Getting accents right

It seems that some actors can do it and some can't. Meryl Streep, one of Hollywood's greatest living actresses, is well-known for her ability to master almost any accent perfectly; Kevin Costner, on the other hand, tried to sound British while playing Robin Hood but sounded, well... like Kevin Costner trying to sound British.

The L.A. Times has published a list of Hollywood stars who have managed - or not - to give their characters a credible foreign accent. But here is a young aspiring American actress named Amy Walker who has received raving reviews from YouTube viewers for her apparently flawless 21 different accents - in less than 3 minutes. What do you think? You can also listen to Amy's interview on NPR clicking here.

See also:
Improving your accent (funny video)

Jackie Chan: where action meets comedy

Unlike most martial arts action heroes, Jackie Chan prefers his films to add a bit of physical slapstick comedy that is typical of old-time actors like Buster Keaton. For years Chan has enjoyed an incredibly successful career as an actor, director, writer, producer of his own films, but he is also known for his lovable character and for the fact that he usually does his own stunts (and after injuring himself countless times, most insurance companies refuse to insure him now).

His fights, however, are carefully choreographed and he wants people to see his movies as family entertainment rather than violent action films that made Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Segal famous.

Here is a TV interview (the host is German but the conversation is actually in English) with Jackie Chan and a gap-fill activity to practise for the CPE exam.

Working in a movie

Here is Matt, from the United States, explaining the routine of a movie actor. Listen to the interview and answer the questions (you can select more than one option). You can also click on 'transcript' to access the written text.

Alejandro Iñárritu talks about his film, Babel

The Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu talks about his latest film Babel, the challenge of making a film spoken in four languages, and about people's need to communicate.


powered by ODEO

Have you seen the film? Tells us your opinion, clicking on 'comments'!

To view the trailer, go to http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/babel/trailers.php and click on "watch now"