Interesting, isnt it, that racial stereotypes have been stamped out of Australian media and indeed it is an offence in law to use a word like "boong" refering to some one of a race, yet the Australian media INSISTS on continued use of the "Whigeing Pom" stereotype. I have seen this stereotype, and heard the tern "whingeing pom" (in itself an Australian usage stereotype)used on Australian TV at least a dozen times in the past year.
Why do you think, do the "vilification" laws apply to everyone of any nationality, except "poms"??
Condolences E-Man. It was a bad day for Anglo football on both sides of the pond. But to reach the quarterfinals is an accomplishment. We Yanks can hold our heads high. We played well, far better than expected.
Refiners..Apparently, so I read yesterday; we're always cast as the bad guys/psycos/evildoers etc in Hollywood as we're the only Nation left that dos'nt complain...!
You know the English; we never moan in restaurants etc even if the food is maggot infested and raw...
Actually Termite, I think they cast English actors as villians for another reason.
The American leads are cardboard stereotypes, and they cant act. So to give the film some depth of character they cast an englishman as the villian. English actors are very inderstated and subtle. Example, James Mason, who was equally convincing as a good guy or as evil personified. He could convey it with voice inflection and body stance.A lot of American actors playing villians can only leer and grimace wildly. they cant act, as such. No American could have played Lecter as convincingly as a British trained actor did.Consider Alan Rickman in "Die Hard". menacing without leering. No yank actor could do it.
I expect to be savaged by the yanks now, but this is my opinion. By the way, I put my money where my mouth is, I avoid American films.
I agree with you that Great Britain has produced some damn fine actors. However, your statement that the U.S. doesn't produce actors of the same caliber is pure bunk. It seems by avoiding American films (and a good deal of them are crap), you've also missed some excellent performances.
Here are a few American actors who've performed excellently as villains:
Kevin Spacey - John Doe in Se7en Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver, Cape Fear Edward Norton - American History X Dennis Hopper - Blue Velvet Jack Nicholson - The Shining Bob Gunton - The warden in the Shawshank Redemption Louise Fletcher - Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Michael Douglas - Wall Street
I leave it to you to discover some more on your own.
Cheers,
CPiolo
Who doesn't limit his movie choices by the country they were produced in.
