Genie writer Richard Curtis had to ask Tom Cruise for permission to use his image after Melissa McCarthy’s character falls in love with him in the Christmas comedy

Richard Curtis had to get permission from one of Hollywood’s biggest stars to pull off one of the best joke for his new Christmas movie Genie.

The 67-year-old filmmaker, who wrote the new Melissa McCarthy–starring comedy, envisioned his star falling in love with Tom Cruise after seeing one of his Mission: Impossible films as her first-ever movie.

But in order to plaster Cruise’s image around McCarthy’s bedroom, he had to reach out to the A-lister. 

‘We definitely had to ask him [for permission],’ Curtis admitted to People on Wednesday.

‘I mean, we asked him through his people,’ he quickly clarified. 

Getting the OK: Richard Curtis, 67, who wrote Melissa McCarthy’s new Christmas movie Genie, told People that he had to reach out to Tom Cruise to get permission to use his likeness; seen in 2019

Love at first sight: Melissa’s character falls in love with Cruise after seeing a Mission: Impossible film — her first movie ever — and she proceeds to fill her room with posters of the actor; still from Top Gun: Maverick

‘I’m lucky enough to know Tom a bit,’ Curtis continued. ‘He’s always been very sweet to me. And we worked on a film for a while, which didn’t happen.’

Curtis is best known for writing and directing the divisive but perennially popular Christmas film Love, Actually, but he has also written numerous classic romantic comedies, including Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’ Diary, as well as Steven Spielberg’s WWI drama War Horse.

‘I don’t know whether it’s a favor to me and Melissa or whether someone in the mail room said, “This sounds okay.” But it means that after all these years, I’ve at last made a Tom Cruise movie,’ he joked.

‘There’s a 3-second clip of Mission: Impossible. So I’m so thrilled that bit’s in,’ Curtis added.

McCarthy’s character is so taken by the Mission: Impossible film because she has never seen a movie before, as she plays a genie who has just been released from her captivity by a struggling husband and father.

After Bernard (Paapa Essiedu) unwittingly frees her, McCarthy’s genie Flora begins to grant him unlimited wishes to help shore up his relationships with his wife and daughter.

But after Flora catches Cruise starring in her first movie, she becomes obsessed with him and plasters her new bedroom with posters of him and fantasizes about sharing a life together.

Bernard even sustains her obsession by presenting her with a sweatshirt decorated with Tom’s face for Christmas. 

Friendly: ‘I’m lucky enough to know Tom a bit,’ Curtis said. ‘He’s always been very sweet to me. And we worked on a film for a while, which didn’t happen’; seen in July in Sydney

Supernatural: McCarthy’s character Flora has never seen a movie because she’s a genie. After Bernard (Paapa Essiedu) frees her, she grants him unlimited wishes to shore up his family

While chatting with People, Curtis admitted that McCarthy devised some of Genie’s best gags. 

One example: a section of the film when Flora is asked if she likes cats.

‘I love them, they’re delicious,’ McCarthy’s character responds.

‘When Melissa would think of a new funny joke, then she would do it, and that’d be great. But then, of course, you’ve gotta do it four more times. You’ve got to make sure you got it right. You’ve got to make sure you get it at the right speed from the right angle,’ Curtis explained while laughing. ‘So it’s always a mixture between kind of mischief and very conscientious behavior on movies.”

He also explained how important it was to balance the tone on Genie, which is directed by Sam Boyd.

‘In my movies, you want it to be emotionally true at the same time as being silly. So [Melissa] went between being impish and just being a really proper, serious actor,’ he shared.

Genie is a remake of the 1991 television movie Bernard And The Genie, which Curtis also wrote.

Collaboration: Curtis added that McCarthy helped come up with some of her character’s most side-splitting jokes

That project starred Alan Cumming in the role that is now played by Essiedu, but Cumming reunited with Curtis to play Bernard’s avaricious boss (previously played by Rowan Atkinson in the original TV movie).

Curtis described the Eyes Wide Shut actor as ‘sweet and interesting,’ and he admitted that he only joined the production ‘as a favor.’

‘We just thought if Bernard’s the sweetest guy in the world, and we got in touch with him and said, “Would you like to now play the nastiest guy in the world?” [whether he would],’ the screenwriter recalled. ‘And he’s played a few scoundrels in his time.’

He added: ‘So it was lovely seeing Alan again. He’s aged well, I think.’

Genie is now available to stream on Peacock. 

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