ALove Actuallysequel is happening! Well, sorta. Writer/directorRichard Curtisand almost the entire main cast of this modern Christmas classic are coming together again to make a sequel short film,Red Nose Day Actually, to air during Comic Relief’sRed Nose Day Special—a charity event that helps to raise money and awareness for children living in poverty in America and around the world. So, who’s back? You might be surprised:Colin Firth,Keira Knightley,Hugh Grant,Liam Neeson,Andrew Lincoln,Bill Nighy,Rowan Atkinson,Martine McCutcheon,Lucia Moniz,Thomas Brodie-Sangster,Olivia Olson, andMarcus Brigstockeare all reprising their characters in this sequel short film.
That’s actually a formidable chunk of theLove Actuallycast, withChiwetel EjioforandEmma Thompsonbeing the biggest omissions. Tragically,Alan Rickmanis no longer with us, so perhaps Curtis and/or Thompson felt that storyline was best left untouched. Although with Ejiofor not back, one wonders if the totally inappropriate sign message from Lincoln’s character paid off.
Curtis—who most recently wrote and directed the terrificAbout Time—explained his desire to do aLove Actuallysequel in this format:
“Over the years I’ve enjoyed doing Red Nose Day specials of TV things I’ve worked on –Blackadder,The Vicar of DibleyandMr Bean. 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 UK and America. I would never have dreamt of writing a sequel toLove Actually, but I thought it might be fun to do 10 minutes to see what everyone is now up to. Who has aged best? - I guess that’s the big question… or is it so obviously Liam? 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. We hope to make something that’ll be fun - very much in the spirit of the original film and of Red Nose Day - and which we hope will help bring lots of viewers and cash to the Red Nose Day shows.”
The short film sequelRed Nose Day Actuallywill air as part of theRed Nose Day Specialon May 25th on NBC, and also as part of Red Nose Day in the U.K. on March 24th on BBC1—which means it’ll probably hit the internet around that time.
As an unabashed fan of Curtis’ work andLove Actuallyin particular I find this news mighty exciting, and it’ll be fun to see what these characters are up to (and how Lincoln’sWalking Deadbeard factors in). And for a great cause no less! For more on Red Nose Day visitrednoseday.org.
