Richard Curtis Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Halloween is officially over, so you know what time it is—Christmas! Well, at least that’s what the studios hope you are excited for, as they begin to roll out their holiday fare. And over at Peacock, the streamer is giving our first look at a new Christmas comedy film with some pretty big names attached, “Genie.” READ MORE: ‘Family Switch’ Trailer: Ed Helms & Jennifer Garner Swap Bodies With Their Kids In Netflix’s New Comedy As seen in the trailer for “Genie,” the film comes from writer Richard Curtis (“Love, Actually”) and tells the story of a down-on-his-luck man who finds himself in possession of a magical box containing a genie.

Peacock has unveiled a trailer, premiere date and first look photos for Genie, its previously untitled holiday fairytale comedy, starring Melissa McCarthy and Paapa Essiedu, which Love Life creator Sam Boyd directed from a script by Richard Curtis, the Oscar nom best known for Love Actually.

Screenwriter and director Richard Curtis has a few regrets when it comes to the jokes in several of his films — especially the fat-shaming ones made in the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually.

Richard Curtis is looking back at his early films like Bridget Jones’s Diary, Notting Hill and Love Actually and regretting he was not “ahead of the curve” in terms of the jokes and portrayal of women.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Love Actually” writer-director Richard Curtis admitted at the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival (via Today) that he regrets the many weight-centric jokes he wrote into his 2003 Christmas classic. The character Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) is often mocked for her weight throughout the film, with her dad calling her “plumpy,” a colleague noting she has “huge thighs” and her love interest (Hugh Grant) saying “God, you weigh a lot” after she jumps into his arms.

Bridget Jones’s Diary and Love Actually.The director and screenwriter expressed regret over decisions in his previous films during an appearance at The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival where he was interviewed by his daughter Scarlett.During the interview Scarlett raised that there had been “growing criticism around the ways your films treated women and people of colour”, citing descriptions of Bridget Jones as having “tree-trunk thighs” and the lack of diversity in 1999 film Notting Hill (“one of the birthplaces of the British black civil rights movement”).In response, Curtis said: “I think because I came from a very undiverse school and a bunch of university friends, I think that I hung on to the feeling that I wouldn’t know how to write those parts. I think I was just stupid and wrong about that.“I felt as though me, my casting director, my producers just didn’t look outwards.”Speaking specifically about fat jokes, Curtis said: “I remember how shocked I was five years ago when Scarlett said to me, ‘You can never use the word ‘fat’ again.’ Wow you were right.

A colossal congratulations is in order for legendary movie director Richard Curtis, after he "secretly tied the knot" with long-term girlfriend Emma Freud last month.The movie mogul - known for directing heart-warming hits like Love Actually and Notting Hill - certainly knows a thing or two about happily ever afters, so fans were left confused after there was previously no wedding in sight for the pair, despite being together for over three decades. But speaking to press at Cheltenham Literature Festival in Gloucestershire this Saturday, Richard, 66, and Emma, 61, accidentally let slip that they had exchanged vows four weeks earlier.

in a carousel of pieces from . Creative directed by Law Roach, the actor wore an asymmetric bandeau top with a gladiator skirt from Nicolas Ghesquière’s 2015 Resort offering, and a puff-sleeved blouse from a 2004 collection designed by Marc Jacobs and worn by Naomi Campbell.Zendaya knows there is a special kind of prestige that comes from wearing vintage. It’s one thing to be able to pull from a , another to have access to its entire back catalogue.

EXCLUSIVE: Actors Vanessa Kirby And Arthur Darvill (Broadchurch) have signed on to narrate the audiobook version of Good Material, the second novel from writer and journalist Dolly Alderton.

Naman Ramachandran Writer-director Richard Curtis, known for iconic British romantic comedies “Love Actually,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill,” has revealed his next venture. “Christmas Actually” is a stage show encompassing live music, performance, poetry and comedy that will serve as a fundraiser for charity Comic Relief, BBC News reports. It is not a sequel to 2003 hit “Love Actually.” Comic Relief is a charity founded by Curtis and Lenny Henry in 1985 in response to the famine in Ethiopia. Since then the charity has raised millions to help those in need via fundraisers where British comedians perform. Its annual event Red Nose Day is its biggest fund earner.

Given that the Latitude festival is all about bringing together music with comedy and literature and other artforms, no surprises really that comedy writer Richard Curtis and his broadcaster wife Emma Freud are on the line-up this year, especially as they live near the festival’s site in Suffolk.Though don’t be expecting them to be on stage talking about their comedy and media careers, because – according to the BBC – they’ve been booked to cook some food. Because, you know, at music festivals these days, it’s only really the food that matters.“Suffolk is the warmest and most magical county in Britain, with massive skies, stunning beaches, and a community that glows with kindness”, says Freud, “and its culinary wonders are stunning”.“In the early 1930s”, she goes on, “many members of my German Jewish family arrived in Suffolk and were made to feel welcome.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has signed a first-look deal with London and LA-based Locksmith Animation to develop and produce animated features for worldwide distribution.

Richard Curtis I remember once watching an episode of “Game of Thrones” and thinking to myself: “My brother-in-law is right. My films are pathetic.” “Game of Thrones” have deadly dragons, I’ve got lukewarm cups of tea. They’ve got epic battles, I’ve got people being slightly off with each other. At the end of my films two people kiss – at the end of their episodes they cut each other’s heads off. So imagine my surprise and delight when I found myself on the phone to two of the stars of the show themselves: Kit Harington and Rose Leslie (who played Jon Snow and Ygritte). It wasn’t, alas, to talk them into appearing in “Notting Hill Apocalypse” or something juicy that would turn my career around. But on the other hand, it was about the gravest threat facing us all – not the Night King, but climate change.

in. Sam Fell, director of Laika’s incredible “ParaNorman” and a longtime Aardman vet, directs this time around.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Marc Maron has joined the cast of Universal’s untitled New York Christmas movie, written by Richard Curtis, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and “Love Actually.” Maron is starring alongside Melissa McCarthy and Paapa Essiedu in the film, a fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas. Sam Boyd, who wrote and created the Anna Kendrick-led HBO Max series “Love Life,” will direct. It’s set to premiere on the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service Peacock on a yet-to-be-determined date.

Naman Ramachandran Make My Money Matter, a campaign group founded by filmmaker and activist Richard Curtis (“Love Actually”), has launched a new short film starring “Game of Thrones” stars and real life couple Kit Harington and Rose Leslie, in a bid to increase pressure on U.K. high street banks to cease financing the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. The film, titled “Couples Therapy,” showcases how major banks continue to finance the industry, despite warnings from the International Energy Agency that doing so could trigger a climate catastrophe. In the film, Harington and Leslie personify the banks and their oil and gas clients, playing out an unhealthy relationship in a tongue-in-cheek couples’ therapy session.

Blackadder star Tony Robinson has teased a potential reunion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the legendary show.The much-loved historical sitcom, which starred co-creator Rowan Atkinson alongside Robinson throughout, was last produced in 1999 for the film special Blackadder: Back & Forth. That followed just over a decade on from the last full season of the show, 1989’s Blackadder Goes Forth.Last month, Robinson reprised his role as Baldrick from the show for a Comic Relief special, though Atkinson wasn’t present.Rumours swirled of a fifth season of the show in 2019, and Robinson has now addressed the potential of new episodes.Speaking on Lorraine today (April 10), Robinson was asked about a potential reunion, replying: “All I’m gonna say is, everybody likes to celebrate a 40th anniversary, don’t they?“So there must be some fresh way we can celebrate our 40th birthday, wouldn’t you think?”In 2021, Robinson said that a reunion was “not on the horizon,” telling The Independent: “A lot of [the reason for the interest of a reunion] is because it has been incorporated into the curriculum,” Robinson explained.

Melissa McCarthy is going all out with her wardrobe for her upcoming movie, Bernard and the Genie!

Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day is back tonight, with a host of famous coming together to raise funds for some vital causes. The latest edition of the annual telethon will see Joel Dommett take on host duties as some of the biggest names in entertainment make viewers laugh while supporting those in need.

EXCLUSIVE: The Red Nose Day showrunner has urged crew on the iconic BBC charity telethon to “make a fuss” about misconduct as part of BBC Studios’ efforts to pre-empt inappropriate behavior on its shows.

Guy Lodge Film Critic Non-Londoners might think of the U.K. capital as a single city, the perceived interchangeability of its regions and locations evident in many a notionally London-set but geographically manic film where characters stroll from Chelsea Bridge to the heart of Soho in a matter of minutes. Residents know that its quadrants are so disparate as to be whole separate ecosystems, with the Thames River that separates north from south London a virtual equator running through the city. Those who have toured the Big Smoke via the movies — in particular, the idealized, exportable London of Working Title trifles and “Paddington” pictures — are largely familiar with the most leafy, genteel streets of the north and west, with the increasingly bourgeois east lately getting a look-in. But the diverse, dynamic neighborhoods of the south have received less than their due on screen, which is where Raine Allen-Miller’s delightful romantic comedy “Rye Lane” aims to set things right.

Nearly 30 years after the release of Four Weddings And A Funeral, Hugh Grant and his former co-star Andie MacDowell reunited at the Oscars 2023 when they presented the award for best production design. Hugh, 62, and Andie, 65, famously worked together in Richard Curtis’s 1994 romantic comedy three decades ago as Charles and Carrie.

Naman Ramachandran For a solid decade, the U.K. contributed some of the most iconic floppy-haired lotharios, airport dashes and front-door confessions in romcom history. Films such as “Four Weddings and a Funeral” (1994), “Notting Hill” (1999) and “Love Actually” (2003) basically invented such hallmarks of the genre. But in the last decade, the global-facing British romcom has all but disappeared from cinemas. Richard Curtis, the brains behind the aforementioned hits as well as the “Bridget Jones” adaptations, says the heavy lifting keeping romcoms alive has largely been carried out in the television ranks. The writer cites examples such as the BBC’s “Gavin & Stacey” and “Fleabag” and Channel 4’s “Catastrophe” as “blazing examples.”

Blackadder will be returning for a Comic Relief special this year – although lead star Rowan Atkinson will not be involved.Curtis, who created the iconic sitcom alongside Atkinson in the 1980s, shared the news during an appearance on BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show this morning (February 14).Admitting that he was “nervous” to make the announcement, the writer confirmed that new sketch will see Tony Robinson reprise his role as Baldrick.“For the first time in 20 years, Baldrick is going to be giving some kind of performance,” he said. “We’re just conspiring about it now, so I think there’s going to be a marvellous, turnip-based thing with Tony Robinson now back in action, so I’m excited about that.”Asked if Atkinson would also feature in the special, Curtis replied: “No,Rowan’s far too serious to do any of that!”Last year, Ben Elton, who wrote Blackadders seasons two, three and four, ruled out the possibility of a fully-fledged return, telling Radio Times magazine that he didn’t have an “appetite” to create further seasons of the sitcom.“We were a great team and I’ve talked so many times about doing something else.

Blackadder is set to return to our screens after a 20-year hiatus Richard Curtis has confirmed.

EXCLUSIVE: Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) is set to star opposite Melissa McCarthy in the untitled New York Christmas movie from Universal and Working Title that we were first to report on.

EXCLUSIVE: The talent agency scene in the UK has been the talk of the town since UTA snapped up Curtis Brown Group last year.

EXCLUSIVE: Usually content to let their logo on the front end of films speak for them, Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner spoke to Deadline in a prolific moment and a series of anniversaries that go beyond the 20th for their holiday classic Love Actually. They reached 30 years together at a company that turns 40 next year. The duo scored a big hit in the George Clooney-Julia Roberts romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise, and have Matilda the Musical playing in UK theaters, and opening on Netflix elsewhere for Christmas, with the Lena Dunham-directed Catherine Called Birdy released by Amazon and The Swimmers by Netflix. After playing the Toronto and Zurich festivals, it has ranked near the top of Netflix’s most watched films globally since its release.

EXCLUSIVE: Universal and Working Title have set Melissa McCarthy to star in an untitled Christmas-in-New York movie that will be written by Love Actually scribe Richard Curtis and directed by Sam Boyd.

, the cast and crew of the beloved holiday romantic comedy revealed that the late Alan Rickman was enraged by his scene with Rowan Atkinson. Love Actually director Richard Curtis revisited the iconic scene that finds Rickman’s Harry sneaking away from , at the mall to purchase a gold necklace for Mia (Heike Makatsch), an attractive younger woman who works at his office. While at the register, he has to deal with Atkinson’s eccentric clerk, Rufus, who promises to have Harry’s gift wrapped “in the flashiest of flashes,” but takes a comically long time adding unnecessary flourishes like a gold ribbon, flower buds, lavender, a cinnamon stick, and a sprig of holly. This content can also be viewed on the site it from.While the scene is a comedic showcase for Atkinson, Rickman apparently didn’t find it all that funny at the time.