[Rimbaud]

I'm not sure if I'm being the worst kind of spoil-sport but I have some objections to accent creation in film. Frpm the early days of theatre, much was done with suspension of disbelief. Someone was introduced as being from Italy and then would continue as normal, acting to his/her full ability, not worrying about 'putting on' some sort of Latin accent.<P>I often wish film-makers would desist from the nonsense of ruining perfectly good voices and acting vocal mannerisms by forcing the actor to convolute his language. Particularly in American films it has made British/French/Australian etc actors seem awkward and imprecise in their roles because they are forced to speak a certain way. In a fantasy film like FoTR it is not vital to have a set of systematic accents for me to enjoy the film. But hearing Americans mauling the English/Irish accents is less enjoyable. Although it is preferable to the plethora of bad American accents I've heard from European and Australasian actors! I've probably annoyed a lot of Tolkien purists who had a firm idea of what the heroes should sound like but I would value a natural acting performance more highly. <P>End of rant. Thank you and good night, Middle Earthers.