Richard Curtis working on new Christmas movie after Love Actually's 'non-PC' backlash

16 December 2022, 13:16

Richard Curtis is confirmed to be writing a new film after saying he feels 'uncomfortable' with Christmas film Love Actually's 'lack of diversity'.

Comedy screenwriter Richard Curtis is creating a new Christmas movie, Deadline has confirmed.

The famous writer and producer, responsible for Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and About Time, is working on a new Christmas picture starring comedy actress, Melissa McCarthy.

The film is reportedly a fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who becomes estranged from his family and engages the help of a genie to help win them back before Christmas.

The news comes just a few weeks after Richard Curtis admitted in an interview that one of his best-know movies, Love Actually now feels 'out of date' and its lack of diversity makes him feel 'a bit stupid'.

"There are things you'd change, but thank god, society is, you know, changing. So, my film is bound, in some moments, to feel, you know, out of date," he said on the ABC special The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later.

• Hugh Grant recalls his hatred of learning the Love Actually dance: "It was hell"
• Ed Sheeran does Love Actually to tease his Elton John Christmas duet single
• Love Actually: Where are the cast now?

"I mean, there are things about the film, you know, the lack of diversity makes me feel uncomfortable and a bit stupid," he said.

"I think the 20 years shows what a youthful optimist I probably was when I wrote it," Curtis added.

Richard Curtis' comments prompted Love Actually star Martine McCutcheon to come out defending the movie, saying Christmas film's 'non-PC' aspects are 'part of its charm'.

Speaking to MailOnline, McCutcheon said the film's differences are what continues to draw audiences 'all these years later.'

• Love Actually star Keira Knightley says she knows who Juliet really chose
• Love Actually: Martine McCutcheon says Christmas film's 'non-PC' aspects are 'part of its charm'
• Four Weddings and a Funeral cast then and now: Catching up with Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell and the rest

“I think, honestly, it was 20 years ago, and the world has changed a lot, but I also think that part of the charm of the film was the fact that some of the love stories and the characters weren’t perfect,” she said.

“They admitted – or we saw – their flaws [and] their insecurities, whether they were real or they weren’t. That’s what made it so human", adding: “For me, part of the reason that I love the film is because it was so honest and it wasn’t about ticking too many boxes and being PC."

"The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later – A Diane Sawyer Special"

“Obviously if it was done now I have no doubt that they might do it differently," she said.

"But I still absolutely love the film and the charm of it and its message that ultimately love can be complicated and messy and not perfect."

The title of Richard Curtis' new Christmas film is yet to be revealed as it is believed the movie is still in its early stages of production.