Richard Curtis has reunited with the cast of his 2003 romantic comedy hit "Love Actually" for a special short film being produced for U.K. charity Comic Relief.
The short, titled "Red Nose Day Actually," sees stars including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson and Bill Nighy reprise the characters they played in the Working Title hit, released in most markets by Universal, which grossed nearly $250 million worldwide.
"Over the years I’ve enjoyed doing "Red Nose Day" specials of TV things I’ve worked on," said Curtis, who co-founded Comic Relief in 1985 alongside comedian and actor Lenny Henry. "It seemed like a fun idea this year to do a special sketch based one of my films, since Red Nose Day is now in both the U.K. and America."
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Currently in production the short explores what the film’s characters are up to in 2017. Also returning to their original roles are Martine McCutcheon, Andrew Lincoln, Lucia Moniz, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Olivia Olson, Marcus Brigstocke, and Rowan Atkinson. Notable absences include Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The original film also co-starred the late Alan Rickman who died in January 2016.
"I would never have dreamt of writing a sequel to "Love Actually," but I thought it might be fun to do 10 minutes to see what everyone is now up to," added Curtis. "We’ve been delighted and grateful that so many of the cast are around and able to take part and it’ll certainly be a nostalgic moment getting back together and recreating their characters 14 years later."
The U.K. premiere of "Love Actually" in November 2003 was held in aid of Comic Relief. The short film will screen as part of Comic Relief’s "Red Nose Day 2017" charity telethon on March 24 on BBC One.
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