‘I Miss Him So Much' Emma's Leap Of Faith

The Actress Gives Her Late Pal George Michael An Emotional Christmas Gift

It seemed like a great idea at first – acclaimed Oscar-winning writer and actress Dame Emma Thompson writing a movie based on one of the most beloved contemporary Christmas songs.

The late George Michael had wanted Emma to come up with the screenplay for a movie inspired by his massive festive hit Last Christmas but there was a problem. She wasn’t a fan of the song.

“This wonderful producer asked me, ‘Do you want to write a screenplay, a rom-com sort of thing, because we need a new Christmas movie based on Last Christmas,’” recalls Emma (60). “I said, ‘Not really, because it’s not my favourite Christmas song.’”

However, after listening to the song again, she found inspiration for the plot in George’s words and says she came up with “an interesting, sideways way of telling a different kind of story”.

She says George was a complex and brilliant artist. “His lyrics are incredibly meaningful. I just thought of an idea to do with the lyric of Last Christmas that inspired me, and then I thought, ‘Oh, actually, so much of George’s other music really works with this idea.’ Creative things happen so weirdly and unexpectedly, so you can be led toward something by a piece of music you actually aren’t that fond of.”

Emma sent the outline she had written with her husband, actor Greg Wise, to George, and later met up with the star to discuss getting the project off the ground.

“He was just the loveliest guy you could imagine,” she recalls.

George was keen to include subjects he cared deeply about, such as homelessness, which Emma wove into the storyline.

“He loved these themes, he was passionate about homelessness and he had this great social conscience.