Torchwood

[TheCorpulent1]

So there'd be a US version of Doctor Who and the actual UK Doctor Who running simultaneously? I can't say I'd be too interested in watching the US one...

 

[Pink Ranger]

There seems to be some ridiculous assumption among U.S. movie and TV producers that American audiences will turn off the TV or walk out of a theatre in disgust if they hear the main character doesn't speak in an "American" accent, or if every single FICTIONAL character in something they are watching isn't a "red-blooded" American.

Has anybody ever tested this assumption to find out what a crock of BS it is? Surely they are underestimating the capacity of American audiences; the country that gave us the Internet, soul food and The Ramones can't be so backward.

 

[Gilpesh]

They have to remake Death at a Funeral... a film that is already in english.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

There seems to be some ridiculous assumption among U.S. movie and TV producers that American audiences will turn off the TV or walk out of a theatre in disgust if they hear the main character doesn't speak in an "American" accent, or if every single FICTIONAL character in something they are watching isn't a "red-blooded" American.

Has anybody ever tested this assumption to find out what a crock of BS it is? Surely they are underestimating the capacity of American audiences; the country that gave us the Internet, soul food and The Ramones can't be so backward.

The entire country isn't, but there are parts. Big parts, unfortunately.

 

[wiegeabo]

There seems to be some ridiculous assumption among U.S. movie and TV producers that American audiences will turn off the TV or walk out of a theatre in disgust if they hear the main character doesn't speak in an "American" accent, or if every single FICTIONAL character in something they are watching isn't a "red-blooded" American.

Has anybody ever tested this assumption to find out what a crock of BS it is? Surely they are underestimating the capacity of American audiences; the country that gave us the Internet, soul food and The Ramones can't be so backward.

Unless the movie takes place in old Europe, a fantasy world, in a galaxy far, far away (villains and Kenobi's only), or the main character's last name is Bond it's going to lose a good chunk of the US audience.

And it's probably because the US is so large, that we have few neighbors to interact with, especially in the middle of the country. Whereas, in Europe, interaction with other countries is so much more common that's it's not such a big deal.

 

[Pink Ranger]

The entire country isn't, but there are parts. Big parts, unfortunately.

Maybe that's true, I guess we're talking about the stereotypical "God, guns and gays" kind of person. That said, that demographic doesn't watch most "immoral" mainstream TV to begin with (and I know, because there are a lot of fundamentalist Christians in my family) so they're not part of your target audience anyway.

 

[wiegeabo]

Maybe that's true, I guess we're talking about the stereotypical "God, guns and gays" kind of person. That said, that demographic doesn't watch most "immoral" mainstream TV to begin with (and I know, because there are a lot of fundamentalist Christians in my family) so they're not part of your target audience anyway.

But they've been known to lash out and attack a show like that on network tv, even if they don't watch it.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Unless the movie takes place in old Europe, a fantasy world, in a galaxy far, far away (villains and Kenobi's only), or the main character's last name is Bond it's going to lose a good chunk of the US audience.

And it's probably because the US is so large, that we have few neighbors to interact with, especially in the middle of the country. Whereas, in Europe, interaction with other countries is so much more common that's it's not such a big deal.

But back to my original point, has anybody tested that to see if it's actually true?

They tried that reasoning with X-men, when producers insisted that Wolverine be American. The screenwriter said no. Didn't seem to affect the movies' popularity.

They tried that reasoning with Harry Potter. Remember when the producers insisted that the movie had to be adapted to become an American highschool of wizardry? JK Rowling said no way. Didn't seem to affect the movies' popularity.

 

[Pink Ranger]

But they've been known to lash out and attack a show like that on network tv, even if they don't watch it.

But doesn't that just make your show/movie more popular, than it would have been otherwise, when the moralists start attacking it? The history of entertainment is chocked full of such examples.

 

[wiegeabo]

But back to my original point, has anybody tested that to see if it's actually true?

They tried that reasoning with X-men, when producers insisted that Wolverine be American. The screenwriter said no. Didn't seem to affect the movies' popularity.

They tried that reasoning with Harry Potter. Remember when the producers insisted that the movie had to be adapted to become an American highschool of wizardry? JK Rowling said no way. Didn't seem to affect the movies' popularity.

There's not much difference between Canadian and US accents (except for the Canadian sterotypes). Comic fans appreciated there not being a change, and non-comics fans didn't notice it.

Potter is still a fantasy world. Somehow, magic and British accents don't conflict. I guess the British accent is rather exotic to us Yanks.

 

[wiegeabo]

But doesn't that just make your show/movie more popular, than it would have been otherwise, when the moralists start attacking it? The history of entertainment is chocked full of such examples.

Networks don't like to trade ratings for legal/morality battles. It's not worth the hassle. And if the FCC gets pressured, they can really screw up the network's day.

 

[Gold Samurai]

Unless the movie takes place in old Europe, a fantasy world, in a galaxy far, far away (villains and Kenobi's only), or the main character's last name is Bond it's going to lose a good chunk of the US audience.

-If your an alien, how come you sound like you're from the north?
-Lots of Planets have a north.

Or occupants of a Titanic spaceship speaking Queens English

Or citizens of Pompeii speaking cockney.

The list goes on

 

[Manic]

The other day, a friend and I were talking about movies. Gerard Butler came up, and of course, so did the movie 300. He actually said "If Leonidas was Greek, why did he speak in a Scottish accent?"

And that sums up something very important in regards to American movie audiences. It was a movie that took place in ancient Greece, and instead of just accepting that everyone used their natural accents rather than try to sound Greek, my friend wondered why Butler (who he knows is Scottish) didn't speak in an American accent.

 

[Manic]

sugar honey iced tea

 

[wiegeabo]

The other day, a friend and I were talking about movies. Gerard Butler came up, and of course, so did the movie 300. He actually said "If Leonidas was Greek, why did he speak in a Scottish accent?"

And that sums up something very important in regards to American movie audiences. It was a movie that took place in ancient Greece, and instead of just accepting that everyone used their natural accents rather than try to sound Greek, my friend wondered why Butler (who he knows is Scottish) didn't speak in an American accent.

In the States, we don't much care. If you sound vaguely foreign, then it's close enough.

Do you think Sean Connery could play a Russian submarine captain with a Scottish accent otherwise? (The answer is yes, because he's just that awesome )

 

[Manic]

Don't forget when Connery played a Spaniard with a Scottish accent in Highlander.

 

[wiegeabo]

Damn right!

Or an Irishman with a Scottish accent in Darby O'Gill.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The other day, a friend and I were talking about movies. Gerard Butler came up, and of course, so did the movie 300. He actually said "If Leonidas was Greek, why did he speak in a Scottish accent?"

And that sums up something very important in regards to American movie audiences. It was a movie that took place in ancient Greece, and instead of just accepting that everyone used their natural accents rather than try to sound Greek, my friend wondered why Butler (who he knows is Scottish) didn't speak in an American accent.

Odd. I'd have thought he'd wonder why Butler wasn't English. Since, as you know, every person in every place other than America in every period of history aside from the present speaks with an English accent.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Odd. I'd have thought he'd wonder why Butler wasn't English. Since, as you know, every person in every place other than America in every period of history aside from the present speaks with an English accent.

Correction: only movies with Western and Central Europeans in them. Movies where South Americans, Spanish or Asians speak English, they do so in their own accents.

Chris O'Donnel's terrible performance in 3 Musketeers helped create the "all Europeans must henceforth speak with an English accent" rule. After that film, the world film community vowed "never again."

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It always strikes me as hilarious in movies about the Classical period. Even really good productions like HBO's Rome always, without fail, have actors sporting English accents as Romans or Greeks.

 

[wiegeabo]

Probably because we don't know what a Greek or Roman accent sounds like because we don't have much exposure to it. So they would somehow sound odd.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But why English accents rather than just defaulting to US accents, then? Or even Italian or modern Greek accents?

 

[wiegeabo]

We associate English accent with being general European because it's the one we hear most often. And probably the easiest for us to understand.

 

[Pink Ranger]

We associate English accent with being general European because it's the one we hear most often. And probably the easiest for us to understand.

Technically, the British received pronunciation is not an accent. It's the language of England, so it's Americans, Australians and us Canadians that have the accent, not the English.

I guess the "logic" is that a classical British accent is what "unaccented" English sounds like, so the magical universal translator that we see in movies like 300, Nicholas and Alexandra and The Three Musketeers (Michael York's version) will naturally use British English as the baseline.

 

[Manic]

I think American film needs to bring back the Trans-Atlantic accent. There was a time when every other American actor added a hint of Englishness to their voice for certain roles. Now it's just Kelsey Grammer.