During my recent (this past weekend) trip to the TMI movie set, I got inspired to start a new meme on here. It's one I casually mentioned to Cassie during lunch, as I told her I thought it would be fun to focus on various elements of this movie. Currently I'm heavily embargoed and can not say anything other than what I've already posted about and shared pictures of. During this period of time of not being able to talk about anything, not even the tiny details, I'm going to focus on things that have already been discussed or posted about, either by Cassie, the studio, MTV news etc. Once the embargo is lifted, I'm going to break my set visit down into segments and talk about each element of the movie. I'll go more into details on that when I can.
One of the things I love about the TMI fandom is how passionate we are!! Seriously, I've not been apart of a fandom who's been as passionate as we are. In many ways I feel for those associated with the movie as that puts on ton of pressure for them to get it right and make things work. One of the things that has had a heated debate among fans is the announcement of the characters having British accents.
You will not hear myself or Sophie complain about this! We are suckers for an accent. Secondly, I think this is going to work perfectly! In all honestly, I do not remember any where in the books where it mentioned if the Shadowhunters had accents or not. I know many people assumed they'd have a Brooklyn or some sort of New York type of ascent, because the stories are set there, but to me, it makes sense to give them ascents. We know they're not from New York, except for Clary and Simon. The others live there, but they're from Idris, and the fact that Idris is really set outside the US makes it perfectly normally for them to have an accent, at least to me anyway. I don't think them having accents for the movie is that surprising at all. In fact, I love this attention to detail they're given the cast. That's just my personal feelings on the accents. I don't know, maybe I'm in the minority that thinks that.
Here's what Cassie had to say:
The decision to have the Shadowhunters speak with British accents (their native accents in the case of all the actors pretty much except Kevin) has to do with Harald wanting to show that they are different from those that surround them, that they are a people who are separate, different, and with an older heritage. I actually do like the Shadowhunters’ British accents (they all did their auditions with both British and American accents and the British accents for whatever reason worked better) – and I don’t think it’s contrary to the books’ spirit, but YMMV!
I'm just saying you won't hear me complain about hearing Jace in the City of Ashes movie say in his British accent, "Close your eyes and think on England". You might hear me yell, "Remind it so we can hear that line again!" Though it's awhile before that movie happens (hoping it will happen), I'm really looking forward to hearing British accents in the TMI movie. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the British accents. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
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It probably makes more sense having British accents since some actors who ARE British can sometimes sound weird with american accents. Still . . . I'm pretty excited to see the finished product!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that. It always surprises when actors who have accents can act or well with an American accent or those who don't have accents have them for a movie. I'm with you, I can't wait to see the finish product!
DeleteI think Jace having an accent is totally believable, he grew up in Idiris. My question would be if Izzy and Alec should have one? I thought they never actually lived in Idiris? Either way I don't think I will mind in the least! Can't wait to see this movie!
ReplyDeleteit's funny I hadn't ever thought about how they sounded until the announcement of them having British accents came out. When they announced it I was in agreement with them, and was a little surprised at how many people haven't been. It's that disagreement that made me think about how each of the characters would sound. I mean I pictured Magnus with an accent. I'm looking forward to seeing how they all sound on the big screen.
DeleteI'm neutral on the accents thing. I agree that it would make more sense for Jace to have one since he spent a good deal of time in Idris. I think the Lightwoods were exiled to the New York Institute when Alec and Isabelle were quite young so them having an accent seems to be more of a stretch to me. However, it's not as if they went to "mundane" schools or had much interaction with humans other than when they were demon hunting, so...ultimately it's not much of a stretch for them to have developed accents based on their parents'.
ReplyDeleteGreat point about Alec and Isabelle having accents. It will be interesting to see if it's explained why they have accents and to see if their accents are maybe not as strong as Jace's.
DeleteConsidering I have a British accent (though some people confuse it for Australian), I'm all for the accents. It will make them sound like they don't belong in NYC. This is something I know only too well (in my case it was Houston and Canada). I've live most of my life in North America (I most here when I was eleven) and still have my accent. So I find it believable that they still have theirs, especially if they aren't going to US schools or mingling with individuals with American accents.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the movie.
I totally agree! I love that they have accents, and I feel it will just add to them standing out a bit more, like they're going for in the movie. Thank you for sharing your great points about accents.
DeleteI can't wait to see the movie either.
Can't wait to see the movie. Hope it'll do well at the box office.
ReplyDeleteI can't either!
DeleteIt makes sense. If you think about the series "The Infernal Devices" their relatives have British accents, so they could too.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought when I first read about them having accents. While reading the books I never thought much of it. I'm excited they'll have accents.
DeleteFor some reason, I always pictured the Lightwoods with a proper Olde English or Yorkshire accent because of their heirs and overall snobbiness as Shadowhunters. I'm pretty excited that they're actually using British accents for the movie.
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