I would really like to see an XMen movie where Colossus, Iceman, Rogue and Gambit actually participate. Maybe people would learn that there are more than 4 or 5 XMen out there...
The X-Men franchise has so many characters who are loved by so many people that to make a movie giving them all adequate screen time, as well as being played by actors from the countries/regions from where the characters originate, would push production costs towards the $500 million mark. To date, the movie with the largest budget is Avatar at $425 million. Would such a movie be worth seeing? Probably so. Would the movie make a profit? Possibly so. Will any studio approve a half-billion-dollar budget? Highly unlikely, unless the script is extremely well-written and the pitch team makes a very good presentation.
On the topic of using the "correct" actors--African actors for characters like Storm or Black Panther, Russian actors for Colossus and his sister Magik, etc--Hollywood is Hollywood and they make movies for American audiences. The average American citizen--no offense intended to my fellow citizens but sometimes the truth hurts--has very limited taste in movies. If they see actors on the screen or plot devices which do not incorporate the usual tropes then they won't like the movie very much. Don't forget that Hollywood is a business; therefore, anything which may negatively impact tickets sales is a no-no.
Storm is supposed to be East African, and her accent goes from American in the first film to Jamaican in the third.
I might be in the minority here but I did NOT like Storm's portrayal in the movies. Aside from her (lack of) accent, she came across as this cream puff. The Storm that I remember from the comics was tough. Someone that you could believe could throw a punch, and take one. Halle might be a talented actress, but that was (yet another) wrong role for her.
On the first three Xmen movies, I think what really made me hate them was what they did to Rogue. First off I have deep seeded hatred for Anna Paquin, but I think that hatred might of started during the Xmen movies. They took Rogue and basically gave her the Jubilee role from the '90s TV show. She didn't have anything to do with Mystique or Miss Marvel. Gambit wasn't even in them so there goes the most interesting love story Xmen has.
Also Colossus didn't have a Russian accent.
Agreed, they really wrote Jubilee's character and changed the name and powers to fit the story.
Still, for all of that at least Kurt had a German accent.
I might be in the minority here but I did NOT like Storm's portrayal in the movies. Aside from her (lack of) accent, she came across as this cream puff. The Storm that I remember from the comics was tough. Someone that you could believe could throw a punch, and take one. Halle might be a talented actress, but that was (yet another) wrong role for her.
It wasn't a wrong role, just another one she didn't take seriously. I always respected Hugh Jackman, since he was the first actor since Christopher Reeve to take a superhero role seriously. After the first X-Men movie actors began to actually perform in Marvel/DC inspired movies, and I really think that helped superhero stories translate from comics (where they can be ridiculous) to film (where the more quirky aspects need to be toned down or it would be a jarring product). Halle Berry is clearly talented (just watch Introducing Dorothy Dandridge) but it honestly seems like she thought she was too good for the role and just phoned it in with minimal effort. Perhaps it would have been different if they had Storm as a more major character, but its honestly disappointing for someone you know is capable put in such a poor performance.
At least she did better than Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom... that guy clearly didn't give even the tiniest, most minuscule sh*t in the world about that role, haha. Its not like he would have saved the movie either.
My favorite hilariously horrible Marvel movie moment: After Dr. Doom steals the Silver Surfer's board:
Invisible Woman: "Dr. Doom, can we borrow the board. If we can't, then the entire world will die and you won't be able to rule it."
Dr. Doom: "Nah, chill. Vile wench"
Invisible Woman: "But... the entire world will blow up... including you! We just need it for like one sec-"
@booinyoureyes - I miss-spoke. I don't think it was a bad choice for Halle Berry to choose. I think that offering her the role in the first place was a mistake on the part of the casting team. Not that she can't act, clearly she can. I just don't see her in the role at all. There's an actress that I thought would have been better but her name escapes me at the moment.
Yeah, Dr Doom was just wrong on so many levels. But then the movies were crap as well, so what do you expect? After the debacle that was the FF movies, I cringed when Chris Evans got the role of Captain America, and figured he would do the same poor job as he did as Johnny Storm. But he turned out to actually be able to act and I love the Cap movies.
Personal opinion, I think that the vast majority of the original Xmen cast were ill-fitting. Pretty much only Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart and Rebecca Romijn (and whoever played toad) were the only ones I agreed with. Which isn't to say that they didn't pull of two great (in my view) movies plus DoFP. Just that I would not have envisioned any of them in the roles that they got.
Ray Park, who also gave us Snake Eyes and Darth Maul. He doesn't get much in the way of dialogue but he ceratinly can move like a cat.
I watched a behind the scenes video on the DVD when I was a kid... that guy can fly! He did all the jump kicks himself and hey looked awesome without any CGI
I have never seen a decent depiction of a Russian accent in any US film, so that's probably for the best. It is still a mystery to me why studios can't just find proper nationals when they need to depict a character from a certain part of the world.
The most likely reason is that viewers have gotten used to bad accents and think they are accurate
I have never seen a decent depiction of a Russian accent in any US film, so that's probably for the best. It is still a mystery to me why studios can't just find proper nationals when they need to depict a character from a certain part of the world.
The most likely reason is that viewers have gotten used to bad accents and think they are accurate
If a real russian (or any other nationality) actor appeared in a movie speaking English, native speakers would probably complain it sounded fake...
You get it with English accents on US TV. Even when an English actor is cast, they are expected to affect a US-TV English accent rather than actually sound English. A prime example was Nick Blood playing Hunter in Agents of SHIELD.
Personally, from the British TV I've seen, it is just as bad there if not worse. Lets ignore the hilarious accents in every Bond movie for a moment, and look at things like the first episode of Spooks (renamed MI-5).
To begin with it featured an American pro-life terrorist in the UK (which is just hilariously absurd) who spoke in possibly the most ridiculous, unbelievable southern American accent I have ever seen. Worst part... the actress was an American! From New York. Her performance, much like I imagine @Fardragon was talking about with Nick Blood as Hunter in Agents of Shield, is was so over the top I'd have thought it was parody, if I didn't realize that this is common in all TV.
Russian/Eastern European characters (these are usually interchangeable haha) always have over-the-top accents, whether it be in the new Star Trek movies with Chekov, the villains at the beginning of the latest season of Sherlock or every gangster in Spiral or Braquo... one American, one British and a French production!
What does that tell us? They are over the top because of two reasons: actors have difficulty mimicking foreign accents AND producers like to have characters be recognizably from certain backgrounds. The second reason simply makes sense... the more hamfisted you are with a characters speach patterns the better audiences unfamiliar with foreign accents will grasp the character's background. You know how many times I've heard "this character doesn't even sound like they are from _____" when actors don't overplay it? I've said it myself with Rogue.
This is why sometimes hammy accents are preferable. When I watched Strike Back, a British production with an Australian actor playing an American character I actually didn't really care that much that the one American was an over the top, super direct cowboy that sounded like an extra from a 1950s John Wayne movie.
The reason? I had seen Highlander (which I still love for its great premise and awesome camp value haha) where an American-born, French raised actor with a French accent played a Scotsman and a Scottish actor (the great Sean Connery) played a Spanish character who originated from Ancient Egypt and NEITHER made the SLIGHTEST attempt to sound like what their characters would be expected to!!!!
This is why sometimes you just shouldn't question what you have, because it really could be worse! Its also why (to tie it back to the MCU), as a person of Greek heritage, I really don't mind them casting a French/Cambodian actress at Elektra... even if she doesn't sound Greek, she'll be more believable to foreign audiences than Jennifer Gardner... who didn't even attempt an accent of *any* sort in the first place!
Perhaps a real actor like @jackjack would have some better insight?
On the topic of accents I have to say this again, good job Andy Serkis for the best South African accent I have ever seen/heard in a movie. I really just did think they had hired a SA actor for the part of the sigh.... South African arms dealer.
American people seem to expect every British person to sound like a BBC TV commentator. Whereas there are British accents that Americans never hear, like Cockney (I loved the series "Cribb" as Constable Thackeray had an actual Cockney accent. In fact, one of the cases revolved around this. A man is killed with a paper in his pocket reading "1981". They wonder what this number had to do with why he died. It turns out that the man was Cockney and when read in a Cockney accent, it becomes "One Nine Eightun" (or 19 Eaton), the address he was looking for.)
I do know one actor who used a non British accent. Trevor Goddard. He played Kano in Mortal Kombat, the movie. He was born in Bromley and used an Aussie accent.
Whereas there are British accents that Americans never hear, like Cockney
Honestly, I hear cockney accents all the time in US TV. Pretty much every film that Guy Ritchie has made has been HUGE in the US (and the only one that sucked was that horrendous Madona one... the only film he made that didn't feature a character with a cockney accent!) Hell, Mark Sheppard alone is in literally every show on TV for the past ten years. Also... we have THE Michael Caine putting out hits every year for decades now!
I'd say after "BBC commentator" the cockney accent is the most prevalent and recognizable one in the States, far more so than a Geordie or Scouse accent (which I've seen misinterpreted as Irish more times than I can count)
True. I must also mention Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor with his "Northern" British Accent. "Lots of Planets have a North!" Birmingham, maybe? Nope, looked it up- Lancashire!
So the Gambit movie that's a thing that's happening and all I can think is don't screw this up, don't screw this up, why did you cast Channing Tatum as Gambit? don't screw this up, why is Gambit getting a solo movie? please don't screw this up.
Alexander Skarsgard or Jared Leto would both fit the part far better than Tatum, but I guess at least we're not getting Taylor Kitsch, so I should be happy right?
After Age of Ultron i started to gave up on the villains and fearing how Thanos is gonna be protrayed. When Gaston from Beauty and the Beast can be considered a more serious and menacing villain than a genocidal robot with twisted family issues you know theres a problem.
Are Rocket Raccoon and Groot just a clever inversion of Minsc and Boo?
I always thought Drax was Minsc. Groot is too wise.
haha, no I mean Rocket is Minsc and Groot is Boo in spirit, while they are "inverted" in terms of size and species (sorta). Rocket is loud and loves fighting (like Minsc minus the justice! obsession) while no one understands what Groot is saying except Rocket (kinda like how only Minsc understands Boo... or so we think haha)
I have never seen a decent depiction of a Russian accent in any US film, so that's probably for the best. It is still a mystery to me why studios can't just find proper nationals when they need to depict a character from a certain part of the world.
The most likely reason is that viewers have gotten used to bad accents and think they are accurate
who cares if the accent is fake?
As for 'Real' accents, check out John Barrowman sometime. He actually hails from Wales and speaks fluent welsh. He pulls off a fairly convincing American accent (probably because he lived in Chicago for a time), but his actual accent is quite different. BTW, most of the 'American' accents in Dr Who are really bad, except his. And the Audios are just as guilty of it. I put it down to the directors and producers who think that all us yokal hicks here in 'The colonies' talk real funny-like.
Comments
On the topic of using the "correct" actors--African actors for characters like Storm or Black Panther, Russian actors for Colossus and his sister Magik, etc--Hollywood is Hollywood and they make movies for American audiences. The average American citizen--no offense intended to my fellow citizens but sometimes the truth hurts--has very limited taste in movies. If they see actors on the screen or plot devices which do not incorporate the usual tropes then they won't like the movie very much. Don't forget that Hollywood is a business; therefore, anything which may negatively impact tickets sales is a no-no.
Still, for all of that at least Kurt had a German accent.
At least she did better than Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom... that guy clearly didn't give even the tiniest, most minuscule sh*t in the world about that role, haha. Its not like he would have saved the movie either.
My favorite hilariously horrible Marvel movie moment: After Dr. Doom steals the Silver Surfer's board:
Invisible Woman: "Dr. Doom, can we borrow the board. If we can't, then the entire world will die and you won't be able to rule it."
Dr. Doom: "Nah, chill. Vile wench"
Invisible Woman: "But... the entire world will blow up... including you! We just need it for like one sec-"
Dr. Doom: "Weeeeeee, I'm flying!"
Yeah, Dr Doom was just wrong on so many levels. But then the movies were crap as well, so what do you expect? After the debacle that was the FF movies, I cringed when Chris Evans got the role of Captain America, and figured he would do the same poor job as he did as Johnny Storm. But he turned out to actually be able to act and I love the Cap movies.
Personal opinion, I think that the vast majority of the original Xmen cast were ill-fitting. Pretty much only Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Patrick Stewart and Rebecca Romijn (and whoever played toad) were the only ones I agreed with. Which isn't to say that they didn't pull of two great (in my view) movies plus DoFP. Just that I would not have envisioned any of them in the roles that they got.
To begin with it featured an American pro-life terrorist in the UK (which is just hilariously absurd) who spoke in possibly the most ridiculous, unbelievable southern American accent I have ever seen. Worst part... the actress was an American! From New York. Her performance, much like I imagine @Fardragon was talking about with Nick Blood as Hunter in Agents of Shield, is was so over the top I'd have thought it was parody, if I didn't realize that this is common in all TV.
Russian/Eastern European characters (these are usually interchangeable haha) always have over-the-top accents, whether it be in the new Star Trek movies with Chekov, the villains at the beginning of the latest season of Sherlock or every gangster in Spiral or Braquo... one American, one British and a French production!
What does that tell us? They are over the top because of two reasons: actors have difficulty mimicking foreign accents AND producers like to have characters be recognizably from certain backgrounds. The second reason simply makes sense... the more hamfisted you are with a characters speach patterns the better audiences unfamiliar with foreign accents will grasp the character's background. You know how many times I've heard "this character doesn't even sound like they are from _____" when actors don't overplay it? I've said it myself with Rogue.
This is why sometimes hammy accents are preferable. When I watched Strike Back, a British production with an Australian actor playing an American character I actually didn't really care that much that the one American was an over the top, super direct cowboy that sounded like an extra from a 1950s John Wayne movie.
The reason? I had seen Highlander (which I still love for its great premise and awesome camp value haha) where an American-born, French raised actor with a French accent played a Scotsman and a Scottish actor (the great Sean Connery) played a Spanish character who originated from Ancient Egypt and NEITHER made the SLIGHTEST attempt to sound like what their characters would be expected to!!!!
This is why sometimes you just shouldn't question what you have, because it really could be worse! Its also why (to tie it back to the MCU), as a person of Greek heritage, I really don't mind them casting a French/Cambodian actress at Elektra... even if she doesn't sound Greek, she'll be more believable to foreign audiences than Jennifer Gardner... who didn't even attempt an accent of *any* sort in the first place!
Perhaps a real actor like @jackjack would have some better insight?
I do know one actor who used a non British accent. Trevor Goddard. He played Kano in Mortal Kombat, the movie. He was born in Bromley and used an Aussie accent.
Hell, Mark Sheppard alone is in literally every show on TV for the past ten years.
Also... we have THE Michael Caine putting out hits every year for decades now!
I'd say after "BBC commentator" the cockney accent is the most prevalent and recognizable one in the States, far more so than a Geordie or Scouse accent (which I've seen misinterpreted as Irish more times than I can count)
Types of English Accents: http://dialectblog.com/british-accents/
But genuine cockney is rare even in London now.
Alexander Skarsgard or Jared Leto would both fit the part far better than Tatum, but I guess at least we're not getting Taylor Kitsch, so I should be happy right?
Looks kinda like Gambit with a beard.
Also looks kinda like Gambit with a beard.
Looks like Cap or Cyclops to me.
And he romances Rogue. Poor guy, someone buy him a full body condom +20, stat!
Are Rocket Raccoon and Groot just a clever inversion of Minsc and Boo?
Hopefully he bails and we get a actor that at least looks the part. But for the love of the gods don't let it be Taylor Kitsch.
who cares if the accent is fake?
As for 'Real' accents, check out John Barrowman sometime. He actually hails from Wales and speaks fluent welsh. He pulls off a fairly convincing American accent (probably because he lived in Chicago for a time), but his actual accent is quite different. BTW, most of the 'American' accents in Dr Who are really bad, except his. And the Audios are just as guilty of it. I put it down to the directors and producers who think that all us yokal hicks here in 'The colonies' talk real funny-like.