Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis CBE | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis 8 November 1956 Wellington, New Zealand |
Occupation | |
Nationality | British |
Education | Papplewick School Appleton Grammar School Harrow School |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Period | 1979–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 4, including Scarlett |
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis
In 2007, Curtis received the
Curtis was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest figures in British comedy in 2003.[5] In 2008, he was ranked number 12 in a list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture" compiled by The Telegraph.[6] In 2012, he was one of the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork—the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[7]
Early life and education
Curtis was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He is the son of Glyness S. and Anthony J. Curtis.[8] His father was a Czechoslovakian refugee who moved to Australia when aged thirteen[9] and became an executive at Unilever. Curtis and his family lived in several different countries during his childhood, including Sweden and the Philippines, before moving to the United Kingdom when he was 11.[10]
Curtis attended Papplewick School in Ascot, Berkshire (as did his younger brother Jamie). For a short period in the 1970s, he lived in Warrington, Cheshire, where he attended Appleton Grammar School (now Bridgewater High School). He lived at Merricourt on Windmill Lane, Appleton, Warrington, during this time. His university friend Rowan Atkinson was an occasional visitor to the house.[11]
He then won a scholarship to Harrow School, where he joined the editorial team of The Harrovian, the weekly school magazine, and this, he asserts, is “where I learned all the skills that made me a sketch writer. I did reviews, comment pieces and funny articles where I'd try to conjure something out of nothing.”[12] While at Harrow, Curtis directed a school performance of Joe Orton's play The Erpingham Camp; this controversial choice was given the 'green light' by his classics master, James Morwood. Later, Curtis commented that Morwood’s support had helped him understand that it was all right "to push boundaries and to be funny".[12] Curtis did not approve of fagging at the school, and at 18, when he became head of his house, he banned it.[12]
He achieved a first-class Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. At the University of Oxford, he met and began working with Rowan Atkinson, after they both joined the scriptwriting team of the Etceteras revue, part of the Experimental Theatre Club. He appeared in the company's "After Eights" at the Oxford Playhouse in May 1976.
Early writing career
Collaborating with
First with Atkinson and later with Ben Elton, Curtis then wrote the Blackadder series from 1983 to 1989, each season focusing on a different era in British history. Atkinson played the lead throughout, but Curtis was the only writer who participated in every episode of Blackadder. The pair continued their collaboration with the comedy series Mr. Bean, which ran from 1990 to 1995.
Curtis had by then already begun writing feature films. His first was The Tall Guy (1989), a romantic comedy starring Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson and produced by Working Title films. The TV movie Bernard and the Genie followed in 1991.
In 1994, Curtis created and co-wrote The Vicar of Dibley for comedian Dawn French, which was a great success. In an online poll conducted in 2004 Britain's Best Sitcom, it was voted the third-best sitcom in British history and Blackadder the second-best, making Curtis the only screenwriter to create two shows in the poll's top 10 programmes.[citation needed]
Film career
Curtis achieved his breakthrough success with the romantic comedy
Curtis' next film was also for Working Title, which has remained his artistic home ever since. 1997's Bean brought Mr. Bean to the big screen and was a huge hit around the world. He continued his association with Working Title writing the 1999 romantic comedy Notting Hill, starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, which broke the record set by Four Weddings and a Funeral to become the top-grossing British film. The story of a lonely travel bookstore owner who falls in love with the world's most famous movie star was directed by Roger Michell.
Curtis next co-wrote the screen adaptation of the international bestseller Bridget Jones's Diary for Working Title. Curtis knew the novel's writer Helen Fielding. Indeed, he has credited her with saying that his original script for Four Weddings and a Funeral was too upbeat and needed the addition of the titular funeral.
Two years later, Curtis re-teamed with Working Title to write and direct Love Actually. Curtis has said in interviews that the sprawling, multi-character structure of Love Actually owes a debt to his favourite film, Robert Altman's Nashville. The film featured a "Who's Who" of UK actors, including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Andrew Lincoln, Alan Rickman and Keira Knightley, in a loosely connected series of stories about people in and out of love in London in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Its regular festive screening has seen it labelled as being arguably a modern-day Christmas staple.[16][17]
Curtis followed this in 2004 with work as co-writer on
"The difference between having a good idea for a movie and a finished movie is the same as seeing a pretty girl across the floor at a party and being there when she gives birth to your third child... It's a very long journey."
—Curtis speaking in 2013 on the filmmaking process.[18]
In May 2007, he received the BAFTA Fellowship at the British Academy Television Awards in recognition of his successful career in film and television and his charity efforts.[19][20] Curtis next co-wrote with Anthony Minghella an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's novel, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which Minghella shot in mid-2007 in Botswana. It premiered on the BBC on 23 March 2008, just days after Minghella's death. The film did not run in the US until early 2009, when HBO aired it as the pilot of a resulting six-episode TV series with the same cast, on which Curtis served as executive producer.
His second film as writer/director,
Curtis then wrote
He next wrote
Campaigning
Curtis together with
Curtis helped spearhead the launch of the Robin Hood tax campaign in 2010. The campaign fights for a 0.05% tax levied on each bank trade ranging from shares to foreign exchange and derivatives that could generate $700bn worldwide and be spent on measures to combat domestic and international poverty as well as fight climate change.[32]
He talked the producer of American Idol into doing a show wherein celebrities journeyed into Africa and experienced the level of poverty for themselves. It was called American Idol: Idol Gives Back. In 2014, Curtis publicly backed "Hacked Off" and its campaign in support of UK press self-regulation by "safeguarding the press from political interference while also giving vital protection to the vulnerable."[33][34][35]
In August 2014, Curtis was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[36]
In 2020, Curtis co-founded the climate finance campaign Make My Money Matter.[37] According to Campaign Director David Hayman the campaign "is all about helping people understand the impact of their money and how helping them think that if they are saving for retirement, what kind of retirement is their money saving for? What kind of world is it building?"[38]
In 2021, he joined the Rewriting Extinction campaign to fight the climate and biodiversity crisis through comics. He wrote a comic story in collaboration with War and Peas named "Woke". It was printed in the book The Most Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World[39] which was released on 28 October 2021 by DK.[40]
Controversy
In October 2010, a short film created by Curtis titled
In March 2011, Curtis apologised following a complaint by the British Stammering Association about 2011 Comic Relief's opening skit, a parody by Lenny Henry of the 2010 film The King's Speech.[42]
Personal life
Curtis lives in Notting Hill and has a country house in Walberswick, Suffolk[43] with broadcaster Emma Freud whom he married in September 2023, this was accidentally announced by Richard E Grant at Cheltenham Literature Festival in front of a packed audience; they have four children, including writer and activist Scarlett.[44] He had previously dated Anne Strutt, now Baroness Jenkin of Kennington, before her marriage to Sir Bernard Jenkin, a Member of Parliament (MP).[45] Curtis has named characters in his writing Bernard (reputedly after Bernard Jenkin). It is claimed he used the Jenkins' wedding as inspiration for Four Weddings and a Funeral.[46] He is irreligious.[47]
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Executive producer | Notes | ||
1983 | Dead on Time | No | Yes | No | Short film |
1989 | The Tall Guy | No | Yes | No | |
1994 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | No | Yes | Yes | |
1997 | Bean
|
No | Yes | Yes | |
1999 | Notting Hill | No | Yes | Yes | |
2001 | Bridget Jones's Diary | No | Yes | No | |
2003 | Love Actually | Yes | Yes | No | Directorial debut |
2004 | Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | No | Yes | No | |
2007 | Mr. Bean's Holiday | No | No | Yes | |
2009 | The Boat That Rocked | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2010 | No Pressure | No | Yes | No | Short film |
2011 | War Horse | No | Yes | No | |
2013 | About Time | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2014 | Trash | No | Yes | No | |
2018 | Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again | No | Story | Yes | |
2019 | Yesterday | No | Yes | No | Also producer |
2023 | Genie | No | Yes | No | |
2024 | That Christmas | No | Yes | Yes |
Television series
Year | Title | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Creator | Writer | Executive producer | Notes | ||
1979–1982 | Not the Nine O'Clock News | No | Yes | No | |
1983–1989 | Blackadder | Yes | Yes | No | Co-created by Rowan Atkinson |
1984–1985 | Spitting Image | No | Yes | No | |
1990–1995 | Mr. Bean | Yes | Yes | No | Co-created by Rowan Atkinson |
1994–2007 | The Vicar of Dibley | No | Yes | Yes | |
1999–2007 | Robbie the Reindeer | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2007 | Casualty | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Sweet Charity" |
2008–2009 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Yes | Yes | Yes | Co-created by Anthony Minghella; wrote pilot episode with Minghella |
2010 | Doctor Who | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Vincent and the Doctor" |
Television movies
Year | Title | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Writer | Executive producer | Notes | ||
1991 | Bernard and the Genie | Yes | No | |
1999 | Blackadder: Back & Forth | Yes | No | Television short |
2005 | The Girl in the Café | Yes | Yes | |
2013 | Mary and Martha | Yes | No | |
2015 | Roald Dahl's Esio Trot
|
Yes | Yes | |
2017 | Red Nose Day Actually | Yes | No | Television short Also co-director with Matt Whitecross |
2019 | One Red Nose Day and a Wedding | Yes | No | Television short |
Radio programmes
Year | Title | |
---|---|---|
Writer | ||
1979 | The Atkinson People | Yes |
Charity telethons
Year | Title | ||
---|---|---|---|
Founder | Creator | ||
1985–present | Comic Relief | Yes | Yes |
Songs
Year | Title | ||
---|---|---|---|
Writer | Notes | ||
1980 | "Meaningless Songs (In Very High Voices)" | Yes | Co-written by Philip Pope and performed by The Hee Bee Gee Bees |
Awards and accolades
See also
- Comic Relief
- Live 8
- Skinhead Hamlet
References
- ^ "Richard Curtis". TV.com. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- ^ "Richard Curtis – Academy Fellow in 2007". Bafta.org. Retrieved 7 April 2013
- ^ "Comic Relief raises £1bn over 30-year existence". BBC News Online. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "Richard Curtis is king of the 'Hill'". Variety. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "The A-Z of laughter (part one)". The Observer. 7 December 2003. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
- ^ "The 100 most powerful people in British culture". The Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2016.
- ^ "New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake's 80th birthday". The Guardian. 2 April 2012.
- ^ Richard Curtis Biography (1956–)
- ^ "Emma Freud tells her Dad's refugee story". YouTube. 11 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021.
- ^ "How Blackadder changed the history of television comedy". The Independent. 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Lovely memories of life with the Curtis family". Warrington Guardian. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Curtis, Richard (27 March 2015). "James Morwood by Richard Curtis". The Times Educational Supplement. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ Radio Picks, The Guardian, 31 January 2007
- ^ "Spitting Image plans ITV return". BBC News. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ BAFTA Guru. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ "The best Christmas movies on Netflix UK". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ Tapper, Jake; Berryman, Kim (20 December 2013). "Is 'Love Actually" a new Christmas classic?". CNN. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Bat For Lashes' latest record is the soundtrack to an imaginary 1980s vampire movie". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- BAFTA. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
- ^ Thomas, Archie (18 May 2007). "British acad to honor Curtis – Scribe wrote 'Vicar of Dibley,' 'Girl in the Cafe'". Variety. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ^ Freer, Ian (December 2011), "Spielberg Special Part Two: War Horse" (PDF), Empire, pp. 100–106, retrieved 15 October 2012
- ^ Oliver Lyttelton (19 January 2012). "'Four Weddings' & 'Love Actually' Mastermind Richard Curtis – The Playlist". The Playlist. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "It's 'About Time' For Rachel McAdams & Richard Curtis; Actress Lines Up Anton Corbijn's 'A Most Wanted Man' | The Playlist". Blogs.indiewire.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ "Richard Curtis Delivers his BAFTA Screenwriters' Lecture". BAFTA. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ Child, Ben (6 April 2011). "Stephen Daldry and Richard Curtis pick up Trash". The Guardian. London.
- ^ a b "Esio Trot review – Dench sparkles, Hoffman is perfect; World's Strongest Man". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Irish director Dearbhla Walsh to direct Roald Dahl film". BBC News. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ a b "How One 'Yesterday' Screenwriter's Dream Became A Nightmare". UPROXX. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ "Lily James in Talks to Star in Danny Boyle Comedy (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ Hayes, Dade (14 March 2019). "Tribeca Slots Danny Boyle's 'Yesterday' As Closing-Night Film, Galas For Trey Anastasio Doc, 'Apocalypse Now,' 'Say Anything …'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Curtis, Richard (24 April 2005). "Place your cross for Africa's Aids orphans _ Global development". The Observer. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ Mathiason, Nick (9 February 2010). "Richard Curtis and Bill Nighy team up in new film urging Tobin tax on bankers". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfonso Cuaron, Maggie Smith Back U.K. Press Regulation". Hollywoodreporter.com. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ Ian Burrell (18 March 2014). "Campaign group Hacked Off urge newspaper industry to back the Royal Charter on press freedom". The Independent. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ "Richard Curtis launches Make My Money Matter to promote ethical pensions". Unbiased. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Make My Money Matter – The pressure increases on banks". The Finanser. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ISBN 978-0241513514.
- ^ "Make YOUR Money Matter: Richard Curtis, War and Peas & friends". Rewriting Extinction. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Vaughan, Adam (7 October 2010). "No Pressure: the fall-out from Richard Curtis's explosive climate film". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ^ "'Speech' stammer spoof under fire". Toronto Sun. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (27 March 2005). "The producer". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 8 October 2007.
- ^ "TV & Radio Presenter Emma Freud". BBC. Archived from the original on 4 June 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Londoner's Diary: Bernard Jenkin bites at old rival Richard Curtis". Evening Standard. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ Curtis, Richard (29 June 2007). "Charity Balls: Laurie Taylor Interviews Richard Curtis". New Humanist (Interview). Interviewed by Laurie Taylor. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
External links
- Richard Curtis at IMDb
- BBC Comedy Guide entry
- Richard Curtis interview at the Latitude Festival, BAFTAwebcast, July 2007
- Interview with Richard Curtis by Laurie Taylor in New Humanist magazine
- Stars pay tribute to Richard Curtis in a BAFTAvideo
- No Pressure on YouTube