Sometimes I worry that Benedict Cumberbatch reads this blog and that when I meet him, I won’t be able to play it cool because he’ll know I’ve been obsessed with him for years. Just a few days ago, I was talking about how Benedict desperately needed to get to work – he’s signed on to loads of films, none of which are filming right now or in the next few months. When Benedict is out of work, he takes random gigs talking about flowers with his mum on the BBC. So, he needed a real job. And wouldn’t you know… he got one.
The gig is a supporting part in the Whitey Bulger bio-pic/crime pic. Bulger – an infamous gangster, murderer and all around scum of society – is being played by Johnny “Scarfy” Depp (I think Bedhead is going to cover the pics of Scarfy in character later on, but you can see some here). They’re actually filming now – it just started production in the past week. So why is Benedict so late in getting cast? It’s because the role was supposed to be filled by Guy Pearce, only Guy had to pull out at the last minute. The Boston Globe was the first to report Guy’s departure and Benedict’s casting (because they’re filming in Boston, lucky Bostonian Cumberbitches). Variety has more details:
Benedict Cumberbatch has replaced Guy Pearce in the untitled Whitey Bulger biopic starring Johnny Depp. Cross Creek Pictures president Brian Oliver told Variety that Pearce had departed due to scheduling issues on the project, which had been titled “Black Mass” and began shooting Wednesday in Boston with Scott Cooper directing. “We were not able to make it work with Guy,” he added.
Cumberbatch will portray Billy Bulger, Whitey Bulger’s law-abiding brother and a Massachusetts State Senator. Joel Edgerton is playing disgraced FBI agent John Connolly, who aided Bulger and was sentenced to 40 years in prison despite maintaining his innocence. Jesse Plemons (“Breaking Bad”) will portray Bulger’s longtime partner in crime, Kevin Weeks, and Sienna Miller will play his lover, Catherine Greig. Dakota Johnson has been cast as Bulger’s former girlfriend and mother of his only child. Other cast members are Rory Cochrane, Julianne Nicholson, Adam Scott, David Harbour, Jeremy Strong, Brad Carter, W. Earl Brown and Corey Stoll.
You know what worries me? Benedict attempting a Bostonian accent. Just let that sink in. Benedict is a brilliant actor, for sure, and I think his best accent work was as Julian Assange (seriously, he nailed Assange’s half-Aussie, half-something else accent). But Benedict’s one weakness seems to be doing American accents. And I’m worried. But otherwise… this sounds like a decent supporting part in The Scarf & Wig Show that is Johnny Depp’s filmography. I’m just happy that Benedict will be hard at work on something! And he’ll be in Boston too, that should be exciting.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.
Time to visit my family so I can secretly go Cumberstalking
I never got his appeal until I watched Sherlock
Sienna Miller – hands off My Otter. Yeah, looking’ at you, girl —
LMAO
Sienna Miller is now under threat by the Cumberbitches now, should I feel sorry for her that she has two massive fan bases about to watch her steps very carefully indeed.
I might actually seek them out just to watch the Cumberbitches stalking them.
Hahahaha, the Otter? That’s so on-point, I can’t stop laughing. (I used to call him a lizard but otter is cuter). And yeah, Sienna needs to watch her back…you in danger, girl. 😉
Cumby is in Boston! My home! Let the stalking begin! I wonder if they need extras? Hahaha.
I am not looking forward to the fake Boston accents. Hollywood is notoriously awful in that area.
Seriously, where are they filling? Let’s get the map out!
They have been doing calls for extras. They were on the Common yesterday morning. I think they were in Somerville last night because some side streets were closed off.
Davis Square? Winter Hill? Source?
Oh look: http://www.cpcasting.com/
You and I should meet up for cappuccino and stalking. We can send reports to CB! What do you think of Diesel?
One of the side streets near Foss Park last night. i was prepared to stalk Guy Pearce, I’m really not into Cumberbatch.
I live in Southie so I would expect to see some filming around here. There was for The Departed, The Town and Gone Baby Gone (the scene where Casey Affleck was fighting with that other guy in the bar and on the power plant is in Southie. I live about 250 yards from the plant and the bar, Murphy’s Law and I walk by both every day on my way home). Southie, for those who don’t know, is where Bulger had a TON of influence and had his grubby little hands in everything. If you’re interested in this story, and its completely fascinating, you should read “Brutal” by the aforementioned Kevin Weeks. Its really really good and its an incredible inside take on the day to day activities of the Winter Hill gang.
And no, I’m not looking forward to the fake Boston accents. I truly believe its one of the hardest to believably copy, mostly because it makes no sense. You can either do it or you can’t and its not all about dropping your “r”‘s. There’s adding r’s in as well (“I have no idear if she’s posting on CB today”), then there’s the dialect (“How’s ya mum, kid? She need some help with her bundles when she gets home from the packie?”), oy. Seriously, its the worst. The only truly believable Boston accent I’ve ever heard was, no shit, John Ratzenberger, Cliff Claven on Cheers. Jeremy Renner in the Town did a very good job too though. Blake Lively made me want to jam a pencil in my ear in The Town with her accent.
The Town was mainly filmed on my street in Monument Square Charlestown but yeah, Southie should definitely get some love in this movie.
I’m really excited to see it.
And YES to the Boston accent. So many people don’t get that aspect of it, because they focus too much on changing “er” into “ah”.
They forget that “pizza”=”pizzer”, etc.
And yeah a lot of “kid” and “guy” and a LOT of “not f’nuthin”
I never hear the expression “not for nothing” used more than in the Bean.
Renner NAILED the Boston accent in The Town. I was impressed.
It has Johnny Depp and Dakota Johnson so I’m not letting my hopes get too high
Another Bostonian (transplanted New Yawker) checking in. Kate2, David Ogden Stiers who played Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester in M*A*S*H did a terrific Beacon Hill accent.
And don’t forget such famous bits as: “wicked good,” barrels” = trash cans, Bozo = “pothead,” “The boys” = cops/police, “booted,” = the yellow, metal locks that they place on your car wheels, when you fail to pay parking tickets. AND my personal favorite: “mayan” which translates to “mine” for the rest of the US/world.
I think this will be the first movie in a decade in which Johnny Depp’s face isn’t hidden under a ton of hideous clown makeup. Please tell me that neither Tim Burton nor Helena Bonham-Carter are attached to this project.
I manage a Russian woman who went to graduate school up in that area. It’s interesting to hear her add r’s to words (“dater” instead of “data’), spoken in her thick Russian accent.
@kitten –
“And YES to the Boston accent. So many people don’t get that aspect of it, because they focus too much on changing “er” into “ah”.
They forget that “pizza”=”pizzer”, etc.
And yeah a lot of “kid” and “guy” and a LOT of “not f’nuthin”
I never hear the expression “not for nothing” used more than in the Bean.”
I say not f’nuthin all the time. Seriously. I don’t really have an accent but I use the dialect. I also say “motheragod” as an expression of exasperation.
And remember that you only add the r when the word ends in a vowel and the next word STARTS with a vowel. So to use your example of “pizza”, you would say “I’m getting a slice of pizzer at Regina’s”. Don’t even get me started on city pronunciations. Worcester, anyone?
@evie –
You’re right, Stiers did do a very good Brahmin accent, but that’s not really a Boston accent. At least, I personally don’t think of it as the same thing. But maybe I’m the minority. Unless you’re playing a Kennedy, you’re not trying to copy that one.
I’ve never heard bozo for pothead. Booted, barrels and of course wicked, or wicked good are all terms I use frequently.
@kitten –
“The Town was mainly filmed on my street in Monument Square Charlestown but yeah, Southie should definitely get some love in this movie.”
You’re right, they did film mostly in Charlestown, not Southie. They had just a couple of scenes in Southie but that’s it.
I always laugh at the scene in the Departed when Nicholson’s character kills those two people on the beach. That beach is so crowded if he shot them there it would have been the equivalent of just taking them to City Plaza and shooting them there.
I’m born and bred working-class Bostonian and I respectfully disagree about John Ratzenberger’s accent being believable–it was too broad and not authentic-sounding at ALL.
Renner, I agree with–he did a wicked good job. 🙂
I was going to ask if Boston had some specific lingo/vocabulary not heard elsewhere. Minnesota sure the heck does (you betcha! 😉) and films take a huge knock from me when they don’t bother to investigate ours. One instance is pop rather than soda. Any Minnesotan worth their salt uses pop and would rather have their tongue cut out than use soda. Lol
Any other Boston specific words or phrases a lot of people fail to include?
@penelope – I’m born and bred too. Guess it just depends on how it hits the ear. I thought he did well but to each his own 🙂
FTR – no one in Boston ever ever ever uses “Beantown”.
@ladyslippers – I say soda, but my grandfather used to call it tonic. I will say that something is “the balls” sometimes, meaning something is cool, i.e. “That movie was the balls.”
(I’m a 41 year old woman by the way, lol. I swear I’m not trash, just the way I talk, but I know when to act like a lady… 🙂 )
I don’t know if “bang a U-ie” is a term outside of Boston, it means to take a U-turn. I think its Boston.
Is “bubbler” a Boston term? That’s what we call the water fountain.
There’s so many, honestly. Boston has a ton of its own vocabulary its crazy. Here’s a website with Boston-lingo. I use most of these and I didn’t even think of half of them as Boston-centric, its just the language.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_Boston_slang
Yup “tonic” and “bubbler” are both Boston terms.
@kate2
Interestingly in Australia we “chuck a u-ie” and also have bubblers. Didn’t realise anywhere else did u-ies!
I never heard “bozo” for “pothead” either. “Bozo” always just meant a clown or idiot. I know “bubbler” is supposedly a Boston word but I’ve never used it or heard anyone under 70 use it. I drink “tonic,” not “soda” or “pop.” “Frappes,” not “milkshakes.” And, ahem, “wicked good,” “wicked bad”, “wicked awesome,” “wicked!” and, most importantly for some, “wicked pissa.”
Also, we gave the world General Hooker, who gave the world the term “hooker” for the women who followed his troops. The main entrance to our state house is through the Hooker Door, named for the statue of General Hooker in front of it.
@Kate2
I’ve heard “hang a u-ie” my entire life from my Colorado-reared parents, is that close enough to “bang a u-ie”? Hubs is a native Texan and he also hangs a u-ie. Maybe you guys are the only ones who bang them.
@Evie Actually no, Depp was not hiding behind any makeup in his latest movie “Transcendence”
About ten years ago the Boston Sunday Globe had a feature on all the terrible Boston accents that you hear in the movies. The author interviewed some linguists and one of them made an excellent point:
There is no such thing as a Boston accent!
In Boston depending on the neighborhood you have a whole patchwork of different accents, vowels, sub-dialects, etc. Someone who grew up in Union Square is going to have a different accent than a person who grew up in Charlestown, and both of them are going to speak differently than people who grew up in Dorchester or South End.
The mistake that these actors make is that they’ll take the ‘a’ from Southie, the ‘e’ from the North End, the ‘r’ from Roxbury….and it sounds just fine to them, bless their hearts.
Meanwhile, for the folks from Boston who are listening, it’s making our ears bleed.
This pick-and-choose method of cobbling together various phonemes from different neighborhoods also explains why all these “Boston accents” sound so very different from actor to actor and from film to film. There is no Boston accent – just look at the comments just on this page.
Instead there are several dozen sub-accents that are clearly recognizable to native Bostonians. If you try to take these sub-dialects apart and put them back together again in a different way, it doesn’t work and it just sounds horribly wrong.
TL, DR:
Benedict Cumberbatch doesn’t need to learn a “Boston accent”; he also doesn’t need to learn a “South Boston” accent. What BC needs to learn is the accent that was/is spoken in the four block square region of Southie where the Bulger brothers grew up.
yep, you could say the exact same thing about Ireland. (which makes sense when you think of Boston heritage). There is no Irish accent! Hell, there’s at least four accents in Dublin alone, D4, Dub, Skanger, South side, and so on!
Which is also why an Irish accent is very, very difficult to emulate and has ruined many movies for me. God they way Irish accents are butchered really feels like a knitting needle jammed in your earhole!
True, PennyLane, but I will add that even the accents in that four block square region of Southie would and did differ based on education. (Sorry!) He needs to learn the accent of a double Eagle or triple Eagle from that four block square region as opposed to a high school dropout from that neighborhood.
Oooh, good point – you are right about the level of education altering it as well. Although people do kind of ‘revert’ to their former accents when they are speaking with family and old friends, the fact that Billy Bulger went to Boston College and spent most of his adult career at the State House would change his accent somewhat.
I don’t even see why its necessary to fake a Boston accent. I have lived in boston all my life, less than 20% of the boston born and bred people i know has it and most of them have really light accent that you don’t really noticed unless you think about it. I only know 2 people that has really strong boston accents.
missyblissy, this is not a random, generic Boston character. This is an actual human with well-documented traits. This is what Billy Bulger sounds like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QplKAP7tkSM
LOL The Scarf & Wig Show!! Love it!
It’s hilarious because he has never worn scarfs in his movies and he’s not the only one who sometimes wears wigs in movies.
I had a dream about him, I blame it on you Kaiser. Well you and my inability to quit clicking on these stories, but it’s mostly your fault. (you know it’s bad when mid-dream you stop and think “what the f-ck is he doing here?”) I refuse to accept responsibility.
Anyway I can’t emulate any accent, the country in my voice always comes through. It used to drive my french teacher nuts.
@blue – Cumby in your dreams? Was is good? Was he wearing the Mr. Potato Head hat, or his deerstalker? Details, details, please – –
It was nothing great, went out drinking with friends and he happened to be one of the people we met. I may have had a conversation with him, but other than “I know who you are” I don’t really remember it. He bought me a drink though. I drank so much in that dream that I woke with a headache. I have never had that happen before, then again I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream where I’ve been drunk before.
Sorry about the headache, but that’s amazing to me that your dream encounter with Cumby is so realistic.
Billy Bulger’s nickname from his political enemies is “the corrupt midget.” Billy has a major Napoleonic complex that defines him and drives him; it is an essential component of who he is. He is short! Does anyone else see a problem with that issue?
As a Bostonian, yes, I am cringing with the idea of bad accents in this film. Sadly, doing a Boston accent atrociously can earn one an Oscar (Robin Williams, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Melissa Leo). Other really bad ones? Diane Lane, Laura Linney, Tom Hanks, George Clooney. Scorsese came up with a laughable excuse for why DiCaprio didn’t have one in The Departed. The good ones? Amy Ryan in Gone, Baby, gone and Jeremy Renner in The Town, both directed by Affleck, who clearly learned his lesson with local backlash from Williams in Good Will Hunting. The only great one to receive an Oscar win? Christian Bale.
Yes, I’ll let you know if I spot BC any where.
All those terrible accents you note are from fellow Americans though… I have a feeling it’s easier to start from an Aussie or British accent and then try Bostonian…fingers crossed?
Well, during the World Series last year, in every commercial break, we were subjected to rotating movie ads. One break would show Tom Hanks shouting his version of Capt. Phillips’s Boston-grown accent and the next would be Tom Hiddleston’s Loki purring: “When do we start?” Each would invariably be followed by a Ford truck commercial with local boy Denis Leary shouting about “torque!” Hiddleston’s Loki came closer, so you might be right. Hanks seems to think we all sound like Rose Kennedy after a stroke.
As a non-native Bostonian married to a native Bostonian, I am peeing myself laughing at your Rose Kennedy comment! Dead on!!
@M, wasn’t that exactly what Hanks sounded like? It killed me. I do hope you didn’t ruin your outfit for the day. Sorry.
Don’t forget Hanks in Catch Me if you Can. I’ve never set foot North of Washington DC on the eastern seaboard and I knew that was trash.
Amberica, I am desperately trying to forget Tom Hanks in Catch Me If You Can and every other time he has tried to portray any other New Englander as a stroke-affected Rose Kennedy being strangled by a cat.
Bad accents is such a pet peeve of mine, maybe being Irish, we tend to get people trying and failing all the time.
I think that’s a peeve wherever you’re from. I still haven’t forgiven Ben Kingsley for Sexy Beast.
Very true.
I have noticed though, a distinct expectation of people to think that Irish folks just LOVE to have you shout “Top o’ da mornin to ya!” into their face like Tom Cruise in Far and Away and will handle it by laughing along.
I’m English with red hair, and I still get that all the time in the US, because they can’t tell the difference. Although, I do love hearing “what’s the craic?”
I’m South Slavic. Whenever Hollywood does a movie about us they portray us like the Middle Ages and usually employ Americans to play Croatians. There was actual blood coming out of my ears. It’s not just the accent, they don’t even care for basic grammar. As long as it sounds vaguely Russian ( which my language doesn’t sound like at all)
BUT, the Unsullied in GoT speak fluent Croatian, so that’s something.
I agree. Bad accents are just grating.
And it’s equally horrible to hear your own accent butchered. Most people never even attempt the Upper Midwest accent and substitute their own. Fargo tried and FAILED miserably but people outside the Upper Midwest *loved* it. I however, did not. Nebraska (I was surprised) kinda got it.
@lindy –
As a Bostonian, I get “PAAHK YA CAAH IN HAAAVAHD YAAHD” and “Oh, you’re from BAAAAHSTON??” All. The. Damned. Time.
FTR – Its not “Baaahston”, its “Bawston”. Like “aw”.
Oh I know. I am a full-bred, second generation Californian – ugh! the bastardization of our complex and melodious accent is so repugnant. It’s like no one even cares to emphasize the nuances of a proper eye roll or the correct amount of air to release in an exaggerated sigh. And don’t get me started on people who place the wrong emphasis on the second “d” in “Duuuuuuude”. Untrained simpletons, every last one of them.
SpookySpooks, I feel your pain! It’s also funny how all the Nazis in Hollywood films sound so very American when speaking German – considering they were enemys in WWII it’s even more horrible.
And French! Ugh… They butcher French big time in films, even more so than Italian imo.
But I mean, I can understand. I couldn’t even do a believable accent of another region in my (rather small) native country, so speaking in another language and sounding like it is really hard, even if they have only a few lines.
One of the funniest recent accent experiences was listening to Anton Yelchin forcing himself to speak with Russian accent in Star Trek: Into Darkness 😀 It actually was bordering on ridiculous lol.
•Intro•
All the accents used in the ST reboots are awful but they were trying to match the horrific accents from the original show. Ugh! I wish JJ would have asked them to do more authentic ones. Simon Pegg’s Scottish accent is equally cringeworthy, and poor him, he’s married to a Scot!
I’ll defend Simon Pegg here: he’s a comedic actor, so you have to set the bar low. He’s never been that great doing anything other than the usual Simon Pegg thing.
*suddenly realizing that calling him a bad actor isn’t much of a defense*
Ewan MacGregor does TERRIBLE accents. I just watched Pompeii last night (yeah, judge away. I deserve it), and Keifer Sutherland’s accent was a work of art. It was different in every scene he was in. Oh, and how about Christian Slater in Robin Hood? That was terrible.
Wanna talk about kick-ass accents? Ralph Fiennes in In Bruges is BRILLIANT. And have you ever heard Ian McKellen talk in his real, Yorkshire accent? It’s fantastic.
Look what I just found!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-TsLFROTWw
Atlhough Sean Connery doesn’t count, because he never even attempts an accent.
@LadySlippers:
I’m afraid I found the whole ST:ID quite cringe-worthy. Such a disappointment for me.
I hate the southern accent with a passion. We don’t all sound like we’ll get the vapors at any moment. Jeez.
@J.Eyre I can’t tell if you’re being facetious or not. I grew up in California, and have always thought of our speech as perfect and accent-free. But perfect assessment of the proper pronunciation of “dude”. At least if it’s tinged with sarcasm like mine usually are (i.e. “Dude, seriously?”).
Oh, and Billy was in his late 40s to mid-50s during the era in which most of the film is set. So aging make-up too.
I find it funny that Billy is being called the “law abiding brother”. Ya, right.
Well, Kate2, they never did find anything on him, although they wasted hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of our tax dollars trying to find something.
Depp isn’t tall. He should nail the part lookwise.
Depp isn’t playing the corrupt midget, Cumberbatch is. Depp is playing Whitey. Whitey is of average height. Cumberbatch is playing Billy, Billy is short.
Oh, I didn’t read the article properly, sorry.
Benedict isn’t crazy tall either, he’s just a bit above average, maybe it won’t be noticable.
But the difference between “midget” and “a bit above average” is pretty big though 😉 However, if Cumby’s is a supporting part and if the cinematographers are smart enough – they might pull it off.
@Intro Outro
Billy wasn’t a ‘midget’ per se. Around 5’4″, taller than me actually. Easy enough for them to pull off I think.
@Katie:
Oh! Well, that’s almost exactly my height 😉 And people usually consider me rather petite – which I’m actually enjoying ^_^ But this isn’t the issue here, right? It’s all about how Ben will look against other actors, especially Depp – and there are many cinematic tricks to pull it off.
I was under the mistaken impression that Whitey was taller than he was. He and Depp are about the same height. I have to say that was the first thing I thought of when I heard Johnny was playing him. Then I remembered how brutal and horrible Whitey is. Not seeing Johnny as Whitey.
As for Benedict, I’ll bet that they won’t even attempt to make him shorter. I bet they’ll just go, ‘meh’ and carry on.
Billy Bulger is not actually a “midget” or a small person. As I said, that is an insult commonly hurled at him by his detractors. But he is only 5’4 and that is short for a man. As I also said, he has a Napoleonic Complex, it is what drives him and it is a huge part of his personality. Six feet tall is above average. To have someone who is six feet tall portray Billy completely alters the character. Tall men do not suffer Napoleonic complexes.
Also, both Billy and Whitey are still alive.
@Lilacflowers,
Whoops, you’re right, I didn’t mean to kill him off with my tense lol.
My point is that it’s relatively easy to shave less than a foot height difference off with cine tricks. They don’t have to ‘change’ the character, they can just make him appear shorter.
Hmm, I understand what Lilac is talking about though. You can make a rather tall guy look shorter on screen – or rather, you just try not to attract the viewers’ attention to his height – but *if* the character’s height actually defines who he is – Napoleonic complex and all – it creates pretty serious additional difficulties.
Imagine Peter Jackson saying “Screw Tolkien, not gonna bother shortening hobbits on screen, too much bother and money. Go on, read your lines” 😀
I see what you mean, Intro Outro, but I’d add would depend on his role. The Billy scenes are more likely on indoor sets, a lot easier to alter height perceptions.
Guy Pearce is nearly 6′ as well, so they were already in position to address it, but I’m not sure if it matters now that I think about it. His height complex was an issue in his political career but the book is solely focused on Whitey’s specific dealings with an FBI agent, so I doubt they’re really covering Billy’s public or even personal life outside of Whitey.
Yes, Katie, I completely agree with you. It all really depends on thematic accents laid in the film. Maybe Billy’s personality indeed will not be covered all that much outside of his relationship with Whitey. In this case height isn’t all that substantial.
I was young when GWH came out but I don’t really remember Robin Williams catching flack for his accent. Not saying it didn’t happen, but I’ve seen that movie a million and one times and nearly everyone I know loves it and quotes it (I’ve literally never walked into a Harvard bar without someone I was with saying, “I thought there’d be, like, equations and sh*t on the walls.”) My point being, any guff he got at the time has surely been outweighed by love for the movie. I also didn’t hate Sean Penn’s accent in Mystic River, but Tim Robbins’ WAS truly atrocious. You know what, though? Some genuine Boston accents are atrocious! 🙂 (I say this with love and as the owner of a slight accent myself.)
Anyway, BC put on a generic American accent in The Whistleblower and it was godawful, so I am an eensy bit worried–especially since he’s jumping in last minute. Hopefully he gets a good coach and pulls it off.
flavia, Ben and Matt got flack for Robin Wiliams’s accent and although many here do love the film, most people didn’t like Williams’s attempt at the accent. It would have been better if he hadn’t tried it. Stellan Skarsgaard didn’t. Ben has explained when doing Gone Baby Gone and The Town, he wanted to avoid the accent problems and went out and found people from the particular neighborhoods and class level to work with Amy Ryan and Jeremy Renner over dialect coaches.
As for Mystic River, the worst accent in that lot was Laura Linney. OMG! And she works up here a lot as she’s done work with A.R.T. and films her Masterpiece segments here.
@ lilacflowers:
“As a Bostonian, yes, I am cringing with the idea of bad accents in this film. Sadly, doing a Boston accent atrociously can earn one an Oscar (Robin Williams, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Melissa Leo). Other really bad ones? Diane Lane, Laura Linney, Tom Hanks, George Clooney. Scorsese came up with a laughable excuse for why DiCaprio didn’t have one in The Departed. The good ones? Amy Ryan in Gone, Baby, gone and Jeremy Renner in The Town, both directed by Affleck, who clearly learned his lesson with local backlash from Williams in Good Will Hunting. The only great one to receive an Oscar win? Christian Bale.”
I talked about actors trying to fake Boston accents upthread but I wanted to just comment on a couple of accents, good and bad, that I forgot to mention. Julienne Moore had a HORRIBLE accent in 30 Rock. Like, to the point where I was wondering if she was joking. Diane Lane was horrid too. I forgot about Diane Lane, ugh. She was terrible. Christian Bale also did a great job, and maybe that goes back to the point of starting with a British accent. Hiddleston’s “When do we start?” does sound a bit Bostonian, especially the “start” part of it.
Mark Wahlberg does it perfectly, but that’s because he actually has a Boston accent that he can kind of minimize when he wants to.
Chiming in to say that Mark Wahlberg, in The Departed, is one of my favorite things EVER.
@theoriginalkitten and tfanty, I saw The Departed the night it opened in the movie theater on Boston Common, (which actually has a scene in the film – everyone in the theater cheered for ourselves when the building appeared) but the screening was full of people who clearly knew the Wahlbergs or were Wahlbergs themselves (there are a lot of them). Every time he appeared on screen, the place went crazy and he did have the funniest lines.
@TheOriginalKitten, he worked really hard to learn how to minimize it. He still can get off track and revert back to it unintentionally.
And I apologize to anyone from Texas for Wahlberg’s performance in “Lone Survivor” in which his character tells people he is from Texas and then delivers his very next line about a knife and a duck in the purest Dot Rat accent accent imaginable – no way did that character grow up anywhere but Adams Street, Dorchester.
+1 on Jeremy Renner’s accent. My aunt is from Boston, and she said he wa great. He sounded quite like her-impressive! The thing about Cumby is that he works very hard and is an excellent mimic, so maybe he can get the accent down. We shall see. This is a talented cast, so I hope the film turns out well. Now we know why he was pap’d with Dakota Johnson a couple of weeks ago.
@kri, Renner did a very good job. Affleck, who directed, hired a guy from the Charlestown projects to work with Renner on how to talk like a guy from the Charlestown projects.
This is seriously blowing my mind right now–Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger?!! What is happening right now?!! (I’m a Bostonian and I grew up hearing about Whitey and Billy, so I have a clear idea of who they were, and in no way did I ever associate an actor like Depp with them, lolol!). But, then I looked at the pics of him in costume, and it’s not bad. However, the accent is a whole other thing! I’m more worried about Depp than Cumberbatch when it comes to this. This particular accent is one of the hardest to do, and I have never EVER heard any actor get close to it, who wasn’t actually from Boston. Actually, I think starting from an English accent will probably end up closer to the accent than starting from an American one.
I’m definitely seeing this movie, though, cuz at least I’ll get a laugh from it.
Soporificat, exactly! And the only locals are Julianne Nicholson and Erica McDermott. They have Aussies and Texans and Brits and Depp in this cast. This may turn out to comically painful.
I’m going to reserve judgment on Depp’s Bawston/Southie accent until I see the film. Depp did a very convincing Irish brogue in Chocolat. BTW, at least they’re not filming a story based in Maine, where the accents are far more exaggerated than Boston and “r’s” are MIA.
I actually met someone from Maine(a rarity in East Texas). In my young mind I categorized his accent as “Boston went to college”. Which, I know is weird given the proliferation of Ivy League education actually available in Boston.
Depp did a good job with bostonian accent with “Boston George” in Blow…
Same here. There have been numerous stories and news reports on Whitey over the years. All detailing what he’s done and how murderous he is. Now I find out that Depp is going to play him? Going to check out the movie, because of Benedict, but I don’t have high hopes for this movie. Fingers crossed that we get the old talented Depp and not the ‘phone it in’ Depp.
It’s a pretty easy accent, really. Repeat after me, Pahk the Cah At Hahvad Yahd. (O’kitt will probably come and smash me now). The worst accent in film, that I recall to date, is the butchered brogue uttered by DiCaprio and Diaz in the Gangs of NY. That was truly bad.
Nobody actually says that. Only the tourists.
That reminds me of Roy Schieder in Jaws
“They’re in the yaaaahd, naht too faaah from tha caaaahhr”
@Miss Jupitero It’s a cliche/joke. That’s the point.
@Lindy79, haha.
Well, then it should be “in”, not “at.” But go ahead and try it, you’ll get towed.
It’s a cliche/joke. That’s the point. Repeated for emphasis.
Ha ha ha…oh man tough crowd.
I got the joke, Kiddo 😉
Yeah that’s the cliché alright, but I don’t care what anyone says-I love the Boston accent-it reminds me of home.
But I’m with you all-it’s an extremely difficult accent to master. I don’t have one myself (which is amazing considering where I grew up, EVERYONE had an accent) but I credit that to my French mom. But even I have difficulty mimicking it.
I do not have high hopes for Cumby nailing the accent but maybe he’ll surprise me?
Has Depp ever done a Boston accent before?
I’m definitely seeing this one in the theater.
Personally I like the accent. Although the first time I road the subway and asked for directions, I had to request a repeat (the guy’s accent was harder than the Kennedy’s and he was a bit of a mumbler anyway), and I ended up not knowing what to do, but felt really bad/stupid about asking again, so I didn’t.
But yeah, old joke is old.
Meryl Streep is the queen of accents, maybe she should play Whitey, lol.
Old joke is a classic though.
That story is effin’ funny, Kiddo. You should have asked him to repeat what he said-townies love to talk.
Oh my god…how amazing would it be to see Streep do a Boston accent?
That would make so happy.
TheOriginalKitten, Depp attempted a Boston accent in Blow when he played George Jung. It would appear and disappear in the same sentence and often sounded like he was swallowing his words. The accent was not a success.
yep, total agreement on Diaz and DiCaprio in G of NY. Godawful accents. Its funny, theres like two different movies going on there. A brilliant, brilliant movie with Brendan Gleason and Dan Day-Lewis, and a piece of sh*t with Diaz and DiCaprio!
Other just horrific Irish accents that make my ears cry:
The two boys in Boondock Saints
Tom Cruise, obv
Brad PItt
Lots of people on Sons of Anarchy
the guy in Charlies Angels
Julia Roberts in Mary Reilly AND Michael Collins
and I have to mention, The Beauty Blanchette did a decent job in Veronica Guerin, which I would highly recommend – great movie
The Batch AND Joel Edgerton!?!? Yes, please…I really don’t care about Johnny Depp. He’s been dead to me since POTC2
So he’s been dead to you before he did his career-best “Sweeney Todd” which earned him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe and before he did Public Enemies and Rango and before he was named the sexiest man alive for the second time and before he had 2 movies that made a billion dollar? Ok!
I’m really hoping this will turn out well, it’s an interesting story but Depp has made some questionable career choices recently so here’s hoping this isn’t one of them.
His make up looks pretty decent from the few pics I saw on IMDB.
Glad Ben is working on something this year, now we just need Sherlock pencilled in before year end, 2015 hasn’t a hope.
(and apparently Dakota Johnson is in it too..explains the lunch anyway)
IKR? I used to like Depp in a sort of slightly detached way because he has so many gems in his filmography, but his last… 3? 4? films have flopped =( I don’t even know what to think if his career anymore.
For me, part of it was too many collaborations with Burton back to back (should have stopped with Sleepy Hollow then taken a nice long break) and too many costume characters.
@M.A.F. Back to back and too many collaborations with Burton? Please, they only made 7 live-action movies in a matter of 22 years. There is at least 2 years gap between their collaborations.
The Boston accent can be a bit easier for Brits and Aussies, as it shares some similarities (hatred of pronouncing Rs for stahtuhs…). But yeah…. This could be um, a bit of a train wreck. But at least ill want to watch this know regardless. Still can’t bring myself to hate watch the fifth estate.
That I really love is the dropping of the Rs where they exist, and then pronouncing Rs where they don’t exist:
“Luke Skywalkaah and Princess Layer”
Heh. Well there’s an R in there somewhere, why be picky? 😉
That’s our Yankee thrift, nothing is wasted.
I do think Aussies do American accents very well not sure why that is. I know a Boston one is different from most American accents. At least the woman from Without a trace did a good NY accent.
Cumby is replacing Guy Pearce who’s an Aussie..and Joel Edgerton also.
I also think we have a near for it having been exposed to so many American accents in tv, film, music.
@MediaB
When I went to Australia years ago they were so far ahead with the American shows than the UK. Also, the 2 main characters in Without a Trace are Aussie but he has lived in the US so long I saw him in an Austrlian movie and he had to work to sound like an Aussie again. Cate does a great one too. Guy/ and Russell in LA Confidential v good. Even Rose Byrne in Damages.. I should have married an Aussie then I’d be in warmer weather.
Have to disagree, he didn’t get Assange’s accent right at all, and worse he didn’t even come close to getting Assange’s very easily imitable speech patterns right. There are some otherwise great actors who just need to stick to playing characters who don’t stray far from their own natural accent and I fear BC is one of them.
Really? I’m an Aussie, and I thought Cumby’s Assange imitation was almost spot on. There was one line when it momentarily veered into South African, but other than that, I thought he nailed it.
Cumberbatch nailed Assange’s accent. He got a lot of praise from it including people who worked with Assange. People at the Guardian who were at the screening with Graeme Norton went over to tell Norton how spookily spot on Cumberbatch was with his characterisation.
yup. there’s a video of the guardian journos reviewing the movie and they were amazed at how he nailed everything about assange, accent, mannerisims, quirks and all.
I am actually excited to see him do the Boston mix Irish accent as that’s what Bill Bulger had. I am happy he is working with a director like Scott Cooper who got Jeff Bridges his Oscar and Out of Furnace with Bale was good too (underrated). Also te cast is stunning baring Sienna Miller.
Watching him and Johnny as brothers with the most contrasting lifestyle (Johnny a mob boss and Benedict a senator) would be epic.
Also this explains the lunch with Dakota, now people can chill about calling him a PR whore and giving him lot of shit for it.
Surprise there is no comments about Dakota Johnson playing Depp’s girlfriend and mother of his only child. with all the complaints about JLaw playing girlfriend to older actors. Nepotism is alive and well for Dakota Johnson.
She’s playing Lindsey Cyr? I can’t imagine her in a serious role, I’ve only seen her in comedies and of course the 50 Shades set pics.
Hmmm….this could end very very badly.
But the character is supposed to be young, me thinks. There is a 16 year-gap between Whitey and Lindsey and she was 21 years old when they started dating. Sure, the age gap between Dakota and Johnny is larger in real life, but at least it’s not yet another case of a young actress getting the part of a supposedly 40-year-old character or something
This doesn’t make any sense..unless they are going to do flashbacks. He was with Lindsey Cyr when she was in her early 20s and he was maybe late 30s-early 40s. Looking at Depp’s makeup either they’re going to have to make him younger or Dakota WAY older in whatever scenes they share…either way, probably a disaster in casting…
Is the movie covering several time periods though?
The bald cap could be for a later period?
Im more concerned about her lack of acting ability (that I have seen so far)
I would think so, Lindy79. It’s based on a book that covers more than one time period.
I didn’t think his accent was bad in Osage County. I’m not an Okie, but I am southern, and he didn’t butcher it like most people do.
His part had so little dialogue it was hard to tell.
I don’t remember Julia Roberts accent being southern at all but maybe that was intentional.
I think Julia just stuck with her native Georgian.
•Sighs•
Almost the entire cast failed miserably with their Okie accents. Benedict’s was kinda okay but most of the cast had issues so he doesn’t stick out.
The people that nailed it were the ones to stick out. Sad to say.
Maybe Cumby can take Depp shopping for a nice new hat, while they are there. I’m sure Cumby knows all the best places, and has a coupon for Depp, who is clearly phobic about spending money on headwear.
Then they can continue bonding over their shared affinity for too-young blonde famewhores.
Buy 2 get a 3rd free coupon.
(applies to hats and famewhores)
I think that’s only at the Russian Emporium. Hos-R-Us(ki).
HAHAHA!!
OT, sorry:
Fanty – I watched the first Penny Dreadful last night. Um… oh. I want to like it but all I could think all the way through was, “They’ve clearly spent a great deal of money and the actors are cool – SRB! – so why does it still look so cheap?” I wonder if I have been spoiled by cinematic values in television? Anyway. I’ll keep going for at least one more episode.
Because it’s a cable show! I think you have to embrace that, and accept the inevitability Of high cheese at some points. I don’t mind the cheap melodrama, because that is kind of consistent with the genre they’re working in. Stick with it through episode 2. The Frankenstein subplot is really well-executed.
Not so much the cheese. The production values, I think – direction, colour palette et al. It was all very television, you know? Whereas there have been so many TV shows using cinematic values that I think I may have got used to them and become a disgusting snob. Perhaps? But I will keep watching. Tell me there’s a Dorian Grey somewhere!
(Also: did you see Sean Harris get his BAFTA? Looking like a refugee from the 80s in a strange shirt, black trousers and WHITE BELT? I love him even more now.)
Dorian Grey is indeed in the next episode. Although I feel compelled to warn you so is Billie Piper.
I still haven’t seen Southcliffe! We don’t have that, OR Peaky Blinders yet. I’m appropriately outraged. I’m starved for good TV – although the upside of that is that I’ve been reading up a storm, which is nice, as none of it is sixteenth-century stuff.
(Sorry, everyone else, for extended OT).
Ha. Yay. And I don’t mind Billie Piper.
Peaky Blinders was outrageously snubbed by BAFTA and I harumphed. And I would have liked to have seen The Wipers Times win the single drama rather than Complicit – both were brilliant but the former was truly original, something British TV lacks all too often. Complicit was just a tad too worthy for me. Also – Broadchurch? Hello? Lovely, qualidee programme – but hardly a groundbreaker. Olivia should probably take a year off else even Kaiser – who’s probably never heard of her – will be saying she’s overexposed.
I have to chime in here, so sorry but Ive been watching it too and no one else I know has been so I have no one to discuss it with. I wasn’t sure about the Frankenstein bit but when it came together, it is quite brilliant.
Piper.. I couldn’t understand her for the most part..
(Sean Harris was amazing in Southcliffe, as was Rory Kinnear. Watched Broadchurch months after everyone else and it was ok but after hearing the constant “it’s so brilliant”, I was left wanting a bit)
Sixer, I was meh on the first as well please watch two before you decide.
Chime away, Lindy! It was you that I was talking to about In The Flesh a while back, wasn’t it? Hooray for zombies getting nominations and awards – and for teen/YA drama being recognised, too. The second series is on right now.
Miss Jane – will do. Promise.
T’was me Sixer. I’m recording it while trying to catch series 1! 🙂
(you’ll need subtitles/a mumble translator for Piper’s Northern Irish accent)
Lindy – watch out for gay zombies. My favouritest thing ever.
T.fanty, I agree about the Frankenstein storyline. It’s really well done. My favorite aspect of the show so far.
About the only hats available around here at this time of year are Red Sox caps.
@lilacflowers Scally caps are available year-round as well.
Cumby should have a field day with all the coeds around here if he’s into the young ones. (As an aside – I realize that there are some relationships with large age differences that are special, but it just skeeves me when I see actors who go after much younger women on the reg, I don’t know why. My skeeze probably isn’t just limited to actors, though. And I’m not talking about 5-10 years difference. And I also realize it could be my problem because I’m no longer in the desired age bracket, lol. )
And they should go shopping on Newbury.
Kate2, (I see you also have a fabulous name)- (oh aside as well:
Don’t think Cumberbatch has ever been linked to anyone, even via really questionable or bizarre gossip, that was more than 10 years younger than him tbh.
The exception would be Dakota Johnson, but was obviously not a three-person ‘date’ and wrong anyway given this movie.)
Ah, my bad then if that’s the case. I’ll be honest I don’t know much about him at all so that was probably an assumption I was making based on some comments. I’ve been known to have been wrong before… 😉
I thought he was 37 dating 20, or thereabouts. I’ll give you an example of what I mean. I love the Walking Dead and by extension, Norman Reedus. I found out he was dating a 19-20 year old model and it skeeved me (not sure if they’re still dating). He was 44 at the time. He’s still hot, and has a ridiculous, obsessive fan following just like Cumberbatch, Hiddleston, Fassbender and the rest, but when I heard that I was kinda like, come on, don’t be a freaking stereotype. Just me being all judgy of course. I admit it. But, I guess that’s why we’re here, lol.
His last two public girlfriends were very close to his age, and his rumor fodder has all been 27+.
I agree with you though. I don’t mind 10 years or less (my parents are like that) but once you’re talking 15+, not a big fan. Obviously, the life experience gap influences my feelings too (35 with a 50 year old isn’t as ‘bad’ to me as a 20 with a 35 year old).
@Kate2, he’s not here yet and most of the students, except the ones in summer programs, will be gone within the next week. They’ll only be filming here through July supposedly.
Amber Heard is almost 30 years old, she is not “too-young” and she really is not a famewhore.
Good for him but I LOVEEEEEEEEEEE Guy Pearce..
Ah, Benny, the biopic king… He really is now, isn’t he?
*sighs* I don’t even know what to say about this. Is he purposefully choosing this type of roles and films? Is he being offered nothing but this type of roles and films in Hollywood?
I think so. Not a classic Hollywood type, sooo…
I think it’s maybe a mixture? Sure, he won’t get offered rom com leading man stuff, but I have to say that quite a lot of his roles are not exactly in my type of films. It’s all very serious, often political stuff, etc. These roles are practically the contrary of the roles Johnny Depp excels in – you know, the quirky, funny, strange roles.
And that’s not only because Benny is the biopic king. I mean, Ed Wood was a biopic too and …. well… it’s another type of movie entirely than most of the things on Benny’s CV.
@Isadora:
I like serious and political roles/films – I’m very much interested in current and past international politics and clash of cultures and all other “serious business” – but only so many. Ben’s recent/upcoming roles have gravitas, but they also feel somewhat.. limiting? Too straightforward? Not much left for imagination?
Anyway, if this tendency continues, I won’t be surprised if I end up being mostly interested in his UK-based work. IF he continues working in the UK, that is =( I’m already looking forward to his Richard III and Hamlet more than that Blood Mountain or The Yellow Birds project.
I’m extremely picky with the “serious business” (although one of my alltime favourite movies is a war movie, surprisingly) and tend to go for the quirky stuff anyway. The last time I went to cinema was for Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel and I absolutely LOVED it. I wish Cumby would do such a type of role someday, I really think he would be great in it.
And yes… at the moment I’m mostly looking forward to Shakespeare and Sherlock.
Love him! Glad he finally got some work.
Here’s hoping the movie turns out good…
Cumby wouldn’t be in the scenes in Somerville – Billy really didn’t associate with Whitey out and about – in fact, that was Billy’s M.O. – he never saw his brother, or at least, not in public. Billy was NEVER seen with his “bad brother”, though he was very loyal to him.
Most of the scenes will probably be filmed in studio, with the very minimum shots done outside.
The location shooting isn’t necessarily of specific locations themselves but to represent a place. They were shooting a “New York scene” in Cambridge the other day. So they could shoot someplace and claim it is somewhere else. After all, American Hustle was filmed here and that’s set in Camden, NJ. There’s no casino in the basement of the Wang Center; they just pretended there was.
Anxiously waiting to see how they somehow work in the obligatory shot of somebody driving over the Zakim for no reason whatsoever, usually in the opposite direction of where they are supposedly traveling (hello, Sandra Bullock in The Heat.) The fact that the bridge didn’t exist during the actual time period hasn’t stopped filmmakers before.
There wasn’t a Zakim Bridge in Whitey’s day.
Sorry, hit post before reading your entire entry.
@Winter Hill Girl, that’s okay. No, there wasn’t a Zakim or a Moakley Bridge or Millenium Place or the Moakley Courthouse in which Whitey was just tried or an iCA or any of those other new buildings in the Seaport District, or even a Seaport District. There wasn’t a giant hole in the ground where Filenes used to be either. They are going to have to be careful about what they include or don’t include location-wise or Bostonians will be shrieking at the screen. They’ll need to be careful about sports apparel on characters too, since sports apparel is our basic wardrobe – no Flying Elvii on Patriots gear, no Red Sox World Series champions t-shirts on extras.
YES, ha ha. I always notice that stuff too.
And as they’re going over the Zakim bridge, someone will say something about having to head down “the 93” or “the 95”, like they did it that Cameron Diaz/Tom Cruise movie set in Boston.
It always annoys me when Hollywood films insert “the” in front of highway numbers because they assume everyone in the country talks like they do in LA. It’s “93” or “95” or “128” or “Route 128” (pronounced like “root”). Unless they’re talking about “the Mass Pike” or “the Southeast Expressway” they need to drop the “the”.
I simply could never bring myself to watch that one and reading this confirms my aversion. God help me if somebody in this film pronounces “route” or “aunt” in some other way. They can drop the “Mass” before the “Pike” and the “Southeast” before Expressway too if they wish. And “the” can be used or dropped before “McGrath & O’Brien,” depending on the speaker’s preference but it is “Leverett Circle,” not “the Leverett Circle.”
Not surprised. One movie gets pushed back, another will tend to pounce on an actor in demand. Good for him. Terrific director, love Joel Edgerton too and who knows? Maybe Johnny Depp will decide to act again in this one.
Have you seen Transcendence? Depp always gives good performances, no matter how medicore the material is.
He talked about this at his off the record meeting with the Guardian journalists whenever that was. A few weeks ago? So he’s known it was on for a while.
As for him playing Johnny Depp’s brother, LOL. I hope his accent is decent, it was pretty awful in 12YAS.
•Froop•
His accent in 12YaS was funny! And it never stayed the same from scene to scene. Bless him.
😀
It was pretty “generic movie Southern” too and nothing like the historic speech patterns (or even modern ones) from the area. I’m from down here with family from the area the dialect coach allegedly “pulled examples” from for that movie and just… no. It was really spotty, too, for most of the “southern” characters in that movie.
Benedict really swayed though in his accent. That’s what caught my attention as he never held it. If he had held his accent (pick one! anyone!!!) it wouldn’t have been so noticeable. The other accents were either meh to bad. Notable exceptions: Brad’s Canadian was awful whereas Chiwetel’s was exceptional.
I blame the director and dialect coaches when more than one person messes up whatever accent they are trying to achieve. 12YaS had a fantastic and talented cast but a lot of them struggled with various accents and that’s a shame.
@LadySlippers: True. There’s only so much an actor can do if they don’t have a consistent dialect coach. I know they can do their own research, etc, but a dialect coach is supposed to give more depth to an accent and help them develop idiosyncrancies, etc. BC’s “Southerner from wealthy NOLA area” was very nebulous and he floated between deep south and NOLA Irish and back again, hitting several in between.
I did notice that in 12YAS. His accent was different from scene to scene. Within a scene it was ok, but continuity wise it was pretty off.
BC’s going to be in Boston? But… I’M in Boston. I think I need to lie down.
Seriously, though, I was already in full stalk mode about town because the Top Chef people just arrived to film, and I really, really really want to go to one of their events. There’s a ton of info about Black Mass filming locations out there, they’re going to be all over the place until August. I hope BC does some fun stuff around town and gets to know the city.
Ah. Cumberbatch is finally going to be in a movie that my husband would want to watch!
On a side note, I’m originally from MA and having a hard time picturing him as Billy Bulger, but that might be partially due to always thinking of Bulger as “old” and Cumberbatch as “young”. It’s so confusing to be middle-aged…
I have to say, despite everything, if they can manage to not screw this up, this movie has a TON of potential. Depp can still act, and we all know Cumberbatch’s talents.
Depp has potential if only he’d skip this ridiculous phase of middle age crisis. As of lately, he’s been cringe-worthy. I dunno, considering his last three flops (which I liked by the way, I’m just saying he’s lost of bit of his mojo) and Mordechai premiering on Throw-Away Month that February is, this movie should be gold in order to stick around. And he also visited the subject with Public Enemies a couple years ago. As of right now, feels a bit like “been there, done that”.
Let’s hope Benedict doesn’t get affected by Depp’s funk.
Yeah, its the potential that I’m banking on. Its such a good story it would suck for it to turn into a mess.
So that’s why he was hanging out with Dakota Johnson
I’m kinda cringey re the accents… I’m not even from Boston but I can just feel the grating starting down my spine with the bad, fake accents. I’m from the South and whenever I hear a bad Southern accent in film, I get metaphorically stabby. Benedict’s accent in Twelve Yeas a Slave was…generic movie southern, tbh. Could’ve been a LOT worse. His American accent in that movie w/Rachel Weisz was awful, though. Hopefully this movie either has an awesome dialect coach and the actors are busting their asses not to sound like caricatures, or they’re not going to dwell on making everyone sound like the stereotype Kennedy-meets-Good Will Hunting accent.
His part in that was so small I doubt they even gave him a dialect coach to work with (Whistleblower I mean, not 12 YAS). Great movie though.
Very true. On both counts lol.
I think the problem with accents is people over do it. If they scaled back and didn’t force it so much it would be better. Strictly my opinion though.
Depp’s is way harder.
I heard them both speak in a documentary or something, and Whitey’s was very distinct. William sounded more like he was going for really proper Irish, oddly.
Their father was from Newfoundland. Their mother, of Irish descent, was born and grew up here so neither parent had an Irish accent. Whitey sounds like a guy who grew up on the streets instead of going to school. Billy sounds like a Triple Eagle, a product of Boston College High School, Boston College, and Boston College Law School. Education changes our speech patterns and the BC products of Bulger’s era have a distinct manner of speaking.
@Lady Slippers: I do think you’re right–I think it’s a desire to “make it sound real” and overcompensation happens. It was mentioned on a thread about TYAS a while back that the accents weren’t *horrible* but the Brits sounded like British people “doing” a Southern accent. I’m kind of expecting that with the Bulger biopic–not awful but everyone sounding like they’re shamming an accent.
With the bit that I saw of Cumby in that Rachel W. film, I agree that I think he overdid it. It sounds almost too American, if that makes any sense!
While I am excited for him for this new role, I do worry about him attempting a Boston accent. Will his character be an instrumental part of the movie? Or will this be more of a role where he’s onscreen for about 5 minutes?
Just got an email from Boston Casting looking for a dialogue coach to teach the Boston accent. So at least they are thinking about it. I found the discussion above about the location specificity of the Boston accents really interesting, reminds me of the Cockney accent only being within the sound of the Bow bells.
Well now we know why he was lunching with Dakota…they’re going to be costars.
I think the man is a brilliant actor but I don’t think he’s that great with accents, not horrible, but not great and a Boston/Irish accent is not at all easy. Also concerned about a Depp-lead vehicle considering his recent string of flops. Hopefully it’s a brilliant script.
Also can anyone tell me if Dakota can act?
Well, it’s certainly going to be a stretch for him physically – here is what William Bulger looks like:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/08/14/wheres-william-bulger/
And he is very short and has a Napoleonic Complex.
Cumberbatch, stay away from me! I worry he is stalking me…lol
I honestly cannot imagine him as Billy Bulger. That seems totally out of left field. But maybe he will be great….
Glad he got a job! It will be interesting to see how this turns out.
Does anyone know how big this role is? I know it’s a “supporting” role, but does that mean a couple weeks worth of shooting?
I’m just want to make sure he gets back to hosting tea parties as soon as possible.
I promised to report back. No sightings by me of anyone related to the film or Top Chef during my travels on the Orange Line, around my workplace (Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, and Kevin Bacon filmed in our lobby and back alley a few years ago and Jeremy Renner, John Hamm, and Ben Affleck were in the basement at another of my workplaces a few years before that. DiCaprio actually filmed a scene in The Departed involving my office building but it was at night when nobody was at work), around Downtown Crossing, in Park Street Under, on the Green Line, in Kenmore Square, on Lansdown, in the bleachers at Fenway, or in the Back Bay early this evening. My friend and I consoled our self over the absence of actors and/or chefs at Fenway by delighting in the presence of this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dwightevans.JPG , because most women who grew up as proud members of Red Sox Nation appreciate the wonder and beauty that is our beloved Dewey. Any outdoor shooting today may have been curtailed due to the downpours between 2 and 6 PM. And I pray to God that nobody in the film mispronounces “Bulger.”
I love how meticulous you are! 😛 <3 Now, if Hiddles ends up doing that Kyriakides film, I really do hope you'll be just as meticulous. If not more lol.
Oh, much more so, Intro. As I’ve said before, Cumberbatch does nothing for me at all and if I find Depp, I’m likely to lecture him about how ridiculous he has been lately.
Damn, where do you work???
Kevin Bacon <333
Near Downtown Crossing. Bacon has been in several projects here and he doesn’t attempt to do an accent, just sticks with general Northeast, which is fine.
Hey Lilacflowers, I think we are in the same ‘hood! Anyway, I stopped off at the Shaw’s near Lechmere after work yesterday and noticed this kind of cute guy loading up his cart with what looked to be the makings of a party (most notably a cake). I was going to say something to him like, “where’s the party?” When I was in my car getting ready to leave I see said guy and another guy loading up this truck with a film crew logo on it. If I wasn’t so tired and the traffic being so bad at that time, I might have actually followed them.
Shit, there’s a Shaw’s near Lechmere? I work in Kendall Square and I’ve been lugging groceries from home for lunches.
Anyone want to do a meet up? I live in Watertown, and am downtown or in Cambridge all of the time.
@flavia, yes, there is a Shaw’s near Lechmere. It is in Twin City Plaza, off the McGrath/O’Brien Hwy. Not sure if that is close enough for you to walk. I always forget it is there because when I drive by, I’m usually trying to read the sign at Sav-Mor liquors, which sadly, has not been as hilarious lately as it usually is. This week’s made me smile at least: “Grilling Season begins Memorial Day. Snow Date: June 2.”
@Lilac,
So can you give us the lowdown on those people? Most importantly how tall did they appear? I personally think that they are all lying about their heights. A person 5’7 is suddenly 5’10”, yeah right. I actually said I wanted height measurements instead of real juicy gossip. I must be slipping.
On which people, Delorb? The Bulgers? Fortunately, I never knowingly met Whitey. Billy is only slightly taller than I am and I’m 5 feet, 3 inches tall. Jeff Bridges is tall and charming, even when I crashed into him. (Seriously, not deliberately, we were in the same restaurant and I was running to find a quiet place to talk to my hysterical brother on the phone when he abruptly stood up in front of me and we collided. My hysterical brother was getting married the next day and was freaking out about wedding details. Embarrassed apologies all around between me and Bridges.) Didn’t get too close to Bacon but he appeared to be average height, not short. Definitely taller than 5’7. Killer cheekbones.
@Lilac,
Oops, I meant the actors. I could care less about the mobster and his brother, LOL.
I LOVE DEWEY!! He’s generally out of my age range but he’s a really hot older man, I gotta say.
kate2, when they showed Dewey on the Jumbotron during the game yesterday, every woman in our section of the bleachers went nuts. The man is getting better and better looking with age. He was a great player and, by all accounts, a good and decent man and a terrific father.
Welp *packs bags* time to head to Boston for no apparent reason, definitely has nothing to do with Benedict being there or anything.
anyone notice the pretty blond in the white sunglasses behind him in many of the Monaco photos?
It’s Lady Kinvara Balfour, she is an old friend of Benedict from what I know.
Kinvara Balfour, Adam Selves and Adam Ackland all went with BC to Monaco. Apparently, he invited James Rhodes as well but Rhodes had filming committments for a project and couldn’t make it. Looks like it was a Sunny March field trip, lol, despite how some folks on Tumblr are trying to stir the “OMG THEY’RE DATING” pot.
I’m all about Adam Selves and his purple trousers. I just assumed it was friends hanging out, but now I wonder if Lady K is involved in an upcoming Sunny March project.
Someone on IMDB said that they follow her on Instagram and she’s been liking lots of peoples’ #sherlock and Benedict pictures but deleted her own pictures of Benedict that she’d posted a month or 2 ago. Kind of weird, but doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
Hmm. It is suspect!
Ah thanks, I was wondering who the purple pants guy was. I like them!
I can definitely see BC and Kinvara as a couple. They seem like they would fit well.
(Also, from what I saw a while back, she only had 2 BC photos on Instagram: one from that charity pub quiz in March, and the other from the last Cabin Pressure recording. The Cabin Pressure one is still there, pub quiz is not)
Yeah, the pub quiz one is gone from Instagram and Twitter but you can still see it here.
http://dudeufugly.tumblr.com/post/80068732922/londonphile-many-thanks-to-kinvara-balfour-tq
Why would you think they make a good couple? What do you actually know about her that would give you that idea?
I don’t really care about what friends he was with there, more the fact that he’s being pally with the disgusting Bernie Ecclestone.
I wouldn’t be opposed if say Ben can’t do the Boston accent to just do a straight one. The important thing is that I can understand him, and for the life of me, sometimes I can’t understand a thick Boston accent.