Take a break from work: watch a movie trailer…
Yes, it’s Christopher Eccleston day here at FlickFilosopher.com. I’m highly intrigued to see if he can pull off an American character — not to mention an American accent, which I don’t think I’ve heard him do before — because he seems so British to me. Also: Elisabeth Moss, the sweet and not-so-naive Peggy from Mad Men, stars, so, you know: coolness.
On the other hand, I’m slightly disturbed by the fact that there are characters named Jekyll and Hyde here… and that they’re played by Eccleston and Moss, and that they’re lovers. Hmm…
New Orleans Mon Amour has not yet been picked up by a distributor, and so does not yet have a release date.
(Technorati tags: New Orleans Mon Amour, trailer)
I believe he plays an American opposite Rennee Zellweger in a film from a few years ago called “A Price Above Rubies”, but I’ve not seen it myself. Is he an American in “eXistenz”, too?
chris eccleston plays an american in existenz only while they are inside the game itself. he does great american accents but it is strange to hear because he does have quite the manchester/ northern accent which i love to hear
As a Gulfport MS resident who grew up less than an hour from New Orleans … AND a 25+ year Doctor Who fan … I am totally blown away by this. The trailer looks unbelievable. Thank you SO much for sharing this, Maryann. This movie was made for me.
Eccleston is a surprisingly effective mimic. Despite the distinctiveness of the timbre of his voice, there’ve been a couple of radio programmes in which I’ve heard him do accents or “characters” (a wicked Prince Charles impression, for instance) that are so good that it’s only halfway into them that I realize it’s him. Sustaining an accent may be a slightly different issue, but on the whole, Brits tend to be better at Southern accents than Yankee ones. So I’m hopeful.
I think he and Elisabeth Moss are an interesting match-up in acting styles, he almost never lacks fierce chemistry with co-stars, and add in the fascinating setting, I’m looking forward to it. It may be a mess, but he also has a history of really interesting, odd little films.
I’m struggling to think of British actors doing Southern US accents, off the top of my head… Is Albert Finney doing one in “Erin Brockovich”?
Chris Eccleston does a sort of Brooklyn Jewish accent in “A Price Above Rubies.” It is middling, not awful but not great either. As for Albert Finney, he’s not doing southern in “Erin Brockovich,” and his is decidedly bad. I can’t think of many British actors who can manage a convincing American accent of any region. The same can be said of almost any American actor who try to tackle any kind of British or Irish accent. It’s not easy.
I was really impressed with Hugh Dancy’s accent in “The Jane Austen Book Club.” Also, Toby Jones was really great in “Infamous,” but he was doing Truman Capote, whose own accent was so singular.
I really admire Eccleston in just about everything, and I have high hopes for his work in the U.S. He’s due to play an American, Fred Noonan, in Mira Nair’s upcoming movie about Amelia Earhardt.
Jamie Bamber’s Caprican accent — which sounds remarkably American to the untrained ear — is quite awesome on *Battlestar Galactica.*
Also, Linus Roache is doing a killer educated-bridge-and-tunnel-New York accent on *Law and Order.*
Oh, and Hugh Laurie — hands up, who knew he was British if you hadn’t heard of him before *House*?
Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh do perfect American accents in *Dead Again.*
Kevin Kline and Robin Wright Penn do perfect British accents. (Hands up, who thought Princess Buttercup was actually British?)
On the whole, I’d say Brits are better at pulling off American accents than the other way around. Though that may be a result more of the British emphasis on craft — Americans can be “actors” with merely a pretty face.
Oh, and BTW, I’m in touch with the producers of *New Orleans Mon Amour* and hope to have a screener soon.
“On the whole, I’d say Brits are better at pulling off American accents than the other way around.”
Pax Americana might have something to do with it. When these actors were growing up, American programming was all over their TV and movie theaters, and there were lots of American expats around to imitate. Also, perhaps aspirations to Hollywood made learning to speak “American” a valuable skill to pick up.
I lived in Norway for a while in the 70’s, and the Norwegians who learned English spoke it with American accents, despite England being almost next door.
That’s a good point. Even today you have to seek out British TV in America, but it’s impossible to avoid American TV overseas.