“Notting Hill” A romantic comedy from the 90s, its influence on today

*Information as of August 2019 article publication.

"Notting Hill" synopsis

A humorous depiction of the love story between a famous Hollywood actress and an ordinary man. Roberts, who plays a glamorous Hollywood actress, and Grant, who plays a somewhat unreliable young man, are addictive. Notting Hill is an ordinary town in West London. One day, Hollywood star Anna Scott happens to visit William, who runs a small bookstore. The two feel that they are destined for each other, and eventually fall in love...

Index

• A dream story born from the imagination of Richard Curtis
  
• Richard Curtis x Hugh Grant, a team that goes well together
  
• Variations on "Roman Holiday"
• Influence on modern romantic comedies

A dream story born from the imagination of Richard Curtis

2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the romantic comedy ``Notting Hill,'' starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, which was released in 1999. It was released in the United States and the United Kingdom in May 1999, and in Japan in September 1999, and grossed approximately $364 million worldwide. The film depicts the story of Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), a popular Hollywood actress, who wanders into a bookstore specializing in travel books in Notting Hill, west London, and the owner of the bookstore, William Tucker: The Man and His Dream(Hugh Grant), who fall in love with each other. This movie is arguably one of the most beloved romantic comedies of the 90s.

Fans from all over the world still make pilgrimages to the bookstore where it was modeled, and surprisingly, French master artist Arnaud Desplechin has also professed to be a big fan of the book. By the way, British director Andrew Haigh, known for `` Weekend '' (11) and `` In the Lean on Pete '' (17), is working on this film as an editorial assistant trainee.

Richard Curtis, a master of romantic comedies who has written screenplays for films such as ` `Bridget Jones's Diary '' (2001) and `` Love Actually '' (2003), came up with this story one night while lying in bed. I dreamed of ``It's not a bad idea to make a dream-like story into a movie.Actually, when I can't sleep at night, I fantasize about all sorts of things.What if I bring a famous person to a party at a friend's house?For example, a famous person like Madonna or Princess Diana.'' Some people will act calmly, while others will not be able to hide their surprise. What will they say later? My fantasy inspired me to create a love story between an ordinary person and a famous person. ”.

The scene in the film where William invites Anna to his sister Honey's (Emma Chambers) birthday party is based on Curtis's fantasy. "The idea of ​​ordinary people dating incredibly famous people and how that affects their lives" was the starting point for the story, and everything evolved from there. Curtis says.

Richard Curtis x Hugh Grant, a team that goes well together