Writer-director Richard Curtis has admitted that the lack of diversity in his 2003 film Love Actually makes him feel “uncomfortable and a bit stupid”.
For a special programme to celebrate 20 years since the release of the much-loved Christmas-themed romantic comedy film, the cast sat down with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer where Curtis told the host that the lack of diversity in his iconic holiday-season film makes him uneasy.
During the new one-hour special called The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later, Sawyer asked Curtis if anything from Love Actually makes him “wince” in retrospect.
“There are things that you would change but thank God society is changing. My film is bound in some moments to feel out of date. The lack of diversity makes me feel uncomfortable and a bit stupid,” said the filmmaker.
Curtis went on to say that the love he sees people share in real life makes him “wish my film was better”. “There is such extraordinary love that goes on every minute in so many ways (in life), all the way around the world, and makes me wish my film was better. It makes me wish I had made a documentary just to kind of observe it,” he added.
Love Actually boasts an ensemble cast of primarily London-based all heterosexual characters, whose lives intertwine in various ways in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The film starred Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Martin Freeman, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Laura Linney, and Colin Firth.
The film has faced criticism since its release, primarily because of the lack of diversity Curtis mentioned. Despite a mixed critical response, the film was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and Bill Nighy won a Bafta for his role as Billy Mack.
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