Playing Name That ‘Toon With Kim Cattrall

Had a nice chat with Kim Cattrall earlier this week, although it took a few phone calls to get through to her.
Cattrall was in Italy, at some swank hotel, vacationing after shooting Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost” with Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor in Germany. The call was arranged for close to midnight, Italian time; Cattrall had agreed to chat about her new animated, made-in-Canada comedy Producing Parker (premiering on TVtropolis Monday at 8:30).
Trouble was, two other journalists were trying to get at her. Who ever went first went over, and I kept dialing the 011 overseas exchange and getting a busy signal, and then the concierge. He was very helpful, even sneaking upstairs to rap on her door, but turned around when he saw the “Do Not Disturb” sign. It was midnight, after all.
A publicist intervened and the connection was eventually made. Cattrall was as pleasant and professional as ever. I remember chatting with her at the Four Seasons in Toronto several years ago at the height of all the Sex And The City buzz. She was as glamorous as you’d expect, but much more modest and subdued, almost shy. You get fooled by the character, expecting brazen Samantha Jones to give you a thorough checking out before offering you a martini.
She was very sweet on the phone, considering the late hour, chatting about some of her favorite cartoon characters from the past. (She gets ‘tooned up as daytime talk show diva Dee in Producing Parker.) You can always tell a person’s age by the ‘toons they treasure. Cattrall’s a Jetsons and Bugs Bunny girl, which makes us the same age. She remembered that classic Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Hour came on CBC on Saturday nights, right before Hockey Night in Canada. “It was like my moment to get my cartoon fix before my brother and dad took over the TV set,” said Cattrall, who grew up in B.C.
Follow this link to the rest of the story, filed yesterday for The Canadian Press.