Rule Brittania. Brittania rules the……tv?
Hello I thought I would butt in at the start of this article and just give a big warm hello to our latest guest writer J.A. Pak this lovely lady writes a wonderful blog about the wonderful world fo American televisions and is well worth checking out, just click here and be taken away. If you want to join in the party here at your face don’t forget to email me with your articles to david [at] yourfacesisanadvert dawt com. So with out further ado read on my fair folk.
Blackett
Sometimes I’m watching TV and I think, “Wait a minute — am I still in Britain? Didn’t I move to L.A. a year ago?” Because here’s Jo Frost, the Supernanny. And isn’t that Tracey Cox giving me sex advice? Flipping the channel, I see Damian Lewis, Stephen Moyer, Ashley Jensen, Sophia Myles, Marsha Thomason, Emily Blunt — and why are they trying to sound like Americans? Except Ashley Jensen who actually plays a Scot in Ugly Betty. And Marsha Thomason, for some unknown reason, is always cast as a Brit. Go figure.
It’s gotten so bad, I told my out-of-work actor friend to pretend she’s British at auditions. Hey, she lived in London for awhile. And all she has to do is speak with good diction and everyone will think she’s a foreigner — that happens to me all the time! And when they ask her if she can do an American accent, it’s in the bag!
Of course Brits have been in Hollywood films for years. Like Christian Bale playing the American icon Batman ( am I the only one who didn’t know that Christian Bale was British - ed). Lately, the excuse is that Brits are way cheaper and more macho. Well, Hollywood, whose fault is that? You’re the one who’s been grooming the Brad Pitts and the Matt Damons forever. You wouldn’t listen to me when I said that had to stop. Now you have to shop in London. A good excuse to go to Selfridges, but it’s a bloody long plane ride! And this explanation doesn’t cut it in television, which isn’t just importing British actors, but actual British shows, only redone with American actors and in American settings. The list is long: The Office, Life on Mars, Kath & Kim — whoops, Kath & Kim is Australian — but that’s cheaper Britain! Can’t get a Brit? Get Miranda Otto. Or Judy Davis, who’s been impersonating an American for years. Anna Torv and Yvonne Strahovski are even cheaper.
Here’s my suggestion for you, Hollywood. Next time you want to “import” a Brit show, just dub it with American voices. And every time London is mentioned, just replace it with New York or Los Angeles, unless you’re going for hip, and then replace it with Seattle (although that’s getting old). I mean, you’re already filming all outdoor shots in Toronto anyway. What’s the difference? And you’ll save a lot of money. Which is all you *#@!! care about.
