[Sam L]

(Reuters) - Keira Knightley will speak with an English accent when she plays the classic Russian character of Anna Karenina, the actress said on Sunday at the Toronto Film Festival.





The British actress, who is at Toronto promoting her role in "A Dangerous Method" -- in which she also plays a Russian character -- told Reuters in an interview on Sunday that for her biggest role yet, in the upcoming "Anna Karenina," director Joe Wright and a cast including Jude Law had decided to speak with English rather than Russian accents.
"It's going to be an English accent. It's always very tricky when you are doing something that is meant to be in another language. Because you are like, what accent should it be, should you do that? Well, if you've got a Russian accent, why aren't you speaking Russian? It's an English-language film. So we have taken the decision that it's an English accent," she said.
The film, adapted from Leo Tolstoy's novel, considered one of the greatest of all time, will start shooting in a week's time. The cast already has completed three weeks of rehearsal, Knightley said.
"I've been reading the book now, for about two months, three months, poring through it, trying to pick pieces out of it, trying to figure it out. And then a couple of history books of that era in Russia, which is fascinating," the 26-year-old actress said.
Knightley has received some praise for her turn in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" -- which premiered at Toronto on Saturday -- in which she plays Russian patient Sabina Spielrein, who comes between psychoanalysts Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. In that film she does use a Russian accent.
But looking ahead, she said her mind was tuned to the late-19th-century Russian high society of "Anna Karenina," as she follows the likes of Greta Garbo in the title role.
"It's a big boy," she said about the role. "It's very challenging, it's very very exciting ... hopefully it will all come together."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...78A3W520110911

Excellent decision. Imagine if the cast does whatever accent they think it should be like in Coppola's Marie Antoinette. It keeps it simple and allows the actors to concentrate on acting rather than accents. Can you think of any other films where they should not have adopted accents?

EDIT:

http://whatculture.com/film/first-lo...a-karenina.php

[Bayo]

I hate feigned accents. They're completely illogical.

I was just checking the IMDb page, and they have assembled SUCH a young cast for this film. I already had apprehensions about Keira in the title role. I picture Anna older and more womanly, not so waifish. More Garbo, I guess. And Vronksky is barely 20 years old?

Also, I don't see anyone listed as Levin. It's funny. I first read the novel when I was 16-17, and I found Levin and Kitty insufferably boring. But with each subsequent reading I've come to prefer his story to Anna's more and more. Do you know if this will be an Anna-centric adaptation?

[Sam L]

Originally Posted by Bayo

I hate feigned accents. They're completely illogical.

I was just checking the IMDb page, and they have assembled SUCH a young cast for this film. I already had apprehensions about Keira in the title role. I picture Anna older and more womanly, not so waifish. More Garbo, I guess. And Vronksky is barely 20 years old?

Also, I don't see anyone listed as Levin. It's funny. I first read the novel when I was 16-17, and I found Levin and Kitty insufferably boring. But with each subsequent reading I've come to prefer his story to Anna's more and more. Do you know if this will be an Anna-centric adaptation?

I don't know. All I know is that Joe Wright is directing, Tom Stoppard is penning the script and the cast. My guess is it will be Anna-centric. I think Keira is fine for this role. Anna was supposed to have married very young. Although I agree about the waifish part, especially when she gets pregnant. But I think the key in an adaptation like this is the chemistry with Knightley and Johnson. It is essential and will either make or break the film. Levin is played by an actor that played one of the Weasley brothers in Harry Potter. Not Ron and not one of the twins. I've forgotten his name. Saoirse Ronan is Kitty. I think she will be great.

[Dani12]

I like when they do accents, it makes it more authentic. If the actors are good enough they can pull it off..

[Sally Struthers]

Originally Posted by Dani12

I like when they do accents, it makes it more authentic. If the actors are good enough they can pull it off..

what's authentic about someone speaking english with a faux Russian accent? If you really want to be authentic, you should speak Russian and have the movie subtitled but that would be a box office bomb

[Dani12]

Originally Posted by Sally Struthers

what's authentic about someone speaking english with a faux Russian accent? If you really want to be authentic, you should speak Russian and have the movie subtitled but that would be a box office bomb

Uhh it's more authentic then being a Russian with an English accent.

[KournikovaFan91]

So yet again she will have an upper class British accent. This girl's talents see no bounds.

[Beat]

no wonder she goes back to a british accent after being laughed at for her russian accent in that croneneberg movie.

Originally Posted by Bayo

I hate feigned accents. They're completely illogical.

Originally Posted by Sally Struthers

what's authentic about someone speaking english with a faux Russian accent? If you really want to be authentic, you should speak Russian and have the movie subtitled but that would be a box office bomb

this and this.

i recently saw the trailer for "the devil's double". dominic cooper plays the son of sadam hussein, uday hussein, and his double latif yahia. of course he speaks english - with an arab accent. it makes no sense whatsoever.
the same applies to the cornenberg movie: c.g. jung was swiss, freud was austrian, spielrein was russian. i have no problem with british/international actors playing these characters, but just let them speak normal english, because the original characters didn't speak english (to each other) anyway, so why pretend they did?

[Melange]

In that case, why spend so much on location shooting and period costumes? Film it in the sound stage and use regular clothing. The audience's imagination is what matters, let them pretend its all set in 19th century Russia. All the savings can go to paying the actors more.

[Pops Maellard]

Originally Posted by KournikovaFan91

So yet again she will have an upper class British accent. This girl's talents see no bounds.

[Halardfan]

Within in a film it's important to be consistent, if everyone is going to speak in their native accent, then fine.

But it's when you get a mish-mash that things get confusing, with some people attempting an accent and some not. What is worst is when an accent wanders during a film, e.g that recent Anne Hathaway movie or Russell Crowe's Robin Hood. Their accents wandered every corner of England!

As a group of actors I think British actors are pound for pound the best in the world. But weird casting lingers...for example Nazi's in American movies seem to be often played by Brits...

[Beat]

Originally Posted by Melange

In that case, why spend so much on location shooting and period costumes?

totally different thing, i don't think you got my point; c.g. jung & co. were wearing such clothes (if the costume designer did his/her job right) but they certainly didn't speak english with a german/russian accent.

[Ferg]

I would have liked to see Saoirse's Russian accent...

[miffedmax]

Didn't KK already play AK in a made-for-TV movie?

I think Ronan is one of the best young actors out there. Although as I've pointed out it's always creepy watching her because I swear to God she is my older son's female doppelganger. They really could pass for brother and sister.

Lena's bangs.

[Sam L]

Originally Posted by Sally Struthers

what's authentic about someone speaking english with a faux Russian accent? If you really want to be authentic, you should speak Russian and have the movie subtitled but that would be a box office bomb

They did make a Russian version back in the 60s. But that's a wider problem of foreign films not finding a market say in the States. That's another thing altogether. As an English filmmaker, Joe Wright should be able to adapt this to the big screen and using an English cast with English accents. I feel this is more genuine than trying to put on Russian accents.

Originally Posted by Halardfan

Within in a film it's important to be consistent, if everyone is going to speak in their native accent, then fine.

But it's when you get a mish-mash that things get confusing, with some people attempting an accent and some not. What is worst is when an accent wanders during a film, e.g that recent Anne Hathaway movie or Russell Crowe's Robin Hood. Their accents wandered every corner of England!

As a group of actors I think British actors are pound for pound the best in the world. But weird casting lingers...for example Nazi's in American movies seem to be often played by Brits...

That is a really good point. They need to keep it consistent and I think this is a good decision.

Originally Posted by miffedmax

Didn't KK already play AK in a made-for-TV movie?

I think Ronan is one of the best young actors out there. Although as I've pointed out it's always creepy watching her because I swear to God she is my older son's female doppelganger. They really could pass for brother and sister.

Lena's bangs.

No, that was Doctor Zhivago where she played Lara Antipova.