Context
Notting Hill was well received by critics, and charted well at the box office, becoming the highest grossing British film yet released.
The Film is a Romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant as key characters alongside others stars such as Rhys Ifans, Emma Chambers, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee and Hugh Bonneville.
Bookshop owner William Thacker's world begins to turn upside down after the world's most famous actress, Anna Scott, visits his store. A few minutes later, Will knocks into Anna on the street and spills his orange juice over her. He offers her his place to change, and from there Anna and William get to know each other better, but being together with the world's most wanted woman is not easy, especially from the press!
Production
The main companies involved in making this film were Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films, Bookshop Productions and Notting Hill Pictures.
The screenplay was written by Richard Curtis who had previously written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy whose producer credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Lawn Dogs, and Love Actually, and directed by Roger Michell.
The film stars Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, Rhys Ifans, Emma Chambers, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee and Hugh Bonneville.
The film also won the audience award for most popular film at the BAFTAs in 2000 and was nominated in the categories of The Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the year, and Best Performance by and Actor in a supporting role for Rhys Ifans. In addition Notting hill won Best Comedy Film at the British Comedy Awards. The films soundtrack won Best soundtrack at the Brit Awards. The film won Best British film, Best British actor for Hugh Grant at the Empire Awards and Best British Director for Roger Mitchell. The film also received three nominations at the Golden Globes, in the categories Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical, Best Motion Picture Actor Comedy/Musical for Hugh Grant, and Best Motion Picture Actress-Comedy/Musical for Julia Roberts.
Distribution
Notting Hill was distributed by MCA, Universal (http://www.universalstudios.com/) and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. I think that the film is aimed at women (possibly Hugh grant fanatics) and couples from the ages of around 16 to 50. The genre of Notting Hill is a Romantic Comedy. In a way the film does mimic some traditional themes of past British films as it includes the typical couple from different backgrounds who are unlikely to fall in love.
The main poster used for advertising Notting Hill features Hugh Grant walking past a billboard advertisement f Julia Roberts. The picture of Julia Roberts is much larger than Hugh grant to show that Julia Roberts’ character has a much higher status than Hugh Grants’ character as Julia Roberts plays a famous actress whereas Hugh Grant plays a shop owner. The colouring used is quite plain and ordinary which contrasts with the bold red title.
The trailer for Notting Hill is very old fashioned compared to the modern trailers we see on TV today. The trailer focuses mainly on the differences between Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) and William Thacker (Hugh Grant) whilst also featuring some of the films more funny clips mainly including ‘Spike’, Williams crazy flatmate.
The main tag line for this film is ‘Can the most famous film star in the world fall for just an ordinary guy?’ which sums up the plot of the story and highlights the difference between the two characters.
The film was met with generally positive reviews, scoring an 85% "Certified Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The New York Dailey News reviewed the film saying, ‘The overall result is a romantic comedy that indulges fantasies, calms insecurities (can an ordinary bloke stack up?), and breaks and mends hearts with surgical precision.’
However there were some negatives reviews such as Dennis Schwartz who gave the film a negative review with a grade of "C-" citing "this film was pure and unadulterated balderdash". Also, Widgett Walls of Needcoffee.com gave the film "three and a half cups of coffee", stating that "the humor of the film saves it from a completely trite and unsatisfying (nay, shall I say enraging) ending", but criticized the film's soundtrack.
Exhibition
The film had its world premiere at the Odeon, Leicester Square on 27 April 1999. Notting Hill charted well at the box office, earning $116,089,678 as its overall domestic gross, with a worldwide gross of $363,889,678. It totaled $27.7 million over its opening weekend, breaking American box office records, and making it the biggest ever opening for a romantic comedy film at that point. Notting Hill made another $15 million the following week, but then began to lose out. One month after its release, Notting Hill lost its record for highest grossing opening weekend for a romantic comedy film to Runaway Bride. It was the sixteenth highest grossing film of 1999, and as of May 2007 is the 104th highest grossing film of all time. At the time, it had become the highest grossing British film of all time.
Notting Hill was also released in the USA on 28 May 1999.
