. Big smoking a cigar in a restaurant even though it was technically not allowed. Post-it. Samantha Jones.
It all happened, my friends.
All of it!