Q&A: ‘Love, Actually’ filmmaker Richard Curtis on charity, the Oscars and the state of rom-coms

AP Film Writer

Richard Curtis is known for his contributions to romantic comedies with “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and “Love, Actually.” But writing and directing some of modern cinema’s most quotable scenes only occupy a portion of his professional life. Since a trip to Ethiopia in 1985 during the famine, Curtis has also devoted much of his time and energy to charitable causes, from co-founding Comic Relief to producing Red Nose Day and more. It’s work that has helped raise more than $2 billion and supported over 170 million people. On Sunday he’s being celebrated for those efforts by the film academy with an honorary Oscar.