by coracle » Mar 20, 2011 12:29 am
Firstly, let's just note that in the UK there is no "British" accent - there are dozens of main dialects or accents around the country, including different regions of England, [northern] Ireland, Scotland and Wales - and even different parts of London have different sounds in their speech.
Secondly, this is a series of books written about English people, who meet creatures who speak their language properly - so they are likely to be endowed with a dialect/accent from somewhere in the UK.
I think part of the appeal of the book is their old fashioned Englishness, and this could be spoiled in films by casting overtly American, Australian or Kiwi-accented actors.
Thirdly, the request for them to do wider casting to allow Americans to audition has generally come from young Americans who would love to be in the films - who are not necessarily actors. They are fortunate to be living in a country with a huge film industry, and I hope some of them get the chance to audition locally for other work.
Fourthly, most professional actors can use assumed accents from a variety of backgrounds, (as an amateur actor I have a set of dialect and accent tapes for training myself for such work on stage too) and a capable NZ or Australian actor can play a role requiring "R.P." accent - which is the upper middle class accent the Pevensies are meant to have. (I notice quite a bit of modern mixed-accent "Estuary English" creeps in though).
“Not all of us can choose what we give up. The things we love are taken or are never ours at all. If we’re lucky, life is defined not by what we let go, but what we let in: friendship and kind words, frailty and hope.”
From 'Call The Midwife', S9 Ep2