NOTTING HILL

Screenplay by Richard Curtis



Title

EXT. VARIOUS DAYS

'She' plays through the credits.

Exquisite footage of Anna Scott -- the great movie star of our
time -- an ideal -- the perfect star and woman -- her life full of
glamour and sophistication and mystery.

EXT. STREET - DAY

Mix through to William, 35, relaxed, pleasant, informal. We
follow him as he walks down Portobello Road, carrying a load of
bread. It is spring.

WILLIAM (V.O.)
Of course, I've seen her films and
always thought she was, well,
fabulous -- but, you know,
million miles from the world I live
in. Which is here -- Notting Hill
-- not a bad place to be...

EXT. PORTOBELLO ROAD - DAY

It's a full fruit market day.

WILLIAM (V.O.)
There's the market on weekdays,
selling every fruit and vegetable
known to man...

EXT. PORTOBELLO ROAD - DAY

A man in denims exits the tattoo studio.

WILLIAM (V.O.)
The tattoo parlour -- with a guy
outside who got drunk and now can't
remember why he chose 'I Love Ken'...

EXT. PORTOBELLO ROAD - DAY

WILLIAM (V.O.)
The racial hair-dressers where
everyone comes out looking like the
Cookie Monster, whether they like
it or not...

Sure enough, a girl exits with a huge threaded blue bouffant.

EXT. PORTOBELLO ROAD - SATURDAY

WILLIAM (V.O.)
Then suddenly it's the weekend, and
from break of day, hundreds of stalls
appears out of nowhere, filling
Portobello Road right up to Notting
Hill Gate...

A frantic crowded Portobello market.

WILLIAM (V.O.)
... and thousands of people buy
millions of antiques, some genuine...

The camera finally settles on a stall selling beautiful stained
glass windows of various sizes, some featuring biblical scenes
and saints.

WILLIAM (V.O.)
... and some not so genuine.

EXT. GOLBORNE ROAD - DAY

WILLIAM (V.O.)
And what's great is that lots of
friends have ended up in this part of
London -- that's Tony, architect
turned chef, who recently invested
all the money he ever earned in a new
restaurant...

Shot of Tony proudly setting out a board outside his restaurant,
the sign still being painted. He receives and approves a huge
fresh salmon.

EXT. PORTOBELLO ROAD - DAY

WILLIAM (V.O.)
So this is where I spend my days
and years -- in this small village in
the middle of a city -- in a house
with a blue door that my wife and I
bought together... before she left
me for a man who looked like Harrison
Ford, only even handsomer...

We arrive outside his blue-doored house just off Portobello.

WILLIAM (V.O.)
... and where I now lead a strange
half-life with a lodger called...

INT. WILLIAM'S HOUSE - DAY

WILLIAM
Spike!

The house has far too many things in it. Definitely two-
bachelor flat.

Spike appears. An unusual looking fellow. He has unusual
hair, unusual facial hair and an unusual Welsh accent: very
white, as though his flesh has never seen the sun. He wears
only shorts.

SPIKE
Even he. Hey, you couldn't help me
with an incredibly important
decision, could you?

WILLIAM
This is important in comparison to,
let's say, whether they should
cancel third world debt?

SPIKE
That's right -- I'm at last going out
on a date with the great Janine and I
just want to be sure I've picked the
right t-shirt.

WILLIAM
What are the choices?

SPIKE
Well... wait for it...
(He pulls on a t-shirt)
First there's this one...

The t-shirt is white with a horrible looking plastic alien
coming out of it, jaws open, blood everywhere. It says 'I Love
Blood.'

WILLIAM
Yes -- might make it hard to strike a
really romantic note.

SPIKE
Point taken.

He heads back up the stairs... talks as he changes...

SPIKE
I suspect you'll prefer the next one.

And he re-enters in a white t-shirt, with a large arrow,
pointing down to his flies, saying, 'Get It Here.'

SPIKE
Cool, huh?

WILLIAM
Yes -- she might think you don't have
true love on your mind.

SPIKE
Wouldn't want that...
(and back up he goes)
Okay -- just one more.

He comes down wearing it. Lots of hearts, saying, 'You're the
most beautiful woman in the world.'

WILLIAM
Well, yes, that's perfect. Well
done.

SPIKE
Thanks. Great. Wish me luck.

WILLIAM
Good luck.

Spike turns and walks upstairs proudly. Revealing that on the
back of the t-shirt, also printed in big letters, is written
'Fancy a fuck?'

EXT. PORTOBELLO ROAD - DAY

WILLIAM (V.O.)
And so it was just another hopeless
Wednesday, as I set off through the
market to work, little suspecting
that this was the day which would
change my life forever. This is
work, by the way, my little travel
book shop...

A small unpretentious store... named 'The Travel Book Co.'

WILLIAM (V.O.)
... which, well, sells travel books
-- and, to be frank with you, doesn't
always sell many of those.

William enters.

INT. THE BOOKSHOP - DAY

It is a small shop, slightly chaotic, bookshelves everywhere,
with little secret bits round corners with even more books.
Martin, William's sole employee, is waiting enthusiastically.
He is very keen, an uncrushable optimist. Perhaps without
cause. A few seconds later, William stands gloomily behind the
desk.

WILLIAM
Classic. Absolutely classic.
Profit from major sales push -- minus
?347.

MARTIN
Shall I go get a cappuccino? Ease the
pain.

WILLIAM
Yes, better get me a half. All I can
afford.

MARIN
I get your logic. Demi-capu coming up.

He salutes and bolts out the door -- as he does, a woman walks in.
We only just glimpse her.

Cut to William working. He looks up casually. And sees
something. His reaction is hard to read. After a pause...

WILLIAM
Can I help you?

It is Anna Scott, the biggest movie star in the world -- here --
in his shop. The most divine, subtle, beautiful woman on earth.
When she speaks she is very self-assured and self-contained.

ANNA
No, thanks. I'll just look around.

WILLIAM
Fine.

She wanders over to a shelf as he watches her -- and picks out a
quite smart coffee table book.

WILLIAM
That book's really not good -- just
in case, you know, browsing turned to
buying. You'd be wasting your money.

ANNA
Really?

WILLIAM
Yes. This one though is... very
good.

He picks up a book on the counter.

WILLIAM
I think the man who wrote it has
actually been to Turkey, which helps.
There's also a very amusing incident
with a kebab.

ANNA
Thanks. I'll think about it.

William suddenly spies something odd on the small TV monitor
beside him.

WILLIAM
If you could just give me a second.

Her eyes follow him as he moves toward the back of the shop and
approaches a man in slightly ill-fitting clothes.

WILLIAM
Excuse me.

THIEF
Yes.

WILLIAM
Bad news.

THIEF
What?

WILLIAM
We've got a security camera in this
bit of the shop.

THIEF
So?

WILLIAM
So, I saw you put that book down your
trousers.

THIEF
What book?

WILLIAM
The one down your trousers.

THIEF
I haven't got a book down my trousers.

WILLIAM
Right -- well, then we have something
of an impasse. I tell you what --
I'll call the police -- and, what can
I say? -- If I'm wrong about the whole
book-down-the-trousers scenario, I
really apologize.

THIEF
Okay -- what if I did have a book down
my trousers?

WILLIAM
Well, ideally, when I went back to
the desk, you'd remove the Cadogan
guide to Bali from your trousers, and
either wipe it and put it back, or
buy it. See you in a sec.

He returns to his desk. In the monitor we just glimpse, as does
William, the book coming out of the trousers and put back on the
shelves. The thief drifts out towards the door. Anna, who has
observed all this, is looking at a blue book on the counter.

WILLIAM
Sorry about that...

ANNA
No, that's fine. I was going to
steal one myself but now I've changed
my mind. Signed by the author, I see.

WILLIAM
Yes, we couldn't stop him. If you
can find an unsigned copy, it's
worth an absolute fortune.

She smiles. Suddenly the thief is there.

THIEF
Excuse me.

ANNA
Yes.

THIEF
Can I have your autograph?

ANNA
What's your name?

THIEF
Rufus.

She signs his scruffy piece of paper. He tries to read it.

THIEF
What does it say?

ANNA
Well, that's the signature -- and
above, it says 'Dear Rufus -- you
belong in jail.'

THIEF
Nice one. Would you like my phone
number?

ANNA
Tempting but... no, thank you.

Thief leaves.

ANNA
I think I will try this one.

She hands William a ?20 note and the book he said was rubbish.
He talks as he handles the transaction.

WILLIAM
Oh -- right -- on second thoughts
maybe it wasn't that bad. Actually
-- it's a sort of masterpiece really.
None of those childish kebab
stories you get in so many travel
books these days. And I'll throw in
one of these for free.

He drops in one of the signed books.

WILLIAM
Very useful for lighting fires,
wrapping fish, that sort of things.

She looks at him with a slight smile.

ANNA
Thanks.

And leaves. She's out of his life forever. William is a little
dazed. Seconds later Martin comes back in.

MARTIN
Cappuccino as ordered.

WILLIAM
Thanks. I don't think you'll believe
who was just in here.

MARTIN
Who? Someone famous?

But William's innate natural English discretion takes over.

WILLIAM
No. No-one -- no-one.

They set about drinking their coffees.

MARTIN
Would be exciting if someone famous
did come into the shop though,
wouldn't it? Do you know -- this is
pretty incredible actually -- I once
saw Ringo Starr. Or at least I think
it was Ringo. It might have been
that broke from 'Fiddler On The Roof,'
Toppy.

WILLIAM
Topol.
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