'Four Weddings and a Funeral' Turns 25
It may be hard to believe, but the classic British rom-com Four Weddings and a Funeral was released in the U,S. twenty-five years ago this week. It turns out that the film that made Hugh Grant a star, not to mention a Golden Golden Globe and BAFTA winner, was never expected to be a hit by anyone involved.
Penned by TV sitcom writer Richard Curtis (Blackadder and Mr. Bean) and helmed by Enchanted April director Mike Newell, Four Weddings was the embodiment of “the little film that could.” Made in six weeks on a budget the studio cut to less than £3 million, the intial screening was reportedly disastrous. At least according to Hugh Grant, who reminiscend about it during a 2006 SAG-AFTRA interview.
"I thought we'd screwed it up. When we went to watch a rough cut, all of us, me, Richard Curtis, Mike Newell, the producers, all thought this was the worst film that's ever been perpetrated. We're gonna go and emigrate to Peru when it comes out so no one can actually find us. And then they had a, a few cuts later they took it to Santa Monica for a test screening and everyone loved it. And it was a great surprise.
