Okay, maybe I'm not the best one to post to this thread (my gluteus maximus is still significantly sore for the kicking I received when I mistakenly attributed Sting's "Cushie Butterfield" accent to Cockney--ouch!), but as an American anglophile, I am certainly insulted whenever I hear of anything being dumbed down for "my" sake--and it's happened more times than I can count.

I routinely spend twice as much as I normally would to buy Terry Pratchett's paperbacks in their UK editions, because his American publishers make me break out in hives (why the hell is it so important to take the "u" out of colour and honour? Damn you, Noah Webster! And the US cover art...blecch!). One of my favorite British musicals, Tim Rice's "CHESS," was pretty much eviscerated when it was "Americanized" for its Broadway run (even Judy Kuhn's brilliance couldn't save it altogether). I almost broke out in hives when I learned that my favorite movie--"Little Voice"--had almost been savaged by the casting of Gwyneth Paltrow (???) and Brad Pitt (?!?!?!) in the lead roles, instead of the wonderful Jane Horrocks FOR WHOM THE PLAY WAS WRITTEN (and, of course, my true-love Ewan McGregor, but that's another story).

Joanne Rowling was right to stick to her guns regarding the British casting of the Harry Potter movie, and I'm glad that LOTR is (at least, accent-wise) following suit. I can deal with American actors speaking in dialect as long as they're making a decent effort. But telling me that I'm expected to be too stupid and self-absorbed to comprehend someone speaking in a non-American ENGLISH accent really steams my dumplings. Next thing they'll be telling us that they're going to re-shoot "Gone With The Wind" in a flat Midwestern accent because all those Southern vowels are just too liquid for the majority of Americans. Just about equally ludicrous!

Sorry for the long-windedness, but this issue continues to infuriate me. Sigh.

All the best,

Molly