Hollywood to ban fiendish Brit villains

Melbourne: The days of British villains curling their lips and sneering in cut-glass tones may now be history as Hollywood has banned villains from Britain. Hollywood studio executives have realised that offending potential customers may not be a wise business move.

According to marketing notes prepared by Paramount Pictures for independent film producers seeking commissions, aliens or evil masterminds with `polyglot` accents that don`t identify them with a particular country are more welcome now, reports the Sunday Times. Previously, Dame Helen Mirren had complained that the British baddie had become a Hollywood cliche. "It`s unfortunate that the villain in every movie is always British," the Age quoted Mirren as saying. "It`s nice to say we`re not the snooty, stuck-up, malevolent, malignant creatures as we are so often portrayed. "We are actually kind of cool and hip and I wish they would show a little more of that," she added. ANI