Whither Mike Myers?

The NYTimes treats Mike Myers absence from new movies as if he were akin to Stanley Kubrick or Terrence Malick. I wouldn't mind if Myers had made more good movies, but his record is very spotty, to say the least. "Wayne's World" and "Austin Powers" are his sole claims to fame at the movies so far. And in a typically lazy comparison, the NYTimes insists that the Austin Powers franchise rivaled "X-Men" and "Lord of the Rings." Not even close. The two Austin Powers sequels grossed $300 million worldwide each, roughly. (The first was a a $53 million surprise and a smash on DVD.) The "X-Men" movies grossed $300 million, then $400 million then $450 million worldwide. That's 50% more, quite a lot when you're talking about a $150 million difference. And "LOTR?" That's an ENTIRELY different playing field, with $860 million, $920 million and $1.1 BILLION per movie worldwide. Austin Powers is not even remotely comparable to that. "Shrek" is a much bigger franchise, but -- despite the NYTimes implication that Myers insisted those slackers involved with the movie do a better job on his character, he has no creative involvement on the script or anything else other than providing his voice. The franchises I would compare to Austin Powers? Maybe "Rush Hour" or the Bourne movies.