Notting Hill (1999)

The life of a simple bookshop owner changes when he meets the most famous film star in the world.

Director:

Roger Michell

Writer:

Richard Curtis

Stars:

Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Richard McCabe

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia Roberts	...	Anna Scott
Hugh Grant	...	William Thacker
Richard McCabe	...	Tony
Rhys Ifans	...	Spike
James Dreyfus	...	Martin
Dylan Moran	...	Rufus the Thief
Roger Frost	...	Annoying Customer
Henry Goodman	...	Ritz Concierge
Julian Rhind-Tutt	...	'Time Out' Journalist
Lorelei King	...	Anna's Publicist
John Shrapnel	...	PR Chief
Clarke Peters	...	'Helix' Lead Actor
Arturo Venegas	...	Foreign Actor
Yolanda Vazquez	...	Interpreter
Mischa Barton	...	12-year-old Actress

Storyline

Every man's dream comes true for William Thacker, an unsuccessful Notting Hill bookstore owner, when Anna Scott, the world's most beautiful woman and best-liked actress, enters his shop. A little later, he still can't believe it himself, William runs into her again - this time spilling orange juice over her. Anna accepts his offer to change in his nearby apartment, and thanks him with a kiss, which seems to surprise her even more than him. Eventually, Anna and William get to know each other better over the months, but being together with the world's most wanted woman is not easy - neither around your closest friends, nor in front of the all-devouring press.

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Plot Keywords:

fake reporter | paparazzi | male butt clench | released in 1999 on usa | friend | 

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Taglines:

Can the most famous film star in the world fall for just an ordinary guy?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and brief strong language

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

28 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Coup de foudre à Notting Hill

Filming Locations:

280 Westbourne Park Road, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£152,532 (United Kingdom), 23 May 1999, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,689,760, 30 May 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$116,089,678

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$363,889,678

Company Credits

Production Co:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films, Bookshop Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The casting of Hugh Bonneville, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee, Emma Chambers, and Rhys Ifans as Will's friends was "rather like assembling a family". Roger Michell explained that "When you are casting a cabal of friends, you have to cast a balance of qualities, of types and of sensibilities. They were the jigsaw that had to be put together all in one go, and I think we've got a very good variety of people who can realistically still live in the same world."

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Goofs

Just after Anna and William have collided in the street, the camera operator is clearly visible reflected in Anna's sunglasses for one shot.

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Quotes

Anna Scott: What's so annoying is now I'm so totally fierce when it comes to nudity clauses.
William: You have clauses in your contract?
Anna Scott: Yeah. "you may show the dent at the top of the artist's buttocks, but neither cheek or if a stunt bottom is being used, artists must have full consultation".
William: You have a stunt bottom?
Anna Scott: I *could* have a stunt bottom, yes.
William: Are people tempted to go for better bottoms than their own?
Anna Scott: Well yeah, I would. This is important stuff.
William: Hell of a thing to put on your passport, Occupation "Mel ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The coloured dots and symbols pop up in time with the music (And when the word 'heart' is sung, a litte red heart appears)

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Connections

Referenced in The Middle: Please Don't Feed the Hecks (2017)

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Soundtracks

SHE
Written by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer
Performed by Elvis Costello
Courtesy of Mercury Records

User Reviews

Cute but Empty

Julia Roberts playing a famous American movie star wasn't quite a stretch and yet it felt unconvincing. The humor works the second you're seeing it but then it vanishes into thin air. It feels self conscious and forced. Once all that is said, "Notting Hill" emerges as a pleasant enough improbable romantic comedy in the "Four Weddings And A Funeral" mold without ever reaching the smart, disarming charm of its model. Hugh Grant is lovely in a part destined to seem Hugh Grantish with all the clipped bit of nonsense that have made Grant a household name. The quirky friends and bizarre room mates are the questionable salt and pepper of this romantic tale. I found myself smiling, getting impatient and enjoying it, all at the same time. I'm too much of a Preston Sturgess fan to be able to sit through a modern comedy in the way I did with "The Lady Eve" for instance. My favorite moment: The Horse and Hound sequence. Very funny. If you've never seen a Preston Sturgess, Ernst Lubitch or Billy Wilder comedy, you may like "Notting Hill" much more than I did.