Sunday, December 31, 2006

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.

2 comments:

Michael in New York said...

I don't know if anyone would make a great Clouseau. I don't know why; it's just a slapsticky character -- I think the hard prt is finding the right director. But you're right; he would have been a great choice.

priv8pete said...

I think his best film was So I Married an Axe Murderer. That movie leaves me in stitches.

Woman... woe-man... whoooa-man. She was a thief, you gotta believe, she stole my heart and my cat. Betty, Judy, Josie and those hot Pussycats... they make me horny, Saturday morny... girls of cartoo-ins will leave me in ruins... I want to to be Betty's Barney. Hey Jane... get me off this crazy thing... called love.