Richard Curtis, 66, is a famous screenwriter and director in the British film industry. Over the past thirty years, he has presented many classic romantic comedies to the audience, especially "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Notting Hill", "BJ's Diary" and "Love Actually".
Richard Curtis and daughter Scarlett at Cheltenham Literary Festival
Recently, when Curtis attended the prestigious Cheltenham Literature Festival in the UK, he publicly stated: Times have changed, and now when I look back at my films, some of the jokes, especially those involving women, are The dialogue and plot in which weight was used as a punchline made him feel very embarrassed, and even regretful.
"Love Actually," which was released during the Christmas season in 2003, is composed of dozens of short stories about love. It has long been loved by audiences around the world and is one of the most famous Christmas movies today. In the film, the love story between British Prime Minister David and his maid Natalie, played by Hugh Grant, is particularly impressive. However, Natalie, played by Martine McGurkian, is clearly not fat in any way, but she was turned into a "fat girl" by the director.
"Love Actually" stills, Martine McGuckian as Natalie
Moreover, various jokes about Natalie's figure constantly appeared in the film: her father called her "plumpy"; her female colleagues also called her "chubby" and said she had "huge" Butt and thick thighs"; even Natalie herself explained in the film that she was dumped because "no man wants a girlfriend with thighs as thick as tree trunks"; and Hugh Grant plays The lover also said half-seriously and half-jokingly after Natalie threw herself into his arms: "Oh my god, you are so heavy."
Director Curtis now says he deeply regrets this. "Up until five years ago, I was shocked when my daughter Scarlett told me, 'You can never use the word fat again.' But now that I think about it, she was right. I realized I feel that some of my ideas are too outdated, and the jokes I have written are obviously no longer funny when I look back on them now. Of course, I don’t think I did it out of any malicious intent at the time, but I just didn’t have this awareness yet. So wise."
Hugh Grant and Martine McGurkian in Love Actually
It is worth mentioning that daughter Scarlett is the host of Curtis Sr.’s talk show at this year’s Cheltenham Literary Festival. She was born in 1995 and once played a passerby in “Love Actually” After the age of 20, she became a well-known women's rights activist in the UK. Various ideological conflicts with her old father were obviously inevitable.
Director Curtis expresses regret and regret over the lack of racial diversity in films such as "BJ's Diary"
In addition to the fat discrimination in "Love Actually", director Curtis also criticized the lack of racial diversity in films such as "Notting Hill" and "BJ's Diary" at a literary festival, with almost all the starring actors being white. Expressing feelings of regret and remorse. “I think that’s because I came from a very diverse school, and all of my college friends were white,” Curtis said. “When I was filming Notting Hill, I probably thought I wanted to be more diverse, but I wasn't familiar with these characters at all and didn't know how to write about them. Now that I think about it, I feel like I was a bit stupid in this regard. And our producers and casting directors are all the same as me. , lack of consideration on this issue.”
This year coincides with the 20th anniversary of the release of "Love Actually". The film premiered on November 6, 2003, starring Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Liam · Starring Neeson and others. Although the director himself has exposed its shortcomings, I believe most viewers will still insist that the flaws do not hide the flaws. The cute atmosphere permeated by the film and the heart-warming power conveyed through each short story are the essence of this work.
