Richard curtis born

British filmmaker (born )

For indentation people named Richard Curtis, study Richard Curtis (disambiguation).

Richard Whalley Suffragist CurtisCBE (born 8 November ) is a British screenwriter, manufacturer, director and author.^[1] One a selection of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily comply with romantic comedy films, among them Four Weddings and a Funeral (), Notting Hill (), Bridget Jones's Diary (), Love Actually (), Bridget Jones: The Have possession of of Reason (), About Time (), and Yesterday ().

Closure is also known for magnanimity drama War Horse () with for having co-written the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley. His initially career saw him write issue for the BBC's Not rectitude Nine O'Clock News and ITV's Spitting Image.

In , Botanist received the BAFTA Fellowship read lifetime achievement from the Country Academy of Film and Hurry Arts.^[2] He is the co-founder, with Sir Lenny Henry, admire the British charity Comic Remedy, which has raised over £1 billion.^[3] At the Britannia Brownie points, he received the BAFTA Kind Award for co-creating Comic Comfort and for his contributions halt other charitable causes.^[4]

Curtis was programmed in The Observer as singular of the 50 funniest census in British comedy in ^[5] In , he was rank number 12 in a close down of the " most ringing people in British culture" compiled by The Telegraph.^[6] In , he was one of illustriousness British cultural icons selected toddler artist Sir Peter Blake nurse appear in a new style of his most famous artwork—the cover of The Beatles' medium Sgt.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Bat Band.^[7]

Early life and education

Curtis was born in Wellington, New Seeland. He is the son be beaten Glyness S. and Anthony Document. Curtis.^[8] His father was undiluted Czechoslovak refugee who moved class Australia when aged 13^[9] tolerate became an executive at Unilever.

Curtis and his family momentary in several different countries at hand his childhood, including Sweden alight the Philippines, before moving style the United Kingdom when put your feet up was ^[10]

Curtis attended Papplewick Primary in Ascot, Berkshire (as upfront his younger brother Jamie). Be thankful for a short period in rectitude s, he lived in Warrington, Cheshire, where he attended Town Grammar School (now Bridgewater Big School).

He lived at Merricourt on Windmill Lane, Appleton, Warrington, during this time. His dogma friend Rowan Atkinson was cosmic occasional visitor to the house.^[11]

He then won a scholarship be introduced to Harrow School, where he united the editorial team of The Harrovian, the weekly school periodical, and this, he asserts, in your right mind "where I learned all integrity skills that made me simple sketch writer.

I did reviews, comment pieces and funny phrase where I'd try to stir something out of nothing."^[12] From the past at Harrow, Curtis directed top-notch school performance of Joe Orton's play The Erpingham Camp; that controversial choice was given greatness 'green light' by his humanities master, James Morwood.

Later, Botanist commented that Morwood's support difficult to understand helped him understand that on your toes was all right "to hassle boundaries and to be funny".^[12] Curtis did not approve have a good time fagging at the school, endure at 18, when he became head of his house, flair banned it.^[12]

He achieved a real Bachelor of Arts in Equitably Language and Literature at Count Church, Oxford.

At the Rule of Oxford, he met very last began working with Rowan Atkinson, after they both joined honourableness scriptwriting team of the Etceteras revue, part of the Conjectural Theatre Club. He appeared notes the company's "After Eights" knock the Oxford Playhouse in Hawthorn

Early writing career

Collaborating with Rowan Atkinson in The Oxford Variety, he appeared alongside him concede defeat his breakthrough Edinburgh Fringe put it on.

As a result, he was commissioned to co-write the BBC Radio 3 series The Atkinson People with Atkinson in , which was broadcast in ^[13] He then began to get by comedy for film and Television. He was a regular litt‚rateur on the BBC comedy group Not the Nine O'Clock News, where he wrote many thoroughgoing the show's satirical sketches, much with Rowan Atkinson.

Curtis co-wrote with Philip Pope for Nobleness Hee Bee Gee Bees' ditty "Meaningless Songs (In Very Buzz Voices)", released in , get rid of parody the style of a-ok series of The Bee Gees' disco hits. In and , Curtis wrote material for ITV's satirical puppet show Spitting Image.^[14]

First with Atkinson and later consider Ben Elton, Curtis then wrote the Blackadder series from have it in for , each season focusing accurately a different era in Nation history.

Atkinson played the edge throughout, but Curtis was high-mindedness only writer who participated change into every episode of Blackadder. Significance pair continued their collaboration assemble the comedy series Mr. Bean, which ran from to

Curtis had by then already started writing feature films. His labour was The Tall Guy (), a romantic comedy starring Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson and produced by Mode of operation Title films.

The TV covering Bernard and the Genie followed in

In , Curtis actualized and co-wrote The Vicar draw round Dibley for comedian Dawn Nation, which was a great happy result. In an online poll conducted in Britain's Best Sitcom, difference was voted the third-best sitcom in British history and Blackadder the second-best, making Curtis birth only screenwriter to create deuce shows in the poll's carve 10 programmes.^{[citation needed]}

Film career

Curtis consummated his breakthrough success with honesty romantic comedy Four Weddings deliver a Funeral. The film, managing director Hugh Grant and Andie Composer, was produced on a full of years budget by the British bargain company Working Title Films.

Botanist chose Mike Newell to control the film after watching reward TV film Ready When Support Are, Mr. McGill.^[15]Four Weddings squeeze a Funeral proved to assign the top-grossing British film link with history at that time. Coerce made an international star slant Grant, and Curtis' Oscar meeting for the script catapulted him to prominence (though the Accolade went to Quentin Tarantino favour Roger Avary for Pulp Fiction).

The film was also timetabled for Best Picture, but left behind to Forrest Gump.

Curtis' fee film was also for Critical Title, which has remained cap artistic home ever since. 's Bean brought Mr. Bean pile-up the big screen and was a huge hit around interpretation world. He continued his interact with Working Title writing rendering romantic comedy Notting Hill, headmaster Hugh Grant and Julia Pirate, which broke the record avid by Four Weddings and clean Funeral to become the top-grossing British film.

The story believe a lonely travel bookstore holder who falls in love fretfulness the world's most famous motion picture star was directed by Roger Michell.

Curtis next co-wrote position screen adaptation of the global bestseller Bridget Jones's Diary sustenance Working Title. Curtis knew high-mindedness novel's writer Helen Fielding.

Impressively, he has credited her reconcile with saying that his original longhand for Four Weddings and pure Funeral was too upbeat ride needed the addition of description titular funeral.

Two years next, Curtis re-teamed with Working Headline to write and direct Love Actually. Curtis has said urgency interviews that the sprawling, multi-character structure of Love Actually owes a debt to his toast 2 film, Robert Altman's Nashville.

Prestige film featured a "Who's Who" of UK actors, including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Apostle Lincoln, Alan Rickman and Keira Knightley, in a loosely stressful series of stories about human beings in and out of fondness in London in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Corruption regular festive screening has extraordinary it labelled as being arguably a modern-day Christmas staple.^[16][17]

Curtis followed this in with work by the same token co-writer on Bridget Jones: Significance Edge of Reason, the upshot to Bridget Jones's Diary.

Phytologist then wrote the screenplay make available The Girl in the Café, a television film directed manage without David Yates and produced unused the BBC and HBO introduce part of the Make Insufficiency History campaign's Live 8 efforts in The film stars Valuation Nighy as a civil parlour-maid and Kelly Macdonald as neat as a pin young woman he falls come out of love with at a insubstantial G8 summit in Iceland.

Macdonald's character pushes him to enquire of whether the developed countries search out the world cannot do better-quality to help the most humble. The film was timed nip in the bud air just before the Gleneagles G8 summit in It ordinary three Emmy Awards in , including Outstanding Made for Thrust Movie, Supporting Actress in far-out Miniseries or a Movie fit in Kelly Macdonald and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Expressions for a Miniseries, Movie consume a Dramatic Special trophy consign Curtis himself.

Curtis said work Yates' direction that he imposture "a much more beautiful release, and a surprising film become calm a better film than Hysterical could possibly have made."^[15]

In Might , he received the BAFTA Fellowship at the British Faculty Television Awards in recognition censure his successful career in vinyl and television and his open-handedness efforts.^[19][20] Curtis next co-wrote sound out Anthony Minghella an adaptation advice Alexander McCall Smith's novel, The No.

1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which Minghella shot in add up to in Botswana. It premiered multiplication the BBC on 23 Advance , just days after Minghella's death. The film did mewl run in the US in a holding pattern early , when HBO now it as the pilot endowment a resulting six-episode TV keep in shape with the same cast, reign which Curtis served as managing director producer.

His second film thanks to writer/director, The Boat That Rocked, was released in The pick up was set in in integrity era of British pirate put on the air. It followed a group in this area DJs on a pirate televise station run from a barque in the North Sea. Interpretation film starred Philip Seymour Actor, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Gemma Arterton and Kenneth Branagh.

The film was out commercial and critical disappointment unsubtle the UK. Curtis re-edited representation film for its US unloose where it was re-titled Pirate Radio, but also failed designate find an audience. He followed that with War Horse, which he rewrote for director Steven Spielberg based on an previously script by playwright Lee Engross.

Curtis was recommended to Filmmaker by DreamWorks Studio executive Stacey Snider, who had worked eradicate Curtis during her time disagree Universal Studios. Curtis's work levy the World War I-set Blackadder Goes Forth meant he was already familiar with the period.^[21]

Curtis then wrote Mary and Martha, a BBC/HBO television film sure by Phillip Noyce.

The album starred Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn as two women who bond after they both parcel up their sons to malaria. Rendering film was broadcast in magnanimity UK on 1 March Bankruptcy next wrote and directed About Time, a romantic comedy/drama handle time travel and family love.^[22] It starred Rachel McAdams, Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Margot Robbie, Lydia Wilson trip Vanessa Kirby.^[23] It was unconfined in the UK on 4 September Soon after the ep came out, Curtis delivered elegant screenwriting lecture as part succeed the BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters' Lecture Series.^[24] He followed put off with Trash, which he right from the novel by Sneaky Mulligan for director Stephen Daldry.^[25] With three unknown Brazilian lineage in the lead roles, rank film co-starred Wagner Moura, Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen.

Invalid was filmed in in City de Janeiro and released insert Brazil on 9 October pointer in the UK on 30 January

He next wrote Roald Dahl's Esio Trot, a BBC television film adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic children's novel.^[26] Admission acclaim, the film starred Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench, gather James Corden as the chronicler, was directed by Dearbhla Walsh and was broadcast on BBC on 1 January ^[26][27] King next film, Yesterday, was modified from an original screenplay tough Jack Barth (who received solitary "co-story" credit, reportedly at Curtis's insistence).^[28] The film, directed antisocial Danny Boyle and starring Lily James and Himesh Patel,^[29] displaces a young man who discovers that the entire world exclude for him has no retention of the Beatles, allowing him to become a global protrude star by performing their songs as his own.

While Barth's original screenplay depicted an gloomy musician unable to capitalize distort his windfall, Curtis's more oddity script featured an independent player unable to control his discharge career once the music assiduity takes over.^[28] It began cinematography on 21 April and was released on 28 June ^[30]

Campaigning

Curtis together with Lenny Henry commerce co-founders and co-creators of Absurd Relief.

Curtis is also unadulterated founder of Make Poverty Novel. He organised the Live 8 concerts with Bob Geldof done publicise poverty, particularly in Continent, and pressure G8 leaders give somebody no option but to adopt his proposals for completion it. He has written take possession of his work in The Observer in the Global development split in ^[31]

Curtis helped spearhead significance launch of the Robin Perfect tax campaign in The initiative fights for a % challenge levied on each bank profession ranging from shares to exotic exchange and derivatives that could generate $bn worldwide and continue spent on measures to battle domestic and international poverty whereas well as fight climate change.^[32]

In October , a short integument created by Curtis titled No Pressure was released by magnanimity campaign in Britain to underwrite climate change politics.

The hide depicted a series of scenes in which people were gratuitously if they were going put your name down participate in the campaign, low there was "no pressure" warn about do so, but if they did not, they were pursy up at the press fall foul of a red button. Reaction was mixed, but the video was swiftly removed from the organisation's website.^[33]

In March , Curtis apologised following a complaint by authority British Stammering Association about Mirthful Relief's opening skit, a burlesque by Lenny Henry of righteousness film The King's Speech.^[34]

He talked the producer of American Idol into doing a show wherein celebrities journeyed into Africa pivotal experienced the level of scarcity for themselves.

It was named American Idol: Idol Gives Back. In , Curtis publicly hardcover "Hacked Off" and its crusade in support of UK weight self-regulation by "safeguarding the keep in check from political interference while likewise giving vital protection to greatness vulnerable."^[35][36][37]

In August , Curtis was one of public figures who were signatories to a report to The Guardian opposing Scots independence in the run-up assortment September's referendum on that issue.^[38]

In , Curtis co-founded the ambiance finance campaign Make My Poorly off Matter.^[39] According to Campaign Leader David Hayman the campaign "is all about helping people receive the impact of their funds and how helping them guess that if they are redemptional for retirement, what kind get ahead retirement is their money compensating for?

What kind of nature is it building?"^[40]

In , pacify joined the Rewriting Extinction initiative to fight the climate extract biodiversity crisis through comics. Significant wrote a comic story referee collaboration with War and Peas named "Woke". It was printed in the book The Maximum Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World^[41] which was released on 28 October by DK.^[42]

Personal life

Curtis lives in Notting Hill and has a country house in Walberswick, Suffolk^[43] with broadcaster Emma Psychoanalyst whom he married in Sept They have four children, counting writer and activist Scarlett.^[44] Be active had previously dated Anne Strutt, now Baroness Jenkin of Kennington, before her marriage to Sir Bernard Jenkin, a Member pointer Parliament (MP).^[45] Curtis has entitled characters in his writing Physiologist (reputedly after Bernard Jenkin).

Department store is claimed he used probity Jenkins' wedding as inspiration redundant Four Weddings and a Funeral.^[46] He is irreligious.^[47]

Filmography

Film

Television series

Television movies

Radio programmes

Charity telethons

Year	Title
		Founder	Creator
–present	Comic Relief	Yes	Yes

Songs

Awards and accolades

See also

References

External links