Fans of classic romantic comedy Notting Hill will be thanking Julia Roberts for shutting down one particular sequel idea.
In a new interview with IndieWire, screenwriter Richard Curtis was asked whether he considered making sequels to any of his beloved movies. "I don't think so," he responded, before referencing some of the short comedic sequels he made for charity events Red Nose Day and Comic Relief. "We did those mini sequels to Love Actually and those satisfied me," he explained.
Although Curtis had wanted to revisit Notting Hill in its own mini sequel, the film's star, Julia Roberts, apparently vetoed the idea. Notting Hill, of course, follows the unlikely romance between Hollywood actress Anna Scott (Roberts) and British bookstore owner William Thacker (Hugh Grant). Spoiler alert, the movie ends with the pair married and pregnant, reading on an idyllic park bench in London.
Discussing his idea for a follow-up, Curtis told the outlet, "I tried doing one with Notting Hill where they were going to get divorced and Julia [Roberts] thought that was a very poor idea." Fans of the film are likely to agree that breaking up Anna and Will would be pretty devastating.
While Roberts wasn't on board with a Notting Hill sequel, Grant previously suggested he would return to show that any so-called "happy ending" was a lie.
While promoting his HBO series The Undoing, Grant explained (via Huffington Post), "I would like to do a sequel to one of my own romantic comedies that shows what happened after those films ended. Really, to prove the terrible lie that they all were, that it was a happy ending."
As for how he'd revisit Notting Hill in particular, the actor said, "I'd like to do me and Julia and the hideous divorce that's ensued with really expensive lawyers, children involved in [a] tug of love, floods of tears. Psychologically scarred for ever. I'd love to do that film."
Grant also reflected on his role in Notting Hill during a Nov. 14 video interview with 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?'" the actor said.
Grant continued, "There's a scene in this film where [Julia Roberts' character] is in my house and the paps come to the front door and ring the bell, and I think I just let her go past me and open the door, and that's awful." Grant has also received a lot of feedback about the movie moment, explaining, "I've never had a girlfriend, or indeed, now wife, who hasn't said, 'Why the hell didn't you stop her? What’s wrong with you?' And I don't really have an answer to that." Ultimately, Grant simply thinks his Notting Hill character is "despicable, really."
