Love Actually writer-director Richard Curtis says he feels "a bit stupid" over the lack of diversity among the Christmas movie's cast.
While appearing on the film's 20th anniversary special on ABC News, Curtis said he's glad "society is changing". and that while it's expected a title he made in 2003 would "feel out of date" in moments, the fact that it's a predominantly white production still "makes [him] feel uncomfortable".
"There are things you'd change," he admitted to The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later host Diane Sawyer (via Entertainment Weekly), before going on to acknowledge the fact that many of the romantic storylines had complicated power dynamics at play, too. "You know, I think there are sort of three plots that have sort of bosses and people who work for them."
Elsewhere in the programme, which also features interviews with actors Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Laura Linney, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Olivia Olson, Hugh Grant, who plays prime minister David in the beloved flick, joked that even though the film "is a bit psychotic" in places, Curtis made it with good intentions.
"The thing is with him, what you have to remember is when he writes about love, he means it," the Notting Hill actor said. "That is quite rare. It comes from the heart – it's true. I did drunkenly watch a bit of Love Actually a few months ago with my wife, and she was the one who said, 'Oh look, it's all about pain; it's all about suffering.'"
The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later aired on ABC on November 29. As it stands, it has not yet announced a UK release date, but there's every chance it might eventually make its way to Disney Plus once it lands on Hulu as planned in the US. For more festive fun, check out our list of the best Christmas movies of all time.
