Why Julia Roberts said no to 'Notting Hill' sequel
Julia Roberts, the protagonist of the 1999 cult romantic comedy Notting Hill, reportedly rejected a proposed sequel because of its divorce-centric storyline. The revelation was made by Richard Curtis, the film's writer, in a recent interview with IndieWire. "I tried doing one with Notting Hill where they were going to get divorced and Julia [Roberts] thought that was a very poor idea," Curtis disclosed.
'Notting Hill' sequel idea emerged amid 25th anniversary celebrations
The idea for a Notting Hill sequel came to the fore as the film celebrated its 25th anniversary in May. The original story, written by Curtis and directed by Roger Michell, revolved around an American actor Anna Scott (Roberts) who falls in love with London bookstore owner William Thacker (Hugh Grant). Despite initial challenges with media scrutiny of their relationship, Thacker eventually declares his love for Scott at a press conference before she leaves for the US.
Grant and Curtis expressed dissatisfaction with 'Notting Hill'
Recently, Grant also revealed his disappointment with his character in Notting Hill. He told Vanity Fair, "Whenever I'm flicking the channels at home after a few drinks and this comes up, I just think, 'Why doesn't my character have any balls?'" Curtis has previously slammed Notting Hill and other hit rom-coms he wrote like Love Actually (2003) and Bridget Jones's Diary (2001).
Curtis acknowledged lack of diversity in his films
Curtis has previously admitted that his films, including Notting Hill, lack diversity. At the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival last year, he confessed, "I came from a very un-diverse school and a bunch of university friends. With Notting Hill, I hung on to the diversity issue, to the feeling that I wouldn't know how to write those parts." "And I think I was just sort of stupid and wrong about that." Watch Notting Hill on Netflix and JioCinema.
