Behind the Britcom – Dawn French on Richard Curtis
Over the next couple of weeks, leading up to the March 2011 PBS premiere of Behind the Britcom: From Script to Screen, our show on paying tribute to the writers of British situation comedy, will, hopefully, give you insight into those writers who’s work has created friends and situations that have come in to your home for years.
With most British situation comedy writers, you probably aren’t aware of the name at the end of the program, but you definitely are familiar with their life’s work. The Vicar of Dibley might be a different story. From the brilliant mind of Richard Curtis, Vicar of Dibley was about as close to perfection as you can get, a perfect storm of great casting from top to bottom and genius writing. Writer, Richard Curtis, is also responsible for the classic series such as Mr. Bean and Blackadder. But, it’s his branching out to features films like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Knotting Hill and, more recently, Pirate Radio, that makes his hame a household word for many British comedy fans.
In this short clip, we interview Dawn French, who shares her thoughts on the brilliance of Richard Curtis, describing Curtis’ writing as both cutting edge and ‘gooey’. Dawn also discussed Richard’s ‘agenda’ in creating the Vicar of Dibley.
Behind the Britcom: From Script to Screen will air Saturday, March 5 at 9pm on KERA-TV in North Texas and on PBS stations nationwide in March 2011.
