- Title: USA: MIKE MYERS TALKS ABOUT HIS LATEST FILM "AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER"
- Date: 12th July 2002
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 12, 2002) (REUTERS) SV: SOUNDBITE (English) MIKE MYERS SAYING: "This has been the greatest experience of my life, to be honest with you. It was like a three month party and I was very sad on the last week when I knew there was nothing left to shoot; I kept saying, 'we've got to shoot more stuff, don't we?'" SV: SOUNDBITE (Engli
- Embargoed: 27th July 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA126LL8HAQ2SGMIVUBBABJLTAM
- Story Text: He's back, baby! The shagadelic international man of mystery returns in his third spy comedy "Austin Powers in Goldmember." Mike Myers plays his usual list of characters and adds a roller-skating Dutchman to his repertoire. He's joined by Destiny's Child lead singer Beyonce Knowles as his crime-fighting partner, Foxxy Cleopatra.
It's been three years since Austin Powers (Mike Myers) faced his arch nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers). But after Dr. Evil and his accomplice Mini Me escape from a maximum security prison, Austin is called to action once more in this third instalment of the highly successful "Austin Powers" movie franchise.
After the first "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and the follow up "The Spy Who Shagged Me," the wild success of the character seemed more than enough to secure a third instalment in what had grown into a series of films.
Now, even after making Powers a trilogy, Mike Myers seems ready to make another.
"This has been the greatest experience of my life, to be honest with you. It was like a three month party and I was very sad on the last week when I knew there was nothing left to shoot; I kept saying, 'we've got to shoot more stuff, don't we?'" Myers told Reuters.
In this instalment, Dr. Evil teams up with the mysterious Goldmember (Myers), hatching a time-traveling scheme to take over the world. The plan involves the kidnapping of Nigel Powers (Michael Caine), Austin's beloved father and England's most renowned spy. As he chases the villains through time, Austin visits 1975 and joins forces with his old flame, Foxxy Cleopatra (Knowles), a streetwise and stylish detective.
Together Austin and Foxxy must find a way to save Nigel and stop Dr. Evil and Goldmember from their mischievous mayhem.
It's the big screen debut for Beyonce Knowles, who is better known as the leader of R&B super-trio Destiny's Child.
She first tested her acting chops last year in MTV's "Carmen: A Hip-Hopera," a made-for-TV update of Bizet's famous work.
She says acting in "Austin Powers" was the perfect venue for her foray into feature film work.
"It was great playing a secret agent; I had my gun and my badge and my afro and my shoes, my crazy shoes and costumes.
It was a dream come true," Knowles said.
Myers once again takes on multiple roles, portraying his already established list of characters including Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, and Fat Bastard. But this time he takes on a fourth -- Goldmember, a bad-guy goldsmith from Holland who has himself been permanently cast in gold -- a part of him, anyway. Joining the cast are Sir Michael Caine as Nigel Powers, along with Knowles and Fred Savage (from the hit TV show "The Wonder Years') as Number Three, a.k.a. The Mole.
Returning are series veterans Michael York (Basil Exposition), Robert Wagner (Number Two), Mindy Sterling (Frau Farbissina), Seth Green (Scott Evil), and Verne J. Troyer (Mini Me). The returning cast members said they learned a lot from the first two films.
The great thing that we learned on the first one is that some of the most successful things come out of improvisation and so we have a real balance between all the brilliant things that have been written and what happens in the moment, so there's a lot of spontaneity in the movie," Green told Reuters.
Troyer echoed Green's statement:
"Well, you never know what he's going to do, so when you're in a scene with him, you have to react off of whatever he comes up with and he makes it really fun. It's like a big party atmosphere. But he's so talented and amazing and just me having the opportunity to be in these films, it's surprisingly something I never expected."
Directed by Jay Roach, behind the first two films, "Austin Powers in Goldmember" carries on the inspiration Myers has had from the beginning.
"This series of movies, as it's become, was a tribute to me father -- my father was the silliest man on the planet -- and I think that, like what my father used to say about life, that is, 'silly is our natural state,' we only get serious in order to get to silly and I think Jay [Roach] is like that and everybody in the cast is like that," Myers said.
Meanwhile, Knowles is still looking forward to seeing the final product at the film's world premiere in Los Angeles July
"I haven't seen the movie yet, but I wanted to wait until the premiere. But I'm going to pass out, I know. I'm not going to be able to take it; it's going to be too much for me to see myself in this movie. It's just surreal," Knowles said.
Fans will get a chance to see it shortly after when "Austin Powers in Goldmember" opens in U.S. theater July 26. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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