Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. Eventually, Meredith calls for backup: She calls for her sister Julie Claire Danes , and the Stone family is immediately smitten with the more outgoing Morton. Stunningly, the only set piece missing here is a beloved family dog. And yet I love this movie unironically. I watch it every Christmas. Also, The Family Stone is fun! Every year I basically die because no one wants to listen to me talk about this movie at length.
So I decided to talk to Sarah Jessica Parker about it. Can you give me a sense of what your life was like when you signed on to The Family Stone? I think you were winding down work on Sex and the City. When I first met [director] Tom Bezucha and the offer came, I had recently finished. I was feeling good. I had just completed a long run as part of a project that I was proud of and had obviously changed the course of my life. I felt very privileged, and it felt like we were able to stop [the show] in a way that we all felt good about.
But also I did have a young son, and I was looking forward very much to being his parent and having real time with him. When Family Stone came up, I remember that I had some time between wrapping Sex and the City the series and starting a movie. I knew my son was going to come with me, which was really important. As a parent who wanted to spend time with my child, it was ideal. What was your meeting with Tom like? I was excited that he wanted me to play the part.
He had very specific ideas about this character. He offered a really nice challenge. He wanted her to be skilled in ways that I had not been onscreen. There was a sort of chilly quality to her, where her neuroses were so evident, and yet she works so hard to mask that. She was wound so tight. There was also that stillness. Carrie Bradshaw was very physical. She moved around a lot; she gesticulated a lot.
We really did talk a lot about that. Even in the process of shooting, there would be times that he would remind me of some of those original landmarks that we were shooting for.
