Working Title films
Take a trip down memory lane with some of our favourite Notting Hill facts to brush up on before your next Pub Trivia night.
1. Julia Roberts was just not that into it
Julia Roberts was given a brief synopsis of the film before she signed on and upon first read, she found it very unappealing. “When I sat to read [the script], I did not have any great expectations,” Roberts admitted.
2. That infamous blue door belonged to the film’s writer Richard Curtis
One of the least known Notting Hill facts, is that at the time of filming, Curtis was the owner of Will’s home, which features a vibrant blue door. Due to the popularity of the film, many fans kept visiting the house, forcing the current owners to paint the door black. After being sold to new owners, the door was once again painted blue. The blue door can be found in Notting Hill at 280 Westbourne Park Road.
3. Hugh Grant struggled with the kissing scenes
While many have dreamt of kissing Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant has a different opinion. He has complained about his kissing scenes with leading lady, Julia Roberts, due to the fact that “she had such a large mouth”. Grant said, “I was aware of a faint echo as I was kissing her.”
3. Julia Roberts worked hard for her money
In the film, Will’s friend Bernie asks Anna how much she made in her last movie. Her answer? $15 million dollars. This is the exact same figure that Julia Roberts was paid for Notting Hill. Initially, in the script and during rehearsals, the original amount was $10 million. However, after each take, Roberts kept changing the figure till she reached $15 million. Bonneville later asked Roberts why she kept changing the figure to which Roberts replied, “I’m kind of tired of low-balling”.
4. Julia Roberts really really really hated this line
Roberts struggled with saying the line “They go to bed with Gilda, they wake up with me” “I hate to say anything negative about what Richard wrote, because he’s a genius, but I hated saying that line,” Roberts said. “To me, it was nails on a chalkboard, I don’t really believe any of that.”
5. Adele and Will are neighbours
Another addition to our list of Notting Hill Facts, is that after her rise to fame, singer Adele bought the flat directly above the ‘bookshop’ and lived there temporarily.
6. Anna Scott was not based on Julia Roberts
Curtis and director Roger Michell has stated that Roberts was the one and only choice for playing the character Anna Scott. Many saw this as a hint that the character is based on Roberts. However, Curtis said that Anna Scott is a hybrid of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.
7. Anna never actually says William’s name
Throughout the movie, Anna has never referred to Will by his actual name, either in conversation or when addressing him directly.
8. I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy and… *yawn*
The film was originally three and a half hours long. Plenty of scenes were cut and shortened including the rooftop scene where William and Anna where practicing lines. This scene was shortened to remove some swearing from Anna so the film could keep its PG13 rating.
