Writer-director Richard Curtis and the cast of his beloved holiday film Love Actually are coming together again for Red Nose Day Actually, a short film that will air as part of Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day Special May 25 on NBC and March 24’s Red Nose Day in the U.K. on BBC1. From an original script by Curtis, the short film revisits the characters of the 2003 film Love Actually to discover what they’re up to in 2017. Here’s what Richard Curtis had to say about this new short film in a statement.
“Over the years I’ve enjoyed doing Red Nose Day specials of TV things I’ve worked on, Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley and Mr 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 to Love 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.”
Revisiting their roles from the beloved movie are cast members Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln, Colin Firth, Lucia Moniz, Liam Neeson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Olivia Olson, Bill Nighy, Marcus Brigstocke and Rowan Atkinson. For the third year of Red Nose Day in the U.S., Americans across the country will come together, wear their Red Noses (available exclusively at Walgreens and Duane Reade locations nationwide), and raise money and awareness to help children living in poverty in America and around the world. With the support of millions of generous Americans, major partners and hundreds of celebrities, Red Nose Day has raised more than $60 million in its first two years since launching in the U.S. in 2015.
For more information, visit the Red Nose Day website at RedNoseDay.org. Follow @RedNoseDayUSA on Twitter and Instagram, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/RedNoseDayUSA and #RedNoseDayActually. Red Nose Day (rednoseday.org) is run by the non-profit organization Comic Relief Inc. (comicrelief.org), a registered 501(c)(3) American public charity. Red Nose Day started in the U.K., built on the foundation that the power of entertainment can drive positive change.
Red Nose Day has raised over $1 billion globally since the campaign’s founding in 1988. Red Nose Day launched in the U.S. in 2015 with a mission to raise money and awareness to end child poverty, and has raised over $60 million to date for the cause. Money raised for the campaign goes to the Red Nose Day Fund, which supports programs that keep children in need safe, healthy and educated, both in America and abroad. Since launching in the U.S., Red Nose Day has received generous support from millions of Americans, and many outstanding partners, including Walgreens, NBC, Mars, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.