a question for the yanks!

11-10-2004, 06:12 PM

ok well i'm at drama school, and as part of a project we have been asked to study four different accents, and perfect them into a monologue.
I have been given, Boston, LA, New York and one northern english one (which i have covered!)
I'v been told Boston and NY sound similar but are different, i dont know if that's true or not, anyway what i wanted to ask is, if you guys could recomend any films where they all speak in a heavy LA accent, or Boston accent, or NY accent. Where the one accent is consistent throughout, so i could try to figure out the differences, because when i put on an american accent i would not be able to pin point where the origin of that accent is, i sort of just do a general one that goes all over the place.
thanks

**Jocasta** · 11-10-2004, 07:13 PM

What part of northern England?

11-10-2004, 07:48 PM

liverpool, but i got that covered, i can do it pretty well without the study, its just the american ones i'm having trouble with. They all seem to blur into one, thats why i need to train my ear to the differences.

**Jocasta** · 11-10-2004, 08:17 PM

Right, scousers have a pretty distinctive accent!
Sorry I'm no help on the American one's... :(

11-10-2004, 08:41 PM

no probs, thanks though.

11-10-2004, 10:57 PM

I thought you got the Boston thingy covered...since you are an Eliza Dushku fan...or her accent is not...Bostony enough? :confused:

11-11-2004, 03:42 AM

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have pretty thick Boston accents, watch Good Will Hunting, its evident what the accents sound like. Boston is slightly different than NY, also if you can get a hold of the clips from SNL, they used to do this funny skit where they were these kids from Boston. Hilarious...they say things like "wicked awesome"...its so funny.

darko. · 11-11-2004, 11:04 AM

affleck and damon dont have thick accents. they both got rid of them. they did that for the movie.

an accent can vary...someone from brooklyn will sound completely different than somefrom upstate NY.

**andrew r** · 11-11-2004, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by akka:
liverpool, but i got that covered, i can do it pretty well without the study, its just the american ones i'm having trouble with. They all seem to blur into one, thats why i need to train my ear to the differences.

Just don't do the Harry Enfield style accent. The 'calm down' one. It's annoying. I'd like to hear it, if possible - being a Scouser myself.

11-11-2004, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dark_willow:
I thought you got the Boston thingy covered...since you are an Eliza Dushku fan...or her accent is not...Bostony enough? :confused:

ya know, amazingly i can't hear her accent! I don't know whether it's changed over the years, i assumed it has, but i just don't hear the difference. Even when she was on buffy, i didnt know she was talking in a different accent until somebody pointed it out to me.

@andrew, i kinda base my liverpool one on what ii remember from brookside, and watching interviews with jennifer ellison (god help me). Also my voice coach is actually from liverpool so even though his accent is now trained to RP, he can still flip back into scouser mode. Would you say the Harry Enfield "calm down" thing is completely way off, like a bad accent? Or is it just the sketch in general that annoys you?

Do any of you know if either Damon or Affleck have done a movie where their bostonian accent is strong?

Nicole thanks for the advise on the SNL skits, i'll see if i can hold of them, can i just ask how far back you talking? As in when were these skits airing? Just makes it a little easier trying to get hold of them, thanks for the help people!

**andrew r** · 11-12-2004, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by akka:

@andrew, i kinda base my liverpool one on what ii remember from brookside, and watching interviews with jennifer ellison (god help me). Also my voice coach is actually from liverpool so even though his accent is now trained to RP, he can still flip back into scouser mode. Would you say the Harry Enfield "calm down" thing is completely way off, like a bad accent? Or is it just the sketch in general that annoys you?

The "calm down" sketches do annoy me. I suppose to an extent that Jennifer is a good enough example to use, Paul O'Grady's another good accent to use.

Also didn't Eliza have an accent in the early Buffy eps and some of the films she did before Buffy?

Ox · 11-12-2004, 10:03 AM

Why couldn't they have assigned you a southern accent? So much easier!

For a Boston accent, get film clips or recorded speeches of the Kennendys. President Kennendy is terrific.

For New York try to get a clip of former mayor Rudy Gulianni. Dig up those World Trade Center clips and he should be there.

Perhaps for the LA accent you could try watching the O.C. or or reruns of Beverly Hills 90820(I got that zip code wrong).

The LA accent is less accent as it is the words they use. Also you'll run into distinctions between white accents and black.

For LA try the movie Clueless. Alicia Silverstone will give you a pretty good idea of LA.

If I think of some movies for Boston and New York, I'll let you know.

Remember John Kerry is from the Boston area if that would help.

[ November 12, 2004, 08:07 AM: Message edited by: Ox ]

11-12-2004, 08:18 PM

Couldn't have done Scottish could you have [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Liverpool accents annoy the crap out of me.

11-13-2004, 04:04 PM

well the thing with eliza, is that i remember her talking about having to change her accent with a voice coach when she was a kid (conan o brian interview), so i thought maybe she wasnt the best example.
Ox and andrew, thanks for the advice, i'll try to see if i can get hold of some clips, shouldnt be too hard hopefully. I'll let you know how it goes, i'v got a few weeks yet before i have to perform them!
And kirsty, WHERE ARE YOU!!!! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! [img]graemlins/bday.gif[/img]

[ November 13, 2004, 02:05 PM: Message edited by: akka ]

11-13-2004, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by akka:

Nicole thanks for the advise on the SNL skits, i'll see if i can hold of them, can i just ask how far back you talking? As in when were these skits airing? Just makes it a little easier trying to get hold of them, thanks for the help people!

I would guess they started in around 2000, or somewhere during the late 90s. Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Dratch and Horatio Sanz are all in the skit, so it is during the years when they were on. I remember them doing a skit with Britney Spears around 2000.
I do think that Matt and Ben have accents, they usually don't have them in their movies, but if you see them in interviews, or when they are together, they slip back into them. But in Good Will Hunting they are very strong accents.

11-15-2004, 04:02 AM

If we're talking about realistic acting, I'd stay away from the SNL clips. Those accents are a bit exaggerated. Good Will Hunting is a better suggestion.

The thing about NY accents is that they vary a bit when it comes to whether they're an irish/italian new yorker and an african american new yorker and a jewish new yorker. I suppose NY is most known for the irish/italian accents and there are a plethera of movies with good examples of them; A Bronx Tale, Deniro movies like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, etc. If you want more yiddish any Woody Allen movie will do.

LA is a bit more difficult because the only distinctive accent outside of a generic American accent that they have would probably be the old stereotype of the valley girl or the surfer. I think actors you may be able to look at that may have good LA accents are Nicolas Cage and Keanu Reeves. I guess Clueless is a good suggestion too, the problem is that Clueless is a comedy and comedies always exaggerate. Maybe find yourself a good documentary about surfers from Cali. ;)

11-15-2004, 04:27 PM

thanks again, awesome my sister has goodfellas, so i'll nick that out of her room!! hehe, has keanu changed his accent for films? i have speed, and the matrix somewhere, are those ok?

11-15-2004, 08:11 PM

I think those would be fine for the Keanu accents...stay away from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" he has an exaggerated cali accent in that one. Very surfer.

11-17-2004, 11:08 PM

I've been to L.A. many a time and don't think I encountered too many accents...

Perhaps your drama professors have an incorrect view of Californians. I mean I don't like people from L.A., but there's no need to misrepresent them.

11-18-2004, 12:13 AM

The L.A. one isnt to hard just snort some crack.. get an insanely hot girl with fake boobs at your side and talk like an arrogant jackass... thats the L.A. accent

11-10-2004, 06:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
akka Posts: n/a	ok well i'm at drama school, and as part of a project we have been asked to study four different accents, and perfect them into a monologue. I have been given, Boston, LA, New York and one northern english one (which i have covered!) I'v been told Boston and NY sound similar but are different, i dont know if that's true or not, anyway what i wanted to ask is, if you guys could recomend any films where they all speak in a heavy LA accent, or Boston accent, or NY accent. Where the one accent is consistent throughout, so i could try to figure out the differences, because when i put on an american accent i would not be able to pin point where the origin of that accent is, i sort of just do a general one that goes all over the place. thanks

11-10-2004, 07:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jocasta Joshtopian Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Shaftesbury Avenue Posts: 17,974 My Profile	What part of northern England?

11-10-2004, 07:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
akka Posts: n/a	liverpool, but i got that covered, i can do it pretty well without the study, its just the american ones i'm having trouble with. They all seem to blur into one, thats why i need to train my ear to the differences.

11-10-2004, 08:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
Jocasta Joshtopian Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Shaftesbury Avenue Posts: 17,974 My Profile	Right, scousers have a pretty distinctive accent! Sorry I'm no help on the American one's... :(

11-10-2004, 08:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
akka Posts: n/a	no probs, thanks though.

11-10-2004, 10:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
dark_willow Posts: n/a	I thought you got the Boston thingy covered...since you are an Eliza Dushku fan...or her accent is not...Bostony enough? :confused:

11-11-2004, 03:42 AM	#7 (permalink)
NicolePDX Posts: n/a	Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have pretty thick Boston accents, watch Good Will Hunting, its evident what the accents sound like. Boston is slightly different than NY, also if you can get a hold of the clips from SNL, they used to do this funny skit where they were these kids from Boston. Hilarious...they say things like "wicked awesome"...its so funny.

11-11-2004, 11:04 AM	#8 (permalink)
darko. Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: shlums 'o shaolin Posts: 2,089	affleck and damon dont have thick accents. they both got rid of them. they did that for the movie. an accent can vary...someone from brooklyn will sound completely different than somefrom upstate NY.

11-12-2004, 10:03 AM	#12 (permalink)
Ox Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Metro/Detroit USA Posts: 2,094 My Profile	Why couldn't they have assigned you a southern accent? So much easier! For a Boston accent, get film clips or recorded speeches of the Kennendys. President Kennendy is terrific. For New York try to get a clip of former mayor Rudy Gulianni. Dig up those World Trade Center clips and he should be there. Perhaps for the LA accent you could try watching the O.C. or or reruns of Beverly Hills 90820(I got that zip code wrong). The LA accent is less accent as it is the words they use. Also you'll run into distinctions between white accents and black. For LA try the movie Clueless. Alicia Silverstone will give you a pretty good idea of LA. If I think of some movies for Boston and New York, I'll let you know. Remember John Kerry is from the Boston area if that would help. [ November 12, 2004, 08:07 AM: Message edited by: Ox ]

11-12-2004, 08:18 PM	#13 (permalink)
Irn Bru Posts: n/a	Couldn't have done Scottish could you have [img]tongue.gif[/img] Liverpool accents annoy the crap out of me.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

11-13-2004, 04:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
akka Posts: n/a	well the thing with eliza, is that i remember her talking about having to change her accent with a voice coach when she was a kid (conan o brian interview), so i thought maybe she wasnt the best example. Ox and andrew, thanks for the advice, i'll try to see if i can get hold of some clips, shouldnt be too hard hopefully. I'll let you know how it goes, i'v got a few weeks yet before i have to perform them! And kirsty, WHERE ARE YOU!!!! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!! [img]graemlins/bday.gif[/img] [ November 13, 2004, 02:05 PM: Message edited by: akka ]

11-15-2004, 04:02 AM	#16 (permalink)
BoredJen Posts: n/a	If we're talking about realistic acting, I'd stay away from the SNL clips. Those accents are a bit exaggerated. Good Will Hunting is a better suggestion. The thing about NY accents is that they vary a bit when it comes to whether they're an irish/italian new yorker and an african american new yorker and a jewish new yorker. I suppose NY is most known for the irish/italian accents and there are a plethera of movies with good examples of them; A Bronx Tale, Deniro movies like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, etc. If you want more yiddish any Woody Allen movie will do. LA is a bit more difficult because the only distinctive accent outside of a generic American accent that they have would probably be the old stereotype of the valley girl or the surfer. I think actors you may be able to look at that may have good LA accents are Nicolas Cage and Keanu Reeves. I guess Clueless is a good suggestion too, the problem is that Clueless is a comedy and comedies always exaggerate. Maybe find yourself a good documentary about surfers from Cali. ;)

11-15-2004, 04:27 PM	#17 (permalink)
akka Posts: n/a	thanks again, awesome my sister has goodfellas, so i'll nick that out of her room!! hehe, has keanu changed his accent for films? i have speed, and the matrix somewhere, are those ok?

11-15-2004, 08:11 PM	#18 (permalink)
NicolePDX Posts: n/a	I think those would be fine for the Keanu accents...stay away from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" he has an exaggerated cali accent in that one. Very surfer.

11-17-2004, 11:08 PM	#19 (permalink)
BETA Posts: n/a	I've been to L.A. many a time and don't think I encountered too many accents... Perhaps your drama professors have an incorrect view of Californians. I mean I don't like people from L.A., but there's no need to misrepresent them.

11-18-2004, 12:13 AM	#20 (permalink)
anonymous Posts: n/a	The L.A. one isnt to hard just snort some crack.. get an insanely hot girl with fake boobs at your side and talk like an arrogant jackass... thats the L.A. accent