“Love Actually” has become a staple of the holiday season. Nearly 20 years on, the movie has faced scrutiny over its story lines and lack of diversity. Most of the leading cast is White and all the relationships depicted are heterosexual. Writer and director Richard Curtis was speaking to Diane Sawyer as part of a documentary on ABC News titled: “The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later” The movie features an impressive number of big names from the entertainment industry, with Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Martin Freeman, Laura Linney, Martine McCutcheon, Rowan Atkinson and Thomas Brodie-Sangster all appearing at some point. “Four Weddings and a Funeral” was released in 1994 and notably portrayed a same-sex relationship between Matthew, played by John Hannah, and Gareth, playing by Simon Callow. “I’ve had people coming up to me saying ‘it got me through my chemotherapy,” or ‘It got methrough my divorce,’ or “I watch it whenever I’m alone,” NighY said in the ABC News documentary. “Because I think that we forget, time and time again we Forget, that love is all that matters,” Thompson said in a separate interview with ABC News earlier this week. “I so do,” she added. “It’s amazing the way it’s entered the language,” Nghy said. “People do, and people have ‘Love Actually’ parties,” he said. ‘Love Actually,” by Richard Curtis, is out on DVD and Blu-ray on November 25. For more information, visit www.loveactually.com. The film is available on Blu-Ray, DVD and digital download for the first time in the UK on November 26. For the U.S. release, go to www.amazon.com/Love Actually, or call the UK office on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local branch of the British Embassy in London, or visit the British consulate in London on the same day on the following day. For a limited time only, you can buy a copy of the film for £7.99 on Amazon.com or the UK version for £6.99, or you can get a copy for £8.99 at the UK branch of Amazon.co.uk. For confidential support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 0800 555 111. For support in the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. For confidential help in the Middle East, call the Samaritans on 08457 909090 or visit the British Embassy on the same day, or the UK branch on the following day on November 29.
The director of “Love Actually” says he feels “a bit stupid” about the lack of diversity in the movie.
