Hugh Grant has known as the ending to Notting Hill “nauseating” whereas explaining a small Easter egg within the scene.
The actor, who plays bookstore owner William Thacker within the 1999 rom-com reverse Julia Roberts, mentioned a detail in the film’s ending during a Wired video interview.
In the scene, Anna Scott (Roberts) is seen lying on William on a park bench as he reads a selected novel, which carried additional meaning for the late director Robert Michell.
“In that nauseating moment on the bench at the finish, I’m reading Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières, which was going to be his next film,” Grant mentioned. “So it’s a little in-joke from Roger Michell, God relaxation his soul.”
Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in ‘Notting Hill’. CREDIT: Collection Christophel/Alamy
Michell died aged 65 in September 2021. Along with Notting Hill, he directed the films Venus, Changing Lanes and The Mother.
Elsewhere in the interview, Grant took a jibe at his Music And Lyrics co-star Drew Barrymore for her “horrendous” singing.
“I’m auto-tuned a bit, however not as a lot as some,” Grant said. “Drew Barrymore is in that film with me and I don’t assume she’d mind me saying, her singing is just horrendous. I’ve heard canines bark better than she sings.
“But having mentioned that once they tuned her up, she sounded way better than me because she’s obtained heart and voice and rock ‘n’ roll. Whereas I sounded like Julie Andrews and I’m meant to be rock ‘n’ roll as well.”
Grant stars alongside Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez in upcoming movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, from directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. The film is launched in cinemas on March 31.
