The British are coming! The British are coming!
From the small to the silver screen, in fashion and in the celebrity world, British influences are increasingly visible in American pop culture. Brit Christian Bale is Batman and will soon take a turn as John Connor in “Terminator Salvation.” Comic Ricky Gervais, formerly known for his Brit-based “The Office,” is starring in U.S. rom-com “Ghost Town.” And this fall, a slew of shows from across the pond will be added to American TV schedules.
On Sunday, Russell Brand, a British comic virtually unknown in the states, stepped into the big shoes formerly worn by Chris Rock, Jack Black and Jimmy Fallon to host MTV’s VMA awards. In a nod to Brand’s still-emerging status, a promo for the awards program co-starred a giggling Britney Spears who couldn’t even remember his “surname.”
But after Brand’s high-profile VMA debut and a recent scene-stealing role in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” he could join other Brits in their invasion of the hearts and minds of Americans.
This pop culture exchange program isn’t new, expert say. Americans have been importing British actors, TV shows, films and fashions for decades, including that ’70s show “All in the Family” (based on Brit show “Till Death Do Us Part) and mod fashions in the 60s. What is new is the tendency to keep the imports closer to the originals, rather than totally Americanizing them.
In the past, shows like “The Office” had been almost totally “Americanized,” said Michael Niederman, chairman of the TV department at Columbia College.
But Britain is front-and-center on some new and established shows. The upcoming science fiction series “Eleventh Hour” features a Brit actor as its lead, and “Gossip Girl,” which already features Brit Ed Westwick speaking with an American accent, has hired Floridian Patrick Heusinger to play a British character. The two-hour season premiere of Fox’s “Bones” features comely crime solvers Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) cracking two cases in London.
“It’s a fascinating dynamic because, in large part, they are our closest cousin,” Niederman said. He credited the Internet with opening American eyes and ears to Brit artists, celebs and cultural expression. “We have a shared history and cultural language.”
And a shared sense of style.
The mini-skirt, mod style, punk movement and Goth style of dress all originated across the pond, local fashion designer Herbert Van Stephens said.
Now style-savvy Americans are embracing a mod-gone-punk style, which mixes centuries-old styles — including bustiers and ruffled collars — with new-school looks, such as scruffy bed-head hairstyles and skinny jeans.
“British like to take their fashion history and infuse it into the current fashion trend, and they are less likely than we are to follow a fad,” Van Stephens said. “We are constantly borrowing their style.”
But the borrowing isn’t always a one way street.
Brit tabloids are fixated on the antics of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, who both married Brits. And Jay-Z recently headlined the British Glastonbury Festival.
And we’ve captivated the English imagination with our detective shows and fixation on the supernatural.
” ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ was popular over there and spawned shows centering on ghosts,” Niederman said. “Their cop shows tended to be more sedate historically, but now they incorporate violence and fast cars.”
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Celeb imports
As if our celebrity constellation wasn’t beaming brightly enough with Katie Holmes, Kim Kardashian, LiLo, Beyonce and the entire cast of “The Hills,” Americans also are increasingly opening their arms (and their celebrity mags) to embrace British stars. Jason “The Transporter” Statham, Orlando Bloom, Christian Bale and Amy Winehouse have made the leap across the pond already. Here are some other newcomers and emerging Brit artists to watch out for. k.k.
FILM
Ricky Gervais
You know him as the blundering boss of the original “The Office” and HBO’s “Extras,” but he’s motoring into the mainstream with upcoming rom-com, “Ghost Town,” co-starring Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear.
Idris Elba
Elba made a name for himself as Stringer Bell, a drug dealer with the mind of an MBA on “The Wire,” but Elba also is building big screen credits, recently appearing in teen slasher “Prom Night” and Tyler Perry’s “Daddy Little Girls.”
TV
Lena Headey
Headey thrilled in “300” as the Spartan queen but is now kicking arse on Fox TV as hot mama Sarah Connor in “Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles.”
Ed Westwick
OMG, this “Gossip Girl” star steams up the screen as the villainous womanizer Chuck.
MUSIC
Estelle
This soulful singer, who teamed with Kanye West on “American Boy,” has been compared to India.Arie.
Duffy
This Welsh singer has been angling for the title of the new Amy Winehouse, because the real one is, kinda, well … troubled.
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Talking about TV
Tune into your telly this fall and you’ll see a number of new shows imported from our British buds, plus some old faves. While some shows are Americanized (“Worst Week”), others prominently feature British stars (“Eleventh Hour”). kyra kyles, redeye
What’s new
Worst Week
This CBS show brings to mind “Meet the Parents,” as it explores the antics of Sam Brigg (Kyle Bornheimer) during increasingly awkward interactions with his soon-to-be in-laws. This American adaptation of Brit hit “Worst Week of My Life” also stars Kurtwood Smith, a.k.a. the curmudgeonly “That ’70s Show” patriarch, reprising some of that rancor as father-in-law Dick Clayton.
Life on Mars
In this ABC show, a car crash sends detective Sam Tyler (Irish-born Jason O’Mara) back into the ’70s in an Americanized version of the BBC hit of the same name. While Tyler solves crimes alongside detectives still using pre-CSI methodology, audiences are left to ponder whether he is actually back in time, in a coma or (shudder) dead.
Eleventh Hour
This sci-fi series follows a scientist, Jacob Hood, and his colleague trying to save people from deadly experimentation. The Brit version featured “X-Men” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Patrick Stewart. In the American version, another Brit, Rufus Sewell, takes the helm.
Little Britain USA
This side-splitting sketch show stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas. For the U.S. edition, Lucas and Walliams will focus on skewering our celebs, rather than their equally scandalous British counterparts.
What’s hot
The Office
Comic Steve Carell took the reins from BBC juggernaut Ricky Gervais in the Americanized “Office,” bringing more dumb but just as much fun to the boss of an office supply company rife with workplace awkwardness.
Dancing with the Stars
This glitzy ballroom dance-off, snatched from the British boob tube, has become a smash in the states, offering garish costumes and a smorgasbord of B-list celebs and athletes. Expect to see more of same this season with competitors Kim Kardashian, Toni Braxton and Olympic gold medalist Maurice Green.
American Idol
It’s got “American” right there in the title, but before this ratings juggernaut brought us Ruben Studdard, Carrie Underwood, and (gag) the Claymates, it debuted across the pond as “Pop Idol.”
Supernanny
Misbehaving kids and their weak-willed parents get schooled in this U.S. version, but show creators were smart to keep the original nanny, Jo Frost.
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Fashion
Playing with plaid
Plaid will be big in fall fashion, local fashion designer Herbert Van Stephens said, but not in the typical red-and-black color scheme. “You will see plaids in colors, like the pinks and greens,” Van Stephens said of this import from Britain by way of Scotland.
Skinny jeans
Kanye West once musically mocked his friends, Fall Out Boy, for their super-skinny jeans in the “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s An Arms Race” remix, but the boys in the band might be on the right side of style these days.
The skinny jean is in the mainstream, especially for men.
“You see this all over Chicago, especially in Wicker Park,” Van Stephens said, adding it likely won’t catch on in hip-hop culture. “I think they’ll stick with the sag.”
Still, Van Stephens noted some hip-hop artists who’ve seemingly tightened up their trousers a tad, including West, Shwayze and Chris Brown.
Big bold sunglasses
Did you get sick of those huge LiLo sunglasses this summer? If so, bad news, they’ll be back and in bold colors, next year, according to Van Stephens.
“The envelope has been pushed,” he said of this Brit-influenced look. “You’ll see a rainbow of these glasses.”
Mod, mod world
Brits love to blend old and futuristic fashion, Van Stephens said, and it’s catching on in America. Katy “I Kissed a Girl” Perry (right) provides numerous examples of vibrant color and old-school garments from hot pants to bustiers.
“I saw her recently on TV wearing a ruffled putrid green collar and she had fabric in her hair,” Van Stephens said. “It was quintessential Brit.”
K.K.
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kkyles@tribune.com
