Notting Hill (film)

Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), and the film was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell. The film stars Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, Emma Chambers, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee, and Hugh Bonneville.

Notting Hill was well received by critics and became the highest grossing British film released that year. The film won a BAFTA, was nominated in two other categories, and won other awards, including a British Comedy Award and a Brit Award for the soundtrack.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Music 5 Release 5.1 Critical reception 5.2 Lists 5.3 Box office 5.4 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links

Plot
William "Will" Thacker owns an independent travel bookshop in Notting Hill. He is divorced and shares his house with an eccentric, care-free Welshman named Spike.

Will encounters Hollywood superstar Anna Scott when she enters his shop. Minutes later, they collide in the street and his drink spills on her clothes. Will offers his house nearby for Anna to change. When she sees Will’s poster of the Marc Chagall painting La Mariée, Anna describes it as "how being in love should be." Before leaving, she impulsively kisses him.

Days later, Anna leaves him a message that she is at the Ritz Hotel. Will is mistaken for a journalist—in a panic he claims he works for Horse & Hound, and is made to interview the cast of Anna's new sci-fi film, which he has not seen. Anna calls him back in and says she has cleared her evening for him. Will is exhilarated, before remembering that he is expected at his sister Honey's birthday party; Anna surprises him by saying she will join him.

At the house Max and Bella, Anna feels at home as she share stories with the small group of birthday party guests. She and Will share a moment in a private garden square. The next day they go to a restaurant, where Will overhears Anna being criticised and defends her. Anna invites Will to her room at the Ritz, but her American boyfriend, film star Jeff King, has arrived unannounced. Will pretends to be a room-service waiter and Jeff is very dismissive towards him. Anna is apologetic and embarrassed; she thought King had broken up with her. Will realizes he must end things with Anna.

A road with some cars parked on it next to a line of houses

Much of the filming took place on Portobello Road. Over the next six months, Max and Bella set Will up on a series of awful blind dates, hoping to help him move on from Anna. Anna appears at Will's house; some pre-stardom nude photos have been published, and she needs a place to hide out. After an amazing day together, Anna goes to him at night and they make love. The next morning, she makes him breakfast in bed and she asks if she can stay. The doorbell rings and they are horrified to find a horde of reporters, alerted by Spike's outspoken talk at the pub. Spike re-opens the door to be photographed in only his dirty underwear, exacerbating the situation. While Anna gets dressed, she verbally berates Will for what she views as his desire for publicity. He tries to cheer her up, reminding her that the fame is all nonsense, but she tells him the scandal will follow her forever, departing with the statement that she regrets their time together.

Several months pass. At a dinner with his friends, Will discovers that Anna is back in town to make a Henry James film, which Will had previously suggested to her. He visits her location shoot, where Anna sees him and invites him past security. Given headphones to hear the dialogue, Will leaves when he overhears Anna evading questions from her co-star, stating that Will is no one important.

The next day, Anna comes to the bookshop with a present. She explains that her co-star is a notorious gossiper and she was simply being discreet. Anna admits she still has feelings for him, apologises for her behaviour months ago and explains that she now understands his comment, months earlier, that the fame is nonsense. Will hears her out, but turns her down, saying he is unable to handle another inevitable break up, especially considering how big of a star she is and that he would be unable to escape seeing her face. She leaves Will's present behind, which turns out to be the original La Mariée.

Will meets his friends, where Spike is the first to lambaste him for turning away the woman he loves. His friends race him across London in Max's car, to reach her press conference at the Savoy Hotel. Will adopts his Horse & Hound persona to ask a series of questions that reveals their relationship, while also convincing her to stay in the UK.

A montage shows the two at one of Anna's movie premieres, then happily sitting on a garden square bench, where Will reads to a heavily pregnant Anna.

Cast
Julia Roberts as Anna Scott: A Hollywood film star. She meets Will when she comes into his book shop in Notting Hill. Roberts was the "one and only" choice for the role, although Roger Michell and Duncan Kenworthy did not expect her to accept. Her agent told her it was "the best romantic comedy she had ever read".[1] Roberts said that after reading the script she decided she was "going to have to do this".[2] Hugh Grant as William "Will" Thacker: Recently divorced everyman owner of a travel book shop in Notting Hill. The decision to cast Grant was unanimous, as he and Richard Curtis had a "writer/actor marriage made in heaven". Michell said that "Hugh does Richard better than anyone else, and Richard writes Hugh better than anyone else", and that Grant is "one of the only actors who can speak Richard's lines perfectly".[1] Emma Chambers as Honey Thacker: Will's younger sister, she is a fan of Anna Scott. She later marries her brother's flatmate Spike. Hugh Bonneville as Bernie: An incompetent stockbroker and a friend of Will. He does not recognise Anna Scott upon meeting her and by way of small talk about the low pay in acting, asks her how much money she made on her last film. Rhys Ifans as Spike: Will's slacker Welsh flatmate who dreams of being an artist. He later marries Honey Thacker and becomes Will's brother-in-law. He is described by Will as "the stupidest person in the world, only doubled". Tim McInnerny as Max: Will's best friend, with whom Will often confides in. He and Bella host Honey's birthday party. Gina McKee as Bella: A paraplegic lawyer who is married to Max. She is described by Will as one of the only two women that he has ever loved. James Dreyfus as Martin: William's unprofessional assistant at his bookshop.

The casting of Bonneville, McInnerny, McKee, Chambers, and Ifans as Will's friends was "rather like assembling a family". Michell explained that "When you are casting a cabal of friends, you have to cast a balance of qualities, of types and of sensibilities. They were the jigsaw that had to be put together all in one go, and I think we've got a very good variety of people who can realistically still live in the same world."[1] Other charactersRichard McCabe as Tony: A failing restaurateur. The group meets at his restaurant. Dylan Moran as Rufus: A thief who attempts to steal from Will's bookshop. Despite being caught on CCTV concealing a book down his trousers he professes his innocence, then asks Anna if she wants his phone number. Alec Baldwin makes an uncredited appearance as Anna's boyfriend, Jeff King.[3] Sanjeev Bhaskar has a cameo role role as a loud and offensive restaurant patron (who refers to Meg Ryan as the actress who has an orgasm every time she's taken out for a cup of coffee) in the restaurant Anna and Will attend.[4] Mischa Barton appears as the child actor whom Will pretends to interview for Horse & Hound.[5] Emily Mortimer as Will's "Perfect Girl," a potential love interest for Will. John Shrapnel as Anna's UK press agent. Lorelei King as an assistant to press events.

Production
"I would sometimes wonder what it would be like if I just turned up at my friends' house, where I used to have dinner once a week, with the most famous person at that time, be it Madonna or whomever. It all sprang from there. How would my friends react? Who would try and be cool? How would you get through dinner? What would they say to you afterwards?" – Richard Curtis[6]

Richard Curtis developed the film from thoughts while lying awake at night. He described the starting point as "the idea of a very normal person going out with an unbelievably famous person and how that impinges on their lives".[6] Four Weddings and a Funeral director Mike Newell was approached but rejected it to work on Pushing Tin. He said that in commercial terms he had made the wrong decision, but did not regret it.[7] The producer, Duncan Kenworthy, then turned to Roger Michell, saying that "Finding someone as good as Roger, was just like finding the right actor to play each role. Roger shone out."[1]

Curtis chose Notting Hill as he lived there and knew the area, saying "Notting Hill is a melting pot and the perfect place to set a film".[8] This left the producers to film in a heavily populated area. Kenworthy noted "Early on, we toyed with the idea of building a huge exterior set. That way we would have more control, because we were worried about having Roberts and Grant on public streets where we could get thousands of onlookers." In the end they decided to film in the streets.[8] Michell was worried "that Hugh and Julia were going to turn up on the first day of shooting on Portobello Road, and there would be gridlock and we would be surrounded by thousands of people and paparazzi photographers who would prevent us from shooting". The location team, and security personnel prevented this, as well as preventing problems the presence of a film crew may have caused the residents of Notting Hill, who Michell believes were "genuinely excited" about the film.[8] The location manager Sue Quinn, described finding locations and getting permission to film as "a mammoth task".[8] Quinn and the rest of her team had to write to thousands of people in the area, promising to donate to each person's favourite charity, resulting in 200 charities receiving money.[8]

"The major problem we encountered was the size of our film unit. We couldn't just go in and shoot and come out. We were everywhere. Filming on the London streets has to be done in such a way that it comes up to health and safety standards. There is no such thing as a road closure. We were very lucky in the fact that we had 100% cooperation from the police and the Council. They looked favorably on what we were trying to do and how it would promote the area." – Sue Quinn[8]

Stuart Craig, the production designer, was pleased to do a contemporary film, saying "we're dealing with streets with thousands of people, market traders, shop owners and residents which makes it really complex".[8] Filming began on 17 April 1998 in West London and at Shepperton Studios.[1] Will's bookshop was on Portobello Road, one of the main areas in which filming took place. Other places within Notting Hill included Westbourne Park Road, Golborne Road, Landsdowne Road and the Coronet Cinema.[8] Will's house, 280 Westbourne Park Road, was owned by Richard Curtis and behind the entrance there is a grand house, not the flat in the film that was made up in the studios. The blue door was auctioned for charity. The current door is blue again. The Travel Book Store is located at 142 Portobello Road.[9] After filming for six weeks in Notting Hill, filming moved to the Ritz Hotel, where work had to take place at night, the Savoy Hotel, the Nobu Restaurant, the Zen Garden of the Hempel Hotel and Kenwood House.[8] One of the final scenes takes place at a film premiere, which presented difficulties. Michell wanted to film Leicester Square but was declined. Police had found fans at a Leonardo DiCaprio premiere problematic and were concerned the same might occur at the staged premiere. Through a health and safety act, the production received permission to film and constructed the scene in 24 hours.[8] Interior scenes were the last to be filmed, at Shepperton Studios.[8] The final cut was 3.5 hours long, 90 minutes edited out for release.[10]

The film features the 1950 Marc Chagall painting La Mariée. Anna sees a print of the painting in William's home and later gives him what is presumably the original. Michell said in Entertainment Weekly that the painting was chosen because Curtis was a fan of Chagall's work and because La Mariée "depicts a yearning for something that's lost." The producers had a reproduction made for the film, but had to get permission from the owner as well as clearance from the Design and Artists Copyright Society. Finally, according to Kenworthy, "we had to agree to destroy it. They were concerned that if our fake was too good, it might float around the market and create problems." The article also noted that "some experts say the real canvas could be worth between US$500,000 and US$1 million."[11]

The film features the book Istanbul: The Imperial City (1996) by John Freely. William recommends this book to Anna, commenting the author has at least been to Istanbul. In reality, Freely teaches at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul,[12] and is the author of nine books about the city.

Music
Music was composed by Trevor Jones.[13] Several additional songs written by other artists include Elvis Costello's cover of the Charles Aznavour song "She", Shania Twain's remixed version of "You've Got A Way", as well as Ronan Keating's specially recorded cover of "When You Say Nothing at All"; the song reached number one in the British charts. Pulp recorded new song "Born to Cry", which was released on the European version of the soundtrack album.

The song played when Will strides down Portobello Road is "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. Tony and Max play "Blue Moon" on the piano at Tony's restaurant on the night it closes.[14] Originally, Charles Aznavour's version of "She" was used in the film, but American test screening audiences did not respond to it. Costello was then brought in by Richard Curtis to record a cover version of the song.[15] Both versions of the song appear in non-US releases.

The soundtrack album was released by Island Records. US version track listing1."No Matter What" – Boyzone 2."You've Got a Way" (Notting Hill remix) – Shania Twain 3."I Do (Cherish You)" – 98 Degrees 4."She" – Elvis Costello 5."Ain't No Sunshine" – Bill Withers 6."How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" – Al Green 7."Gimme Some Lovin'" – Spencer Davis Group 8."When You Say Nothing at All" - Ronan Keating 9."Ain't No Sunshine" – Lighthouse Family 10."From the Heart" - Another Level 11."Everything About You" - Steve Poltz 12."Will and Anna" – Trevor Jones (Score) 13."Notting Hill" – Trevor Jones (Score)

The film score and original music was recorded and mixed by Gareth Cousins (who also mixed all the songs used in the film) and Simon Rhodes.

Release
Critical reception

The film had generally positive reviews, scoring an 82% "Certified Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[16] Variety's Derek Elley said that "It's slick, it's gawky, it's 10 minutes too long, and it's certainly not "Four Weddings and a Funeral Part 2" in either construction or overall tone", giving it an overall positive review.[3] Cranky Critic called it "Bloody damned good", as well as saying that it was "A perfect date flick."[17] Nitrate said that "Notting Hill is whimsical and light, fresh and quirky", with "endearing moments and memorable characters".[18] In his review of the film's DVD John J. Puccio noted that "the movie is a fairy tale, and writer Richard Curtis knows how much the public loves a fairy tale", calling it "a sweet film".[19] Desson Howe of The Washington Post gave the film a very positive review, particularly praising Rhys Ifans' performance as Spike.[20] James Sanford gave Notting Hill three and a half stars, saying that "Curtis' dialogue may be much snappier than his sometimes dawdling plot, but the first hour of Notting Hill is so beguiling and consistently funny it seems churlish to complain that the rest is merely good."[21] Sue Pierman of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stated that "Notting Hill is clever, funny, romantic – and oh, yes, reminiscent of Four Weddings and a Funeral", but that the film "is so satisfying, it doesn't pay to nitpick."[22] Roger Ebert praised the film, saying "the movie is bright, the dialogue has wit and intelligence, and Roberts and Grant are very easy to like."[23] Kenneth Turan gave a good review, concluding that "the film's romantic core is impervious to problems".[24] CNN reviewer Paul Clinton said that Notting Hill "stands alone as another funny and heartwarming story about love against all odds".[25]

Widgett Walls of Needcoffee.com gave the film "three and a half cups of coffee", stating that "the humor of the film saves it from a completely trite and unsatisfying (nay, shall I say enraging) ending", but criticised the soundtrack.[26] Dennis Schwartz gave the film a negative review with a grade of "C-" citing "this film was pure and unadulterated balderdash".[27] Some criticised the film for giving a "sweetened unrealistic view of London life and British eccentricity."[28] The Independent derided the film for being unrealistic.[29]

Lists

Notting Hill was 95th on the British Film Institute's "list of the all-time top 100 films", based on estimates of each film's British cinema admissions.[4]

Box office

The film had its premiere at the Odeon, Leicester Square, on 27 April 1999.[30] It earned US$116,089,678 as its overall domestic gross, with a worldwide gross of US$363,889,678.[31] It totalled US$27.7 million over its opening weekend, an American record,[32] the biggest opening for a romantic comedy film, beating My Best Friend's Wedding (which also starred Julia Roberts).[33] Notting Hill made another US$15 million the following week.[34][35] One month after its release, Notting Hill lost its record for highest grossing opening weekend for a romantic comedy film to Runaway Bride (again starring Roberts).[36] It was the sixteenth highest grossing film of 1999,[37] and as of February 2014 is the 215th highest grossing film of all time.[38] In 2007, it became the then highest grossing British film.[39] It opened the same weekend as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which didn't affect its Box Office as Notting Hill opened at Number 2.

Awards and nominations

Notting Hill won the Audience Award for Most Popular Film at the BAFTAs in 2000,[40] and was nominated in the categories of The Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the year, and Best Performance by an Actor in a supporting role for Rhys Ifans.[41] The film won Best Comedy Film at the British Comedy Awards.[42] The film's soundtrack won Best Soundtrack at the Brit Awards, beating Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[43] The film won Best British Film, Best British Director for Roger Michell, and Best British Actor for Hugh Grant at the Empire Awards.[44] The film received three nominations at the Golden Globes, in the categories Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical, Best Motion Picture Actor – Comedy/Musical for Hugh Grant, and Best Motion Picture Actress – Comedy/Musical for Julia Roberts.[45]