James McAvoy: Brit filmmakers dumb down movies for Americans

 

The American-made superhero flick "X-Men: First Class" may seem an unusual choice for Scottish star James McAvoy, who earned critical raves for British dramas like "The Last King of Scotland" and "Atonement"—but then again, the actor says U.K. movies just aren't what they used to be.

"We make loads of movies to try and hit in America, and yet it's never the ones aimed at America that do well. We dumb our movies down because we want Americans to understand them," the BAFTA winner tells SkyNews.
"Then Americans watch it and go, 'This is a really unsophisticated, dumbed-down movie. Why would we buy this? Why do we like this? We don't.' It's like we're patronizing them and short-changing ourselves," he says.

McAvoy's "X-Men" co-star Kevin Bacon advises filmmakers to continue to play it smart on screen.
"I think the whole thing is to keep trying to make the best possible movie that you can, and hopefully the cream rises to the top," he says. "And sometimes, you know, you look at something like 'The King's Speech'—which is made for relatively little money compared to 'X-Men'—and it just keeps making money, making money, making money."
"X-Men: First Class" arrives in theaters June 3.