Celebs and their accents now vs. then

[Jill]

Lol. I was flipping through the tv and MTV was replaying Wade Robson's dance
project contest whatever. I knew he was from Australia..they played a video
of him as a child talking and he had such a thick Aussie accent- it was so
different from how he talks now. Did he lose the accent from moving away or
because he was trying to be more neutral, or is he faking it now?

I am interested in accents. Madonna's British one slays me. I think the
niftiest actor/actresses are those who can do accents well. In Drew
Barrymore's movie Riding In Cars With Boys, I didn't know the guy who plays
her son was doing that accent for the movie (at least I only thought he was
putting on a more Jersey accent)until I saw him interviewed somewhere. I
also never knew Glenn Quinn (RIP), who played Mark on Roseanne as well as
Doyle on Angel, was actually Irish like Doyle- although rewatching some of
the Roseanne's, in moments of acting-anger or if he got to speaking faster
it would slip out- but it was not something I ever would have noticed had I
not started looking for it. Penny Marshall told Drew Barrymore she had to
stop speaking Valley Girl for RICWB, and Drew said she does talk like a
Valley Girl and had never noticed it before. lol.

I am underimpressed with Gwynnie's British accent. Who else does accents
very well? One thing that is ALWAYS horrible in movies are the Southern
accents, OMG. Natalie portman's in Where the Heart Is, all from JFK, etc. I
don't know anyone who speaks like that. I'm not from the deep south but
still.

Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.

[LADYAUSSIEFAN]

Funny you would post this interesting topic since I was just wondering why
australian actress Poppy Montgomery has chosen to speak with an american accent
off-screen. Maybe she is so into her role it just carries forward into her
personal life. If I had an australian accent I certaintly wouldn't want to lose
it! As for Wade Robson he's been in america for a long time I believe, long
enough to lose his accent. I think if someone migrates from England or another
country to the states when they are a kid/teen they are most certaintly going
to lose if not all or most of their accent. If an adult comes from another
country to live in America I think they would most likely retain their accent.
I think alot of foreign actors do really great american accents and it amazes
me. Funny how it doesn't really work the other way around.

Candy
--------
If you were, in my heart, I'd surely, not break you.
If you were, beside me, and my love, would take you.
I'll keep you, in safety, forever, protect you.
I'll hide u, away from, the world you rejected, I'll hide u.
I'll hide u...-Kosheen

[Sandra]

I think Nicole Kidman does great accents.

I have lived in the States for nearly 4 years and my American family and
friends still hear my Aussie accent however, my Australian family and
friends think I sound like a yank ...can't win either way I guess

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN
Funny you would post this interesting topic since I was just wondering why
australian actress Poppy Montgomery has chosen to speak with an american accent
off-screen. Maybe she is so into her role it just carries forward into her
personal life. If I had an australian accent I certaintly wouldn't want to lose
it! As for Wade Robson he's been in america for a long time I believe, long
enough to lose his accent. I think if someone migrates from England or another
country to the states when they are a kid/teen they are most certaintly going
to lose if not all or most of their accent. If an adult comes from another
country to live in America I think they would most likely retain their accent.
I think alot of foreign actors do really great american accents and it amazes
me. Funny how it doesn't really work the other way around.
Candy
--------
If you were, in my heart, I'd surely, not break you.
If you were, beside me, and my love, would take you.
I'll keep you, in safety, forever, protect you.
I'll hide u, away from, the world you rejected, I'll hide u.
I'll hide u...-Kosheen

[Patty]

"Sandra" <***@fakeemailaddress.com> wrote in message news:U8lmb.687$***@reggie.win.bright.net...
: I think Nicole Kidman does great accents.
:
: I have lived in the States for nearly 4 years and my American family and
: friends still hear my Aussie accent however, my Australian family and
: friends think I sound like a yank ...can't win either way I guess
:
My childhood best friend as an adult first moved from The States to
New Zealand and then to Australia. When I talk to her on the phone,
she has an accent but it's not Aussie or Kiwi, it's some sort of hybrid.
Aussies say she doesn't sound Australian, probably not strine enough.

When I was in Scotland I met a Scottish woman who had married an
American and lived in the states for something like fifteen years.
Her mother kept saying "doesn't she sound like an American?"
"No, she sounds British to me." Her mother swore she didn't
sound much different than me. Truth is she had a hybrid accent,
neither British nor American, definitely not American.

I had a Brazilian visiting me and he recorded one of our fun
conversations. Later I met another Brazilian who came to
visit me and I played the tape for him. He said the other
Brazilian sounded just like an American when he spoke
English. Believe me, he did not, he had an accent,
one of those wonderful Brazilian accents but the second
guy could not hear it.

I had a conversation with an older Italian guy who had lived
in Canada for most of his adult life, and now that he was
retired, he spent three months of the year in Italy. He had a
strong Italian accent when he spoke English. I asked
him what language he dreamed in and he said English.
I said do you have an accent when you dream and he
said "I don't have an accent."

[Robin Colleen Moore]

Post by Patty
: I think Nicole Kidman does great accents.
: I have lived in the States for nearly 4 years and my American family and
: friends still hear my Aussie accent however, my Australian family and
: friends think I sound like a yank ...can't win either way I guess
My childhood best friend as an adult first moved from The States to
New Zealand and then to Australia. When I talk to her on the phone,
she has an accent but it's not Aussie or Kiwi, it's some sort of hybrid.
Aussies say she doesn't sound Australian, probably not strine enough.
When I was in Scotland I met a Scottish woman who had married an
American and lived in the states for something like fifteen years.
Her mother kept saying "doesn't she sound like an American?"
"No, she sounds British to me." Her mother swore she didn't
sound much different than me. Truth is she had a hybrid accent,
neither British nor American, definitely not American.
I had a Brazilian visiting me and he recorded one of our fun
conversations. Later I met another Brazilian who came to
visit me and I played the tape for him. He said the other
Brazilian sounded just like an American when he spoke
English. Believe me, he did not, he had an accent,
one of those wonderful Brazilian accents but the second
guy could not hear it.
I had a conversation with an older Italian guy who had lived
in Canada for most of his adult life, and now that he was
retired, he spent three months of the year in Italy. He had a
strong Italian accent when he spoke English. I asked
him what language he dreamed in and he said English.
I said do you have an accent when you dream and he
said "I don't have an accent."

It's funny--while I was living down south in Georgia, everybody thought
I was just another damn yankee from my accent (which, I'd been told in
the past, was distinctly northern New England), but I must have picked
up *some* of the native accent, or at least some of the flow and cadence
of it, because for the first year or so I was back in Boston, everyone
assumed I was a southerner, and even now people will look at me strangly
and say "*Where* are you from?". "Northern New Hampshire, originally,
but I *did* spent 8 1/2 years in Athens, GA..." at which point you can
see the little lightbulb snap on over their heads as they think "Oh,
*that's* where the funny accent comes from!" Apparently my southern
accent gets stronger when I'm spinning yarns of whatever variety, which
doesn't bother me--a southern accent just naturally seems to go with
storytelling--but I do feel as if I don't "fit in" in either place at
this point--yankees think I'm a southerner, and southerners think I'm a
yankee. I've also noticed a tendency in myself to want to start using a
British accent when spending significant time around folks from the UK,
which I try to squelch lest I embarass myself even further...perhaps
this explains at least some of Madonna's accent?

Robin the mad photographer (theoretically, with my hearing damage, it's
a wonder I can talk at all, much less pick up any kind of accent...)

I am happy to be an American. Nowhere else could a Jew with a giant
nose engage in tongue play with an African American with a fabulous
tush after winning an Academy Award on live television for playing a
Holocaust survivor and not have someone declare a holy war against us.

[mªdcªt]

Post by Robin Colleen Moore
I am happy to be an American. Nowhere else could a Jew with a giant
nose engage in tongue play with an African American with a fabulous
tush after winning an Academy Award on live television for playing a
Holocaust survivor and not have someone declare a holy war against us.

Wrong!

Australia, New Zealand.....etc :)

[mªdcªt]

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN
Funny you would post this interesting topic since I was just wondering why
australian actress Poppy Montgomery has chosen to speak with an american accent
off-screen. Maybe she is so into her role it just carries forward into her
personal life. If I had an australian accent I certaintly wouldn't want to lose
it!

Where did PM come from anyways? She seems like an "overnight
success".

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN
As for Wade Robson he's been in america for a long time I believe, long
enough to lose his accent. I think if someone migrates from England or another
country to the states when they are a kid/teen they are most certaintly going
to lose if not all or most of their accent. If an adult comes from another
country to live in America I think they would most likely retain their accent.

Have to disagree. If anybody goes to the US, they always come back
with a slight "twang".

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN
I think alot of foreign actors do really great american accents and it amazes
me. Funny how it doesn't really work the other way around.

I think the explanation is that we in Oz and other English-speaking
countries are utterly *bombarded* with the American accent(s) since
birth - in TV, movies, music. As a consequence, we are able to
reproduce one fairly easily.

Do Americans get exposed to non-American accents to the same extent?
No. Just think of how badly most American actor/esses do non-American
accents. (eg I saw Ocean's 11 again last night - Don Cheadle
*CRINGE*)

[Sandra]

Post by mªdcªt

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN
Funny you would post this interesting topic since I was just wondering why
australian actress Poppy Montgomery has chosen to speak with an american accent
off-screen. Maybe she is so into her role it just carries forward into her
personal life. If I had an australian accent I certaintly wouldn't want to lose
it!

Where did PM come from anyways? She seems like an "overnight
success".

I think the first thing of note she did was that mini series about
Marilyn Monroe, other than that don't know.

[Johnny Cash I Miss You Already]

<< Subject: Re: Celebs and their accents now vs. then
From: Sandra ***@fakeemailaddress.com
Date: Fri, Oct 24, 2003 8:12 PM

Post by mªdcªt

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN
Funny you would post this interesting topic since I was just wondering why
australian actress Poppy Montgomery has chosen to speak with an american accent
off-screen. Maybe she is so into her role it just carries forward into her
personal life. If I had an australian accent I certaintly wouldn't want to lose
it!

Where did PM come from anyways? She seems like an "overnight
success".

I think the first thing of note she did was that mini series about
Marilyn Monroe, other than that don't know. >>


You mean Dorothy Dandridge.

[Sandra]

Post by Johnny Cash I Miss You Already
<< Subject: Re: Celebs and their accents now vs. then

Post by mªdcªt
Where did PM come from anyways? She seems like an "overnight
success".

I think the first thing of note she did was that mini series about
Marilyn Monroe, other than that don't know. >>
You mean Dorothy Dandridge.

NO, I meant Marilyn.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254890/

halle Berry was DD wasn't she

[Tina]

Post by Sandra

Post by Johnny Cash I Miss You Already
<< Subject: Re: Celebs and their accents now vs. then

Post by mªdcªt
Where did PM come from anyways? She seems like an "overnight
success".

I think the first thing of note she did was that mini series about
Marilyn Monroe, other than that don't know. >>
You mean Dorothy Dandridge.

NO, I meant Marilyn.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254890/
halle Berry was DD wasn't she

I think Halle played Dorothy Dandridge.


::::::Tina::::::

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sacred cows make the best hamburger". - Mark Twain

[Alex]

Post by mªdcªt
Do Americans get exposed to non-American accents to the same extent?
No. Just think of how badly most American actor/esses do non-American
accents. (eg I saw Ocean's 11 again last night - Don Cheadle
*CRINGE*)

You'll find that individuals who don't do their own national accents
well, don't do foreign accents well either.

On the other hand, Denzel Washington (For Queen And Country,
Biko) and Forest Whitaker (The Crying Game) were ok. The
problem there is that Black Britains often (not always) speak
with an almost imperceptible twinge of a Caribbean or West
African accent that's superimposed over whatever the regional
or local accent is. And of course there is no such thing as "a"
Caribbean accent, but Jamaican, Barbadian, etc.

Which was the downfall of Philip Michael Thomas in Miami
Vice - he never quite got around to any specific authentic
sounding Westindian accent.

Alex

[Ara Zacis]

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 20:49:36 +0200, in alt.gossip.celebrities, "Alex"

Post by Alex

Post by mªdcªt
Do Americans get exposed to non-American accents to the same extent?
No. Just think of how badly most American actor/esses do non-American
accents. (eg I saw Ocean's 11 again last night - Don Cheadle
*CRINGE*)

You'll find that individuals who don't do their own national accents
well, don't do foreign accents well either.
On the other hand, Denzel Washington (For Queen And Country,
Biko) and Forest Whitaker (The Crying Game) were ok. The
problem there is that Black Britains often (not always) speak
with an almost imperceptible twinge of a Caribbean or West
African accent that's superimposed over whatever the regional
or local accent is.

Denzel did a *South African* accent in Cry Freedom as Steve Biko.

[Alex]

Post by Ara Zacis
On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 20:49:36 +0200, in alt.gossip.celebrities, "Alex"

Post by Alex

Post by mªdcªt
Do Americans get exposed to non-American accents to the same extent?
No. Just think of how badly most American actor/esses do non-American
accents. (eg I saw Ocean's 11 again last night - Don Cheadle
*CRINGE*)

You'll find that individuals who don't do their own national accents
well, don't do foreign accents well either.
On the other hand, Denzel Washington (For Queen And Country,
Biko) and Forest Whitaker (The Crying Game) were ok. The
problem there is that Black Britains often (not always) speak
with an almost imperceptible twinge of a Caribbean or West
African accent that's superimposed over whatever the regional
or local accent is.

Denzel did a *South African* accent in Cry Freedom as Steve Biko.

Makes sense, with him playing a South African. Not so in Queen
And Country though. ;-)

Speaking of South Africans, among some unhip Black South Africans
it is popular to affect an American accent. Everything is relative.

Alex

[Patty]

"LADYAUSSIEFAN" <***@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message news:***@mb-m20.aol.com...
: Funny you would post this interesting topic since I was just wondering why
: australian actress Poppy Montgomery has chosen to speak with an american accent
: off-screen. Maybe she is so into her role it just carries forward into her
: personal life. If I had an australian accent I certaintly wouldn't want to lose
: it! As for Wade Robson he's been in america for a long time I believe, long
: enough to lose his accent. I think if someone migrates from England or another
: country to the states when they are a kid/teen they are most certaintly going
: to lose if not all or most of their accent. If an adult comes from another
: country to live in America I think they would most likely retain their accent.
: I think alot of foreign actors do really great american accents and it amazes
: me. Funny how it doesn't really work the other way around.
:
: Candy

I read somewhere that if you came to the USA from another country at
around 12 or 13 you will most likely lose your accent. I have a friend who
came to the USA from Holland at the age of 17 and he has a slight
accent which most people pick up but can't place. His sister was 13
and his brother was around 10 and neither have accents. Now
Henry Kissinger was around 12 or 13 and his brother was older,
Henry has a very strong accent and I've read his brother either has
none or a slightly detectable one.

[Jill]

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN
I think alot of foreign actors do really great american accents and it amazes
me. Funny how it doesn't really work the other way around.

That's exactly right!

[Nina]

"Jill" <***@yahoo.com> wrote > I am underimpressed with Gwynnie's
British accent. Who else does accents

Post by Jill
very well? One thing that is ALWAYS horrible in movies are the Southern
accents, OMG. Natalie portman's in Where the Heart Is, all from JFK, etc. I
don't know anyone who speaks like that. I'm not from the deep south but
still.
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.

Halle Berry's accent in Monsters Ball was horrid. Same as all her other
"black" characters, BAPS was the worst, but she never does "black"'
convincingly.

[Johnny Cash I Miss You Already]

<< Subject: Re: Celebs and their accents now vs. then
From: "Nina" ***@adelphia.never
Date: Fri, Oct 24, 2003 7:25 PM
Message-id: <Xalmb.2990$***@news2.news.adelphia.net>


"Jill" <***@yahoo.com> wrote > I am underimpressed with Gwynnie's
British accent. Who else does accents

Post by Jill
very well? One thing that is ALWAYS horrible in movies are the Southern
accents, OMG. Natalie portman's in Where the Heart Is, all from JFK, etc. I
don't know anyone who speaks like that. I'm not from the deep south but
still.
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.

Halle Berry's accent in Monsters Ball was horrid. Same as all her other
"black" characters, BAPS was the worst, but she never does "black"'
convincingly.
Oh, oh, oh!! Don't get me started! Do you remember 'Queen'???? It was a
mini-series on TV way before Halle got big in film movies. She played the title
role of a young woman in the slave south who was the product of a white father
and a black mother. The story chronicles her life of shame and secrecy as she
seeks to come to terms with who she is and tries to function in a society where
blacks throw food at her like a dog b/c she is half white, and where white
people treat her low-class b/c she is half black. She doesn't fit in anywhere,
and when a nice white man falls in love with her while she's trying to pass for
Italian or something, she ends up in a mess when he learns of her secret.
Anyway, 'Queen' was a GREAT story, but Halle's "black accent" was
hooooooooooooooooooorrible. So, so, so bad. And in all these years since then
she hasn't improved.

[Tina]

Post by Jill
awesome.
Halle Berry's accent in Monsters Ball was horrid. Same as all her other
"black" characters, BAPS was the worst, but she never does "black"'
convincingly.
Oh, oh, oh!! Don't get me started! Do you remember 'Queen'???? It was a
mini-series on TV way before Halle got big in film movies. She played the title
role of a young woman in the slave south who was the product of a white father
and a black mother. The story chronicles her life of shame and secrecy as she
seeks to come to terms with who she is and tries to function in a society where
blacks throw food at her like a dog b/c she is half white, and where white
people treat her low-class b/c she is half black. She doesn't fit in anywhere,
and when a nice white man falls in love with her while she's trying to pass for
Italian or something, she ends up in a mess when he learns of her secret.
Anyway, 'Queen' was a GREAT story, but Halle's "black accent" was
hooooooooooooooooooorrible. So, so, so bad. And in a

I remember that tv series and couldn't stand Halle in it. I thought her acting
was soooo bad.


::::::Tina::::::

Some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield...

[Johnny Cash I Miss You Already]

<< Subject: Re: Celebs and their accents now vs. then
From: ***@aol.comspamsuxx (Tina)
Date: Sat, Oct 25, 2003 6:20 PM

Post by Jill
awesome.
Halle Berry's accent in Monsters Ball was horrid. Same as all her other
"black" characters, BAPS was the worst, but she never does "black"'
convincingly.
Oh, oh, oh!! Don't get me started! Do you remember 'Queen'???? It was a
mini-series on TV way before Halle got big in film movies. She played the title
role of a young woman in the slave south who was the product of a white father
and a black mother. The story chronicles her life of shame and secrecy as she
seeks to come to terms with who she is and tries to function in a society where
blacks throw food at her like a dog b/c she is half white, and where white
people treat her low-class b/c she is half black. She doesn't fit in anywhere,
and when a nice white man falls in love with her while she's trying to pass for
Italian or something, she ends up in a mess when he learns of her secret.
Anyway, 'Queen' was a GREAT story, but Halle's "black accent" was
hooooooooooooooooooorrible. So, so, so bad. And in a

I remember that tv series and couldn't stand Halle in it. I thought her acting
was soooo bad.
I recall it being pretty freakin' bad. I remember also that there were a couple
supporting roles that WERE excellent, though. Over all I did like the story. It
was a glimpse into a part of American history that many don't think about, what
it was like for the children who were mixed in those days. I recall that Halle
was so bad in it and that all she did was pout and try to force her mouth to
make the sounds that a black woman would make if she were poor and living in
the south.




-------

[Official!] Keeper of the Wonderful, Talented, Handsome Oscar-winner...

Benicio del Toro

Offical web site: http://www.beniciodeltoro.com


[Note: I have no affiliation with the site or site owner]

[Tina]

Post by Tina

Post by Johnny Cash I Miss You Already
Oh, oh, oh!! Don't get me started! Do you remember 'Queen'???? It was a
mini-series on TV way before Halle got big in film movies. She played the title
role of a young woman in the slave south who was the product of a white father
and a black mother. The story chronicles her life of shame and secrecy as

she

Post by Johnny Cash I Miss You Already
seeks to come to terms with who she is and tries to function in a society where
blacks throw food at her like a dog b/c she is half white, and where white
people treat her low-class b/c she is half black. She doesn't fit in anywhere,
and when a nice white man falls in love with her while she's trying to pass for
Italian or something, she ends up in a mess when he learns of her secret.
Anyway, 'Queen' was a GREAT story, but Halle's "black accent" was
hooooooooooooooooooorrible. So, so, so bad. And in a

I remember that tv series and couldn't stand Halle in it. I thought her acting
was soooo bad.
I recall it being pretty freakin' bad. I remember also that there were a couple
supporting roles that WERE excellent, though. Over all I did like the story. It
was a glimpse into a part of American history that many don't think about, what
it was like for the children who were mixed in those days. I recall that Halle
was so bad in it and that all she did was pout and try to force her mouth to
make the sounds that a black woman would make if she were poor and living in
the south.

Wasn't that miniseries based on a book that Alex Haley wrote about his
grandmother or something? I expected the acting especially by the lead actress
to be as great as those who were in "Roots". Boy was I was sadly disappointed.
I'm sure they picked her because of her looks than her acting. Halle is better
now at least.


::::::Tina::::::

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sacred cows make the best hamburger". - Mark Twain

[Nina]

Post by Johnny Cash I Miss You Already
<< Subject: Re: Celebs and their accents now vs. then
Date: Fri, Oct 24, 2003 7:25 PM
British accent. Who else does accents

Post by Jill
very well? One thing that is ALWAYS horrible in movies are the Southern
accents, OMG. Natalie portman's in Where the Heart Is, all from JFK,

etc.

Post by Johnny Cash I Miss You Already
I

Post by Jill
don't know anyone who speaks like that. I'm not from the deep south but
still.
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.

Halle Berry's accent in Monsters Ball was horrid. Same as all her other
"black" characters, BAPS was the worst, but she never does "black"'
convincingly.
Oh, oh, oh!! Don't get me started! Do you remember 'Queen'???? It was a
mini-series on TV way before Halle got big in film movies

... 'Queen' was a GREAT story, but Halle's "black accent" was

Post by Johnny Cash I Miss You Already
hooooooooooooooooooorrible. So, so, so bad. And in all these years since then
she hasn't improved.

'"I's nigra". My sister cant get over that line,lol. Gawd she was awful in
that. Alex Haley wanted her because he said she looked like QUeen. But I
hated that Jasmine Guy,who played her mother,looked more "white" than Halle.
No WAY a child of a white man and Jasmine Guy would have Halles Features,
even with the whiteface makeup they put on her.

[LADYAUSSIEFAN]

Post by Nina
Halle Berry's accent in Monsters Ball was horrid. Same as all her other
"black" characters, BAPS was the worst, but she never does "black"'
convincingly.

Could you define "black" for me? what is that exactly? perhaps it's "yessa
massa!!!" or "I done cooked dem grits fo ya!" is that what you mean by "black"?


Candy
--------
If you were, in my heart, I'd surely, not break you.
If you were, beside me, and my love, would take you.
I'll keep you, in safety, forever, protect you.
I'll hide u, away from, the world you rejected, I'll hide u.
I'll hide u...-Kosheen

[Nina]

Post by LADYAUSSIEFAN

Post by Nina
Halle Berry's accent in Monsters Ball was horrid. Same as all her other
"black" characters, BAPS was the worst, but she never does "black"'
convincingly.

Could you define "black" for me? what is that exactly? perhaps it's "yessa
massa!!!" or "I done cooked dem grits fo ya!" is that what you mean by "black"?

Thats exactly it. When playing characters that are explicityl black (as
opposed to characters that werent written to neccessarily be
AfricanAmerican) she does this "black" dialect thing thats very very
jarring. Its as if she cant play a black character using her normal speech
patterns, but she does a "black" voice.

[O***@aol.com]

Post by Nina
Thats exactly it. When playing characters that are explicityl black (as
opposed to characters that werent written to neccessarily be
AfricanAmerican) she does this "black" dialect thing thats very very
jarring. Its as if she cant play a black character using her normal speech
patterns, but she does a "black" voice.

Oprah Winfrey does the exact same thing. For every character she
plays, she inserts a "black" vernacular and speech pattern. She's
horrible. She plays Sophia in every movie she's in.

[LADYAUSSIEFAN]

Post by Nina
she does this "black" dialect thing thats very very
jarring. Its as if she cant play a black character using her normal speech
patterns, but she does a "black" voice.

She did this in Baps that's for sure but she sounded normal in Monster's Ball
and of course that was written for a woman of color.

Candy

--------
If you were, in my heart, I'd surely, not break you.
If you were, beside me, and my love, would take you.
I'll keep you, in safety, forever, protect you.
I'll hide u, away from, the world you rejected, I'll hide u.
I'll hide u...-Kosheen

[Ambrose]

Post by Jill
Lol. I was flipping through the tv and MTV was replaying Wade Robson's dance
project contest whatever. I knew he was from Australia..they played a video
of him as a child talking and he had such a thick Aussie accent- it was so
different from how he talks now. Did he lose the accent from moving away or
because he was trying to be more neutral, or is he faking it now?
I am interested in accents. Madonna's British one slays me. I think the
niftiest actor/actresses are those who can do accents well. In Drew
Barrymore's movie Riding In Cars With Boys, I didn't know the guy who plays
her son was doing that accent for the movie (at least I only thought he was
putting on a more Jersey accent)until I saw him interviewed somewhere. I
also never knew Glenn Quinn (RIP), who played Mark on Roseanne as well as
Doyle on Angel, was actually Irish like Doyle- although rewatching some of
the Roseanne's, in moments of acting-anger or if he got to speaking faster
it would slip out- but it was not something I ever would have noticed had I
not started looking for it. Penny Marshall told Drew Barrymore she had to
stop speaking Valley Girl for RICWB, and Drew said she does talk like a
Valley Girl and had never noticed it before. lol.
I am underimpressed with Gwynnie's British accent. Who else does accents
very well? One thing that is ALWAYS horrible in movies are the Southern
accents, OMG. Natalie portman's in Where the Heart Is, all from JFK, etc. I
don't know anyone who speaks like that. I'm not from the deep south but
still.
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.
Traci Ullman is so good at accents that her accent is usually better than

the movie she's in. Of course Meryl Steep is amazing at accents, but that
begs the observation that without an accent, (Kramer vs Kramer, The
Seduction of Joe Tynan, Manhattan, etc, etc) Meryl's acting can be
borderline, or occasionally downright mediocre, or at most, barely
distinguishable from almost every other etheral blonde girl graduate of the
Yale Drama School.
Ambrose

[Alex]

Post by Ambrose

Post by Jill
Lol. I was flipping through the tv and MTV was replaying Wade Robson's

dance

Post by Jill
project contest whatever. I knew he was from Australia..they played a

video

Post by Jill
of him as a child talking and he had such a thick Aussie accent- it was so
different from how he talks now. Did he lose the accent from moving away

or

Post by Jill
because he was trying to be more neutral, or is he faking it now?
I am interested in accents. Madonna's British one slays me. I think the
niftiest actor/actresses are those who can do accents well. In Drew
Barrymore's movie Riding In Cars With Boys, I didn't know the guy who

plays

Post by Jill
her son was doing that accent for the movie (at least I only thought he

was

Post by Jill
putting on a more Jersey accent)until I saw him interviewed somewhere. I
also never knew Glenn Quinn (RIP), who played Mark on Roseanne as well as
Doyle on Angel, was actually Irish like Doyle- although rewatching some of
the Roseanne's, in moments of acting-anger or if he got to speaking faster
it would slip out- but it was not something I ever would have noticed had

I

Post by Jill
not started looking for it. Penny Marshall told Drew Barrymore she had to
stop speaking Valley Girl for RICWB, and Drew said she does talk like a
Valley Girl and had never noticed it before. lol.
I am underimpressed with Gwynnie's British accent. Who else does accents
very well? One thing that is ALWAYS horrible in movies are the Southern
accents, OMG. Natalie portman's in Where the Heart Is, all from JFK, etc.

I

Post by Jill
don't know anyone who speaks like that. I'm not from the deep south but
still.
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.
Traci Ullman is so good at accents that her accent is usually better than

the movie she's in. Of course Meryl Steep is amazing at accents, but that
begs the observation that without an accent, (Kramer vs Kramer, The
Seduction of Joe Tynan, Manhattan, etc, etc) Meryl's acting can be
borderline, or occasionally downright mediocre, or at most, barely
distinguishable from almost every other etheral blonde girl graduate of the
Yale Drama School.

What I want to know, is whatever happened to the upper crust sounding
American accent of the 1930s and 1940s. Cary Grant, Mae West especially, etc.

That seems to have totally disappeared.

Alex

[Tina]

Post by Alex
What I want to know, is whatever happened to the upper crust sounding
American accent of the 1930s and 1940s. Cary Grant, Mae West especially, etc.
That seems to have totally disappeared.

You're right, you don't hear that type of accent too often except when spoken
by the eastern blue bloods. Blythe Danner is a somewhat contemporary actress
who speaks with that "theater" type accent.


::::::Tina::::::

Some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield...

[Patty]

: >What I want to know, is whatever happened to the upper crust sounding
: >American accent of the 1930s and 1940s. Cary Grant, Mae West especially, etc.
: >
: >That seems to have totally disappeared.
: >

I would call Cary Grant's accent a hybrid accent since he originally came to NY
from the UK at the age of 16. Definitely not British but not American either.
And he didn't come from an upper class English family.

[Alex]

Post by Jill
Lol. I was flipping through the tv and MTV was replaying Wade Robson's dance
project contest whatever. I knew he was from Australia..they played a video
of him as a child talking and he had such a thick Aussie accent- it was so
different from how he talks now. Did he lose the accent from moving away or
because he was trying to be more neutral, or is he faking it now?
I am interested in accents. Madonna's British one slays me. I think the
niftiest actor/actresses are those who can do accents well. In Drew
Barrymore's movie Riding In Cars With Boys, I didn't know the guy who plays
her son was doing that accent for the movie (at least I only thought he was
putting on a more Jersey accent)until I saw him interviewed somewhere. I
also never knew Glenn Quinn (RIP), who played Mark on Roseanne as well as
Doyle on Angel, was actually Irish like Doyle- although rewatching some of
the Roseanne's, in moments of acting-anger or if he got to speaking faster
it would slip out- but it was not something I ever would have noticed had I
not started looking for it. Penny Marshall told Drew Barrymore she had to
stop speaking Valley Girl for RICWB, and Drew said she does talk like a
Valley Girl and had never noticed it before. lol.
I am underimpressed with Gwynnie's British accent. Who else does accents
very well?

I was just watching American Psycho last night Christian Bale - who is
Welsh. Like Anthony Hopkins, who played Hannibal Lecter.
Pierce Brosnan pretty much hides his Irish accent as James Bond.
Sarah Wynter ("24"), Rachel Griffiths (Blow) and Kate Winslet (The Gift, Elisabeth)
are all Australian.
Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé, Renee Soutendijk pretty much
avoid and heavy Dutch accents in their movies.

I have this theory that people who are born speaking an accent that
isn't the national accent and have to adjust it at an early age, have a
better ear and ability to take on other accents.

Post by Jill
One thing that is ALWAYS horrible in movies are the Southern
accents, OMG. Natalie portman's in Where the Heart Is, all from JFK, etc. I
don't know anyone who speaks like that. I'm not from the deep south but
still.
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.

Glenn Close
Meryl Streep (it used to be the joke that she had a different accent for every role)
Jodie Foster (I think, at least in Silence Of The Lambs)

Alex

[Sandra]

Post by Alex
Sarah Wynter ("24"), Rachel Griffiths (Blow) and Kate Winslet (The Gift, Elisabeth)
are all Australian.

Kate Winslet is British. But I think you mean Cate Blanchette and yes,
she's an aussie.

[Alex]

Post by Sandra

Post by Alex
Sarah Wynter ("24"), Rachel Griffiths (Blow) and Kate Winslet (The Gift, Elisabeth)
are all Australian.

Kate Winslet is British. But I think you mean Cate Blanchette and yes,
she's an aussie.

Thanks, I always get their names (but not the actresses) mixed up.
And I meant Elizabeth - with Jeffrey Rush, another Australian actor.

Alex

[Tina]

Post by Alex

Post by Sandra

Post by Alex
Sarah Wynter ("24"), Rachel Griffiths (Blow) and Kate Winslet (The Gift,

Elisabeth)

Post by Sandra

Post by Alex
are all Australian.

Kate Winslet is British. But I think you mean Cate Blanchette and yes,
she's an aussie.

Thanks, I always get their names (but not the actresses) mixed up.
And I meant Elizabeth - with Jeffrey Rush, another Australian actor.
Alex

Oh you meant Cate Blanchett....honest mistake.
Maybe it is the red hair and the "et" at the end of their names that threw you
off ;)


::::::Tina::::::

Some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield...

[mªdcªt]

Post by Alex
I have this theory that people who are born speaking an accent that
isn't the national accent and have to adjust it at an early age, have a
better ear and ability to take on other accents.

I don't get what you mean.

It's more likely that "non-Americans" do an American accent so well
because we are totally bombarded with it on TV and in film. *I* can
do a convincing Americn accent!

Americans are generally poor at doing "foreign" accents because they
are not exposed to them through TV and film _anywhere_ near to the
same extent - they hear "themselves" all the time.

[Woodie69]

: Americans are generally poor at doing "foreign" accents because they
: are not exposed to them through TV and film _anywhere_ near to the
: same extent - they hear "themselves" all the time.
:

Not necessarily true, my girfriend was brought up in Massachusetts (even
though her mother is Swiss) and she's a sponge when it comes to accents.
With what's going on overseas and the disillusions some have with the
Americans, when she flys over to Europe with me she starts to talk with a
thick accent like her grandmother to avoid any negative feelings.

As for as American actors, there are some that can pull off the accent, it
just shows that they are committed to portraying their character accurately.
The one that bothers me is Kevin Costner in Robin Hood.

[Tina]

Post by Woodie69
: Americans are generally poor at doing "foreign" accents because they
: are not exposed to them through TV and film _anywhere_ near to the
: same extent - they hear "themselves" all the time.
Not necessarily true, my girfriend was brought up in Massachusetts (even
though her mother is Swiss) and she's a sponge when it comes to accents.
With what's going on overseas and the disillusions some have with the
Americans, when she flys over to Europe with me she starts to talk with a
thick accent like her grandmother to avoid any negative feelings.
As for as American actors, there are some that can pull off the accent, it
just shows that they are committed to portraying their character accurately.
The one that bothers me is Kevin Costner in Robin Hood.

Exactly. It's a matter of how skilled they are at mimicry - not what they were
exposed to as children by the media. Nor can you make sweeping generalizations
about the abilities of a whole group of people based on what country they come
from either - especially a country with some many variations of accents.


::::::Tina::::::

Some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield...

[Tina]

Post by Tina
Exactly. It's a matter of how skilled they are at mimicry - not what they were
exposed to as children by the media. Nor can you make sweeping
generalizations
about the abilities of a whole group of people based on what country they come
from either - especially a country with some many variations of accents.

So many variations not some many.....that's what happens when I type too fast.


::::::Tina::::::

Some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield...

[O***@aol.com]

Post by Woodie69
: Americans are generally poor at doing "foreign" accents because they
: are not exposed to them through TV and film _anywhere_ near to the
: same extent - they hear "themselves" all the time.
Not necessarily true, my girfriend was brought up in Massachusetts (even
though her mother is Swiss) and she's a sponge when it comes to accents.
With what's going on overseas and the disillusions some have with the
Americans, when she flys over to Europe with me she starts to talk with a
thick accent like her grandmother to avoid any negative feelings.
As for as American actors, there are some that can pull off the accent, it
just shows that they are committed to portraying their character accurately.
The one that bothers me is Kevin Costner in Robin Hood.

There was a thread here many months ago that touched on this exact
same subject. Kevin Costner, Robert Redford in "Out of Africa". He
really annoyed me because the character he played was a titled British
Nobleman, and he played him like Gary Cooper.

[Alex]

Post by mªdcªt

Post by Alex
I have this theory that people who are born speaking an accent that
isn't the national accent and have to adjust it at an early age, have a
better ear and ability to take on other accents.

I don't get what you mean.

There was one MTV Europe presenter years ago from Enchede
(in Holland) who had this perfect English accent when she spoke
English. As soon as she spoke Dutch, it was back a heavy Enschede
accent again.
The same with Ilse de Lange, also from Enschede/Almelo, very
thick accent when speaking in Dutch, and because she embarked
on a Country & Western musical career, adopted a heavy i-don't-know
kind of accent. I don't know how convincing she sounds to native speakers.
And there's K's Choice who pretty much adopt American sounding
accents when they sing - and they're from Belgium.

Post by mªdcªt
It's more likely that "non-Americans" do an American accent so well
because we are totally bombarded with it on TV and in film. *I* can
do a convincing American accent!
Americans are generally poor at doing "foreign" accents because they
are not exposed to them through TV and film _anywhere_ near to the
same extent - they hear "themselves" all the time.

But there are lots of different American accents as well. And
I'm sure many of them have European relatives with thick accents too.

Alex

[J]

Post by mªdcªt
Americans are generally poor at doing "foreign" accents because they
are not exposed to them through TV and film _anywhere_ near to the
same extent - they hear "themselves" all the time.

I am American, and I suck at doing accents. Of course, I suck at doing ALL
accents, I can't even fake the different American regional accents- even
other "Southern" ones. I am from NC and don't have a particularly thick
southern accent at all, most people tell me I am very neutral, even people
from other states. However I went to New Jersey one summer and was told I
have a very southern accent. lol. But on business phone calls or calling
company's customer service etc several conversations have come up where it's
mentioned that I sound pretty neutral, people say they can't tell where I'm
from etc. "Are you from NC? You don't sound like it..." ....my theory is I
probably sounded more southern when I was younger but at 18 when I went to
school and in the workforce, I took on a neutral, professional manner of
speech, without completely losing my southern-ness.

My brother earned a degree in communications and went on to be a sports
broadcaster and he VERY much changed his accent, he became a bona fide
southern yankee! He doesn't speak neutrally......he speaks with a prissy and
distinctly copied broadcaster voice. He pronounces Chicago,
Chih-CAAA-go....the middle CA as in, the "a" sounds like it does with At,
Bat, Cat. lol. It just sounds put-on because I grew up with him down in the
hollar... ;)

[Tina]

Post by Alex
Sarah Wynter ("24"), Rachel Griffiths (Blow) and Kate Winslet (The Gift, Elisabeth)
are all Australian.

Kate Winselt isn't Australian. She was born and raised in the UK.


::::::Tina::::::

Some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield...

[elsa]

Post by Jill
Lol. I was flipping through the tv and MTV was replaying Wade Robson's dance
project contest whatever. I knew he was from Australia..they played a video
of him as a child talking and he had such a thick Aussie accent- it was so
different from how he talks now. Did he lose the accent from moving away or
because he was trying to be more neutral, or is he faking it now?

<snipped>

Kylie Minogue used to sound like a fair dinkum aussie ocker sheila and
after her hit single "Wild Rose" duet with Nick Cave suddenly
acquired a spoon where the sun don't shine...lol.. and it doesn't
sound natural, it sounds like she's straining to keep the ocker from
coming out

elsa
www.hogerhand.nl

[LADYAUSSIEFAN]

Post by elsa
Kylie Minogue used to sound like a fair dinkum aussie ocker sheila and
after her hit single "Wild Rose" duet with Nick Cave suddenly
acquired a spoon where the sun don't shine...lol.. and it doesn't
sound natural, it sounds like she's straining to keep the ocker from
coming out

wtf did you just say??

Candy
--------
If you were, in my heart, I'd surely, not break you.
If you were, beside me, and my love, would take you.
I'll keep you, in safety, forever, protect you.
I'll hide u, away from, the world you rejected, I'll hide u.
I'll hide u...-Kosheen

[KBurne1045]

Punkiepaws wrote . . .

Post by Jill
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.

Agreed. Only gifted actors can pull off convincing accents (or accents natural
enough not to distract).
Mutt n' Mute

[Lil' Lita-N-Chyna]

It's really interesting that this was brought up. With a lot of
actors/actresses, I had no clue that they were foreign at all.

For example, Hugh Jackman. Big difference in seeing him as Wolverine,
and then himself. Hearing him talk as himself *seriously* blew me away.

Then there are those who do accents pretty well, and you find out that
they're not foreign at all. It's weird. (For example, James Marsters who
plays Spike)

Then are are people with really interesting undertones to everything
they say. Kelly Osbourne and sometimes, Sean Astin.

I'm going to go over here and think about cheese.

Lil

[bsky]

Speaking of accents, I'll never forget how strange it was (to me) when I
realized that the accents of the "singing Beatles" was totally different
from the "speaking Beatles."

Post by KBurne1045
Punkiepaws wrote . . .

Post by Jill
Actors who do all kinds of accents very well are awesome.

Agreed. Only gifted actors can pull off convincing accents (or accents natural
enough not to distract).
Mutt n' Mute

[J]

Post by bsky
Speaking of accents, I'll never forget how strange it was (to me) when I
realized that the accents of the "singing Beatles" was totally different
from the "speaking Beatles."

Lol!! And what about all those American fratboy bands who sing in British
accents. That tickles me...I am trying to think of who did or does it real
bad, was it....Good Charlotte, Blink 182....oh man I can't think but in the
90's there were a lot of them.....