American contribution to the world

[buck]

You were doing great Buck. Till the last sentence! Thats a pity.

 

Of course we are ALL responcible for the state of the planet. Which is why I say that America had the perfect opportunity to take the reigns (in a very democratic way) after the second world war. G.B was virtually skint - America was the only nation with the wherewithal to lead and with the imput of all nations, guide mankind into a more peaceful and sustainable future.

 

The use of bringing up the past Buck is clear. It is hopefully a way to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. Thats the theory anyway.

Sorry about the trolling, a step too far. However, your friend Zein refuses to accept any comparison with US actions in the past. He avers it is childish to do so, which is as much an insult as my saying I'm tired of his garbage. However, that's between me and him, I will read what he writes and enjoy a laugh at his expense. Much more rewarding.

[Sierra]

I think a lot of good American directors see good acting as a result of theatre repertoire. British actors seem to be able to play the villainy part well by acting alone rather than being tooled up. In comparison American actors seem to go from stacking shelves, discovered then put before a camera. Like most things if you want quality it usually comes with years of training. That's not to say there isn't natural talent out there.

 

As an example the Die Hard film were terrible imo but they had one saving grace - Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons. Hopkins as Lecter is another example. I think also Brit actors tend to see or know a good script rather than a blockbuster. Saying that some of my fav's are American, Kevin Spacey, Dennis Hooper, Kathy Bates, Annette Benning, Jack Nicholson etc.

 

I agree with Sierra..they play villains because they're convincing.

 

Exactly. I read an actress's biography once, I forget who. Probably someone like Joan Plowright. She said she kept getting offers to go work in Hollywood. Finally she couldn't say no anymore, the money was just too tempting. After she made the decision to work in America, she said she had colleagues who nearly stopped speaking to her because she lowered herself to do *sniff* "films".

 

There's a funny story told by the late Richard Burton, of his first visit to Hollywood. He was taken to a producer's house in the Hills where unbeknownst to him, there was a huge party going on. He said all he remembered of that night was wet, brown arms reaching out from the pool to shake hands, and that everyone called him "Rich". He said he was thinking to himself not yet, but I'll be rich soon!

[Sierra]

They're welcome to him far as I'm concerned. I dont like the guy.

 

Once we had actors like Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and others who portrayed Englishmen in a better light. Today they're either all villains or Ponces.

On the other hand I've seen Americans shown in European movies as being stupendously naive or some kind of John Wayne xerox copy.

 

I was always a Mel Gibson fan, but his last set of troubles really turned me off him. A shame how some of these actors allow their personal troubles to overshadow their careers. He's not alone by any means.

 

Even funnier than Americans portrayed as oafs is when they try to save money by not going on location and they use locals in speaking parts or try to dress up what's obviously a city in Europe to look American. You see this more with TV shows. OTOH, I didn't realize until I was in my twenties that the Old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns were filmed in Italy. I know, I never made the connection. It looked so much like the Southwest.

 

Every once in a great while, I'll see one of the old Christopher Lee horror movies on late night cable, and they're still very watchable. He's a wonderful actor.

[Sierra]

vinnie jones ?

Heck yeah Vinnie Jones. He does scare me a bit, though.

[Sierra]

But they don't have real English accents ... Like Dork Van Dick.:hihi:

 

No they don't. Sometimes they aren't bad. Unfortunately Hollywood often goes with a well known actor over someone who can actually act because of $$$$$.

 

Emily Blunt was very convincing as an American in

[Harleyman]

I was always a Mel Gibson fan, but his last set of troubles really turned me off him. A shame how some of these actors allow their personal troubles to overshadow their careers. He's not alone by any means.

 

Even funnier than Americans portrayed as oafs is when they try to save money by not going on location and they use locals in speaking parts or try to dress up what's obviously a city in Europe to look American. You see this more with TV shows. OTOH, I didn't realize until I was in my twenties that the Old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns were filmed in Italy. I know, I never made the connection. It looked so much like the Southwest.

 

Every once in a great while, I'll see one of the old Christopher Lee horror movies on late night cable, and they're still very watchable. He's a wonderful actor.

 

You must have been to Universal Studios at least once. Those high speed chases with the actors sitting in stationary cars bouncing around to imitate speed or hanging from windows at perilous heights but in actual fact ten feet off the ground. Steve McQueen did a lot of his own stunts but he was one of the few.

Pasadena City hall is popular among movie makers. It's Italian Renaissance architecture makes it ideal for passing as some building in southern Europe or south America.

I saw them filming a scene there from "A walk in the clouds' years back and also Clint Eastwood and Angelina Jolie filming a scene from "The Changeling" in downtown San Dimas which was supposed to be what a street in Los Angeles looked like in the 1920s.

Clint is getting on in years and looked a little stooped but he's directed some first class movies over the years and he's a tall dude anyway so the stoop is hardly noticeable.

Ireland has also provided a back drop for films in recent years. It still looks like Engalnd did a hundred years ago and it passed for 1944 Normandy when filming "Saving Private Ryan"

[Harleyman]

No they don't. Sometimes they aren't bad. Unfortunately Hollywood often goes with a well known actor over someone who can actually act because of $$$$$.

 

Emily Blunt was very convincing as an American in

 

One English actor who had me completely fooled was Damian Lewis who played Captain Winters in Band of Brothers. His accent was 100 percent pure yank. Surpised the heck out of me when he was interviewed on TV and spoke with an accent 100 percent pure English.

[Rupert_Baehr]

When I first moved to Albuquerque, my nieghbour (who subsequently became a good friend) tried to talk to me using a Dork van Dick 'English' accent.

 

I didn't understand a bloody word and my confusion must've showed on my face.

 

"Don't all English people talk like that?" he asked.

 

"No". I said.

 

"1. I'm not English and

2. I've never heard anybody talk like that."

 

...

Even funnier than Americans portrayed as oafs is when they try to save money by not going on location and they use locals in speaking parts or try to dress up what's obviously a city in Europe to look American. You see this more with TV shows. OTOH, I didn't realize until I was in my twenties that the Old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns were filmed in Italy. I know, I never made the connection. It looked so much like the Southwest.

...

 

I'm a bugger for picking up errors in films. (Errors such as Johnny Depp wearing a Nike hat - with the label showing - in one of the 'Pirates' films.)

 

Recently, I saw a film which had shots (suppsedly) filmed in the Prison at München.

 

The cars were BMWs (they got that bit right) but they didn't have front number plates. :hihi: This is Germany. Such a car would get about 5 miles.

 

Then there was a backdrop of the Alps. You'd need bloody good eyesight to see Alpspitze from München - It's 50 miles away.

 

Yesterday I saw a film set in the UK. Must've been bloody dangerous when they made that. Everybody was driving on the right hand side of the road.

 

'Every expense spared' :hihi:

[Harleyman]

The daftest thing I saw in a movie was in 'Where Eagles dare" In comes this chopper landing in the courtayard of a Bavarian castle in WW2

I dont think the Jerries let alone the Allies had a single chopper in their inventory. They were still at least a couple of years from making first test flights.

[ronthenekred]

One English actor who had me completely fooled was Damian Lewis who played Captain Winters in Band of Brothers. His accent was 100 percent pure yank. Surpised the heck out of me when he was interviewed on TV and spoke with an accent 100 percent pure English.

 

 

Really don't feel so bad as I knew he was English, but after that performance I got totally confused and started to question myself, so much so that I thought he was a brilliant yank actor who had been cast over here playing Brit parts.