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What the Hell Happened to Mike Myers?
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TMC
Dec 4, 2012, 3:05:42 PM12/4/12
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http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/10/03/what-the-hell-happened-to-mike-myers/
Posted by lebeau
.
Mike Myers successfully made the transition from Not Ready for Prime
Time Player to movie star. His characters and catch-phrases were
inescapable. Myers wasn’t just a comedian, he was shaping pop
culture. And then, he stopped. What the hell happened?
Myers’ first acting job was on a TV commercial when he was 10 years
old. The commercial co-starred Gilda Radner, who was about to become
a star on Saturday Night Live. In 1989, Myers would follow in
Radner’s footsteps as a cast member of SNL.
Myers spent six seasons on Saturday Night Live developing popular
characters like Wayne Campbell, Linda Richman and Dieter.
In 1992, Myers and Dana Carvey were tapped to bring the Wayne’s World
sketch to the big screen. Trouble began immediately when Myers wanted
to have Carvey’s character, Garth, written out of the movie.
Myers had originally developed the Wayne character as a solo character
while performing with Second City. The character of Garth was added
for Saturday Night Live. When it came time to take the act to the big
screen, Myers wasn’t interested in sharing the spotlight with Carvey,
who was arguably the bigger star at the time.
Myers has developed a reputation for being, well, a demaning control
freak. He started earning that reputation with his very first movie.
Reportedly, Myers once stormed off the Wayne’s World set due to a lack
of margarine for his bagel.
Director, Penelope Spheeris recounted to Entertainment Weekly, ”He
(Myers) was emotionally needy and got more difficult as the shoot went
along. ‘You should have heard him bitching when I was trying to do
that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ scene: ‘I can’t move my neck like that! Why
do we have to do this so many times? No one is going to laugh at
that!”’
Eventually, the director assigned her daughter to babysit Myers and
fetch his snacks.
”To this day, I have this image of her sitting on this little cooler,
looking at me, like, ‘Mom, I f—ing hate you,” said Spheeris.
In spite of the trouble behind the scenes, Wayne’s World was an
unqualified hit.
Myers followed up Wayne’s World with the romantic comedy, So I Married
an Axe Murderer in 1993.
Other actors who had been considered for Axe Murderer included Woody
Allen, Chevy Chase, Albert Brooks, and Martin Short. When Myers
agreed to star, he insisted on re-writing the script to better suit
his sensibilities.
This resulted in a law suit with the original screen writer, Robbie
Fox which eventually resulted in Fox getting sole writing credit.
Myers also clashed with director, Thomas Schlamme. When Myers was
unhappy, he locked himself in his trailer and refused to work. As a
result, the film went over budget.
So I Married an Axe Murderer opened to mixed reviews and flopped at
the box office. But it has accrued a cult following over the years.
Later that year, Myers and Carvey returned for a Wayne’s World
sequel. But Wayne’s World 2 couldn’t duplicate the success of the
original. It got mixed reviews and disappointed at the box office.
The director of the original WW, Penelope Spheeris, has said she
believes Myers prevented Paramount from hiring her for the sequel.
Myers reportedly retreated from Hollywood waiting for inspiration to
hit. And eventually, it did.
In 1997, Myers returned with the James Bond spoof, Austin Powers:
International Man of Mystery.
When most people think of Austin Powers, they think of the catch
phrases that dominated pop culture in the late 90′s. They assume that
the first Austin Powers movie was a smash hit. But in reality, it
opened at #2 at the box office and only grossed about 50 million
dollars in the US.
That was enough to make International Man of Mystery a hit. But in
spite of mostly positive reviews, it wasn’t the box office smash most
people remember. Audiences didn’t really find the first Austin Powers
until it was released on video.
”I hated that bastard for years,” said Penelope Spheeris. ”But when I
saw Austin Powers, I went, ‘I forgive you, Mike. You can be moody, you
can be a jerk, you can be things that others of us can’t be — because
you are profoundly talented. And I forgive you.”’
In 1998, Myers made a dramatic turn in the disco drama, 54, loosely
based on the 70′s nighclub, Studio 54.
Myers played Steve Rubell, one of the two co-founders of Studio 54.
How historically accurate was 54? The other partner was never
mentioned.
54 ran into problems when test audiences found the characters
unsympathetic. With only two months before its release, Miramax
demanded reshoots. Entire sub-plots including a romantic triangle
were scuttled.
The final version of the movie got poor reviews and bombed at the box
office.
The next year, Myers returned to Austin Powers for the sequel, The Spy
Who Shagged Me. The sequel traded in co-star Elizabeth Hurley for
90′s it-girl, Heather Graham.
Whereas the first Austin Powers was a modest hit with a devoted cult
following, the sequel was a box office smash. The reviews were still
mostly positive, but noted that Spy was basically a retread.
Audiences who saw the first film on video came out to the theaters for
the sequel.
In 2000, Myers made an announcement that he was haulting production on
his next movie.
The movie in question was to have been another adaptation of one of
his popular SNL sketches. This time featuring the German
impressionist, Dieter. Just weeks before shooting was scheduled to
start, Myers announced that he could not ”cheat moviegoers who pay
their hard-earned money for my work by making a movie with an
unacceptable script.”
The script which was so unacceptable to Myers was written by a scribe
named… Mike Myers.
Confused? Just to clarify, Myers claimed he could not in good
conscience make the Sprockets film he was contractually obligated to
make because the script he had written wasn’t good enough.
Instead of earning a $20 million pay day, Myers got slapped with a $30
million dollar law suit for breach of contract. Imagine
Entertainment, which was founded by well-known Hollywood hot-head Ron
Howard (aka OpieTaylor aka Richie Cunningham) called Myers
”egomaniacal,” ”irresponsible,” and ”selfish.”
Myers countersued for his $20 million for fraud and defamation of
character. Myers claimed he had been ”emotionally traumatized” by the
studio’s ”thug-like, outrageous, and reckless conduct.”
The two parties settled out of court. The terms of the agreement
specified that Myers would make another film for Universal and Imagine
at a later date. But by then, the public battle had cemented Myers’
reputation for being “difficult”.
In 2001, Myers voiced the title character in Dreamwork’s Animation’s
Shrek.
Usually, I don’t say a lot about voice work. It rarely has a
tremendous impact on an actor’s career one way or another. But Shrek
is a special case.
Originally, Chris Farley was cast in the role. Unfortunately, he died
before the film was completed. Dreamworks turned to Myers who
insisted on a complete re-write to remove any trace of Farley’s take
on the character. After Myers had completed his voice work, the
animators went to work.
Well into the animation process, Myers changed his mind about his
performance. He decided Shrek should speak with a Scottish accent.
Dreamworks chair Jeffrey Katzenberg agreed to spend an additional $4
million dollars to reanimate sequences which were already synched with
Myers’ original voice work.
As it turns out, the gamble paid off. Shrek was a huge hit with
critics and audiences. I’m still not sure the accent was worth $4
million though.
In 2002, Myers starred in the third Austin Powers film, Goldmember.
By Goldmember, Myers was milking the last laughs out of the concept
and it showed. Reviews were mixed. But the movie still managed to be
a hit. Over a decade later, there are still rumors Myers may return
for a fouth Powers movie.
In 2003, Myers took a supporting role in the Gweneth Paltrow
stewardess comedy, A View From the Top.
View was originally scheduled to be released in 2001, but following in
the wake of the 9/11 attacks, it was shelved. It should have stayed
on the shelf because it is a truly bad movie. Myers’ role is
essentially an extended cameo. He manages to be funny in spite of a
lame running gag involving an eye disorder.
The reviews were very negative and the movie bombed.
Later that year, Myers starred in the big screen adaptation of Dr.
Seuss’ Cat in the Hat.
Tim Allen was originally cast as the Cat. But when he had to drop out
due to schedule conflicts with The Santa Clause 2, Myers stepped into
the role as part of his settlement with Universal and Imagine.
In this court case, everyone lost. Cat in the Hat got terrible
reviews and flopped at the box office.
In 2004, Myers returned to the Shrek franchise for Shrek 2.
Like the Austin Powers movies, the second film was a bigger hit than
the first despite a substantial drop in quality.
When So I Married an Axe Murderer and Wayne’s World 2 flopped, Myers
retreated from Hollywood. With the Austin Powers movies played out
and everything else he touched failing, Myers retreated again. He
would return for Shrek 3 in 2007, but his next live performance
wouldn’t be until 2008.
For 2008′s The Love Guru, Myers followed the same formula that led to
the creation of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. Only this time, instead
of launching a comedy trilogy that would dominate pop culture for
years, Myers released The Love Guru.
By this point, many in Hollywood were secretly hoping Myers would
fail. Their hopes would be realized. Myers’ poured his heart into
The Love Guru only to see it rejected by critics and audiences alike.
Myers’ many, many enemies read the tagline about karma and laughed
their asses off.
Since The Love Guru, Myers has more or less retreated from Hollywood
once again. He had a cameo appearance in Inglorious Basterds which is
barely worth mentioning except for the fact that Inglorious Basterds
is awesome! And in 2010, Myers cashed his final (for now) Shrek
paycheck with Shrek 4.
So, what the hell happened? This is an easy one. Myers pissed off
pretty much everyone who ever worked with him. Some put up with his
bullshit because he was a comic genius who made them rich. But even
they admit the guy is “difficult”.
Then, when Myers stopped hitting home runs, his shit started to stink
a lot worse.
Odds are good that Myers will eventually come back with another hit.
A comeback isn’t just possible, it’s likely. But if it never happens,
many in Hollywood will smile broadly that Myers reaped what he sowed.
Posted by lebeau
.
Mike Myers successfully made the transition from Not Ready for Prime
Time Player to movie star. His characters and catch-phrases were
inescapable. Myers wasn’t just a comedian, he was shaping pop
culture. And then, he stopped. What the hell happened?
Myers’ first acting job was on a TV commercial when he was 10 years
old. The commercial co-starred Gilda Radner, who was about to become
a star on Saturday Night Live. In 1989, Myers would follow in
Radner’s footsteps as a cast member of SNL.
Myers spent six seasons on Saturday Night Live developing popular
characters like Wayne Campbell, Linda Richman and Dieter.
In 1992, Myers and Dana Carvey were tapped to bring the Wayne’s World
sketch to the big screen. Trouble began immediately when Myers wanted
to have Carvey’s character, Garth, written out of the movie.
Myers had originally developed the Wayne character as a solo character
while performing with Second City. The character of Garth was added
for Saturday Night Live. When it came time to take the act to the big
screen, Myers wasn’t interested in sharing the spotlight with Carvey,
who was arguably the bigger star at the time.
Myers has developed a reputation for being, well, a demaning control
freak. He started earning that reputation with his very first movie.
Reportedly, Myers once stormed off the Wayne’s World set due to a lack
of margarine for his bagel.
Director, Penelope Spheeris recounted to Entertainment Weekly, ”He
(Myers) was emotionally needy and got more difficult as the shoot went
along. ‘You should have heard him bitching when I was trying to do
that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ scene: ‘I can’t move my neck like that! Why
do we have to do this so many times? No one is going to laugh at
that!”’
Eventually, the director assigned her daughter to babysit Myers and
fetch his snacks.
”To this day, I have this image of her sitting on this little cooler,
looking at me, like, ‘Mom, I f—ing hate you,” said Spheeris.
In spite of the trouble behind the scenes, Wayne’s World was an
unqualified hit.
Myers followed up Wayne’s World with the romantic comedy, So I Married
an Axe Murderer in 1993.
Other actors who had been considered for Axe Murderer included Woody
Allen, Chevy Chase, Albert Brooks, and Martin Short. When Myers
agreed to star, he insisted on re-writing the script to better suit
his sensibilities.
This resulted in a law suit with the original screen writer, Robbie
Fox which eventually resulted in Fox getting sole writing credit.
Myers also clashed with director, Thomas Schlamme. When Myers was
unhappy, he locked himself in his trailer and refused to work. As a
result, the film went over budget.
So I Married an Axe Murderer opened to mixed reviews and flopped at
the box office. But it has accrued a cult following over the years.
Later that year, Myers and Carvey returned for a Wayne’s World
sequel. But Wayne’s World 2 couldn’t duplicate the success of the
original. It got mixed reviews and disappointed at the box office.
The director of the original WW, Penelope Spheeris, has said she
believes Myers prevented Paramount from hiring her for the sequel.
Myers reportedly retreated from Hollywood waiting for inspiration to
hit. And eventually, it did.
In 1997, Myers returned with the James Bond spoof, Austin Powers:
International Man of Mystery.
When most people think of Austin Powers, they think of the catch
phrases that dominated pop culture in the late 90′s. They assume that
the first Austin Powers movie was a smash hit. But in reality, it
opened at #2 at the box office and only grossed about 50 million
dollars in the US.
That was enough to make International Man of Mystery a hit. But in
spite of mostly positive reviews, it wasn’t the box office smash most
people remember. Audiences didn’t really find the first Austin Powers
until it was released on video.
”I hated that bastard for years,” said Penelope Spheeris. ”But when I
saw Austin Powers, I went, ‘I forgive you, Mike. You can be moody, you
can be a jerk, you can be things that others of us can’t be — because
you are profoundly talented. And I forgive you.”’
In 1998, Myers made a dramatic turn in the disco drama, 54, loosely
based on the 70′s nighclub, Studio 54.
Myers played Steve Rubell, one of the two co-founders of Studio 54.
How historically accurate was 54? The other partner was never
mentioned.
54 ran into problems when test audiences found the characters
unsympathetic. With only two months before its release, Miramax
demanded reshoots. Entire sub-plots including a romantic triangle
were scuttled.
The final version of the movie got poor reviews and bombed at the box
office.
The next year, Myers returned to Austin Powers for the sequel, The Spy
Who Shagged Me. The sequel traded in co-star Elizabeth Hurley for
90′s it-girl, Heather Graham.
Whereas the first Austin Powers was a modest hit with a devoted cult
following, the sequel was a box office smash. The reviews were still
mostly positive, but noted that Spy was basically a retread.
Audiences who saw the first film on video came out to the theaters for
the sequel.
In 2000, Myers made an announcement that he was haulting production on
his next movie.
The movie in question was to have been another adaptation of one of
his popular SNL sketches. This time featuring the German
impressionist, Dieter. Just weeks before shooting was scheduled to
start, Myers announced that he could not ”cheat moviegoers who pay
their hard-earned money for my work by making a movie with an
unacceptable script.”
The script which was so unacceptable to Myers was written by a scribe
named… Mike Myers.
Confused? Just to clarify, Myers claimed he could not in good
conscience make the Sprockets film he was contractually obligated to
make because the script he had written wasn’t good enough.
Instead of earning a $20 million pay day, Myers got slapped with a $30
million dollar law suit for breach of contract. Imagine
Entertainment, which was founded by well-known Hollywood hot-head Ron
Howard (aka OpieTaylor aka Richie Cunningham) called Myers
”egomaniacal,” ”irresponsible,” and ”selfish.”
Myers countersued for his $20 million for fraud and defamation of
character. Myers claimed he had been ”emotionally traumatized” by the
studio’s ”thug-like, outrageous, and reckless conduct.”
The two parties settled out of court. The terms of the agreement
specified that Myers would make another film for Universal and Imagine
at a later date. But by then, the public battle had cemented Myers’
reputation for being “difficult”.
In 2001, Myers voiced the title character in Dreamwork’s Animation’s
Shrek.
Usually, I don’t say a lot about voice work. It rarely has a
tremendous impact on an actor’s career one way or another. But Shrek
is a special case.
Originally, Chris Farley was cast in the role. Unfortunately, he died
before the film was completed. Dreamworks turned to Myers who
insisted on a complete re-write to remove any trace of Farley’s take
on the character. After Myers had completed his voice work, the
animators went to work.
Well into the animation process, Myers changed his mind about his
performance. He decided Shrek should speak with a Scottish accent.
Dreamworks chair Jeffrey Katzenberg agreed to spend an additional $4
million dollars to reanimate sequences which were already synched with
Myers’ original voice work.
As it turns out, the gamble paid off. Shrek was a huge hit with
critics and audiences. I’m still not sure the accent was worth $4
million though.
In 2002, Myers starred in the third Austin Powers film, Goldmember.
By Goldmember, Myers was milking the last laughs out of the concept
and it showed. Reviews were mixed. But the movie still managed to be
a hit. Over a decade later, there are still rumors Myers may return
for a fouth Powers movie.
In 2003, Myers took a supporting role in the Gweneth Paltrow
stewardess comedy, A View From the Top.
View was originally scheduled to be released in 2001, but following in
the wake of the 9/11 attacks, it was shelved. It should have stayed
on the shelf because it is a truly bad movie. Myers’ role is
essentially an extended cameo. He manages to be funny in spite of a
lame running gag involving an eye disorder.
The reviews were very negative and the movie bombed.
Later that year, Myers starred in the big screen adaptation of Dr.
Seuss’ Cat in the Hat.
Tim Allen was originally cast as the Cat. But when he had to drop out
due to schedule conflicts with The Santa Clause 2, Myers stepped into
the role as part of his settlement with Universal and Imagine.
In this court case, everyone lost. Cat in the Hat got terrible
reviews and flopped at the box office.
In 2004, Myers returned to the Shrek franchise for Shrek 2.
Like the Austin Powers movies, the second film was a bigger hit than
the first despite a substantial drop in quality.
When So I Married an Axe Murderer and Wayne’s World 2 flopped, Myers
retreated from Hollywood. With the Austin Powers movies played out
and everything else he touched failing, Myers retreated again. He
would return for Shrek 3 in 2007, but his next live performance
wouldn’t be until 2008.
For 2008′s The Love Guru, Myers followed the same formula that led to
the creation of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. Only this time, instead
of launching a comedy trilogy that would dominate pop culture for
years, Myers released The Love Guru.
By this point, many in Hollywood were secretly hoping Myers would
fail. Their hopes would be realized. Myers’ poured his heart into
The Love Guru only to see it rejected by critics and audiences alike.
Myers’ many, many enemies read the tagline about karma and laughed
their asses off.
Since The Love Guru, Myers has more or less retreated from Hollywood
once again. He had a cameo appearance in Inglorious Basterds which is
barely worth mentioning except for the fact that Inglorious Basterds
is awesome! And in 2010, Myers cashed his final (for now) Shrek
paycheck with Shrek 4.
So, what the hell happened? This is an easy one. Myers pissed off
pretty much everyone who ever worked with him. Some put up with his
bullshit because he was a comic genius who made them rich. But even
they admit the guy is “difficult”.
Then, when Myers stopped hitting home runs, his shit started to stink
a lot worse.
Odds are good that Myers will eventually come back with another hit.
A comeback isn’t just possible, it’s likely. But if it never happens,
many in Hollywood will smile broadly that Myers reaped what he sowed.
Gnarled Stink Fingerer
Dec 5, 2012, 3:09:45 PM12/5/12
to
Word has it he took Bloatfrah Blimpfrey's word that he was, "A comic
genius" too seriously, and took to obsessive masturbation -- to the
extent that he subsequently was involuntarily committed to a mental
facility, location not disclosed. Possibly in Canada.
Face it, fans. He was and is a one-trick pony. Largely boring.
genius" too seriously, and took to obsessive masturbation -- to the
extent that he subsequently was involuntarily committed to a mental
facility, location not disclosed. Possibly in Canada.
Face it, fans. He was and is a one-trick pony. Largely boring.
Michael Black
Dec 7, 2012, 11:19:44 PM12/7/12
to
On Tue, 4 Dec 2012, TMC wrote:
> http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/10/03/what-the-hell-happened-to-mike-myers/
> Myers followed up Wayne?s World with the romantic comedy, So I Married
then, though maybe second run, and I found it on VHS a couple of years ago
at a garage sale, so I've watched it 2 or 3 times in recent years.
What struck me is that it was a warmup for Austin Powers. He does play up
the Scottish ancestry, and it's like he's working things out that would
become Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard (and I think there's more).
It doesn't ruin the film, but it seems kind of blatant after seeing the
Austin Powers films too many times. Perhaps he felt he could recycle
because the film didn't do so well.
Michael
> http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/10/03/what-the-hell-happened-to-mike-myers/
> Myers followed up Wayne?s World with the romantic comedy, So I Married
> an Axe Murderer in 1993.
>
> Other actors who had been considered for Axe Murderer included Woody
> Allen, Chevy Chase, Albert Brooks, and Martin Short. When Myers
> agreed to star, he insisted on re-writing the script to better suit
> his sensibilities.
>
> This resulted in a law suit with the original screen writer, Robbie
> Fox which eventually resulted in Fox getting sole writing credit.
>
> Myers also clashed with director, Thomas Schlamme. When Myers was
> unhappy, he locked himself in his trailer and refused to work. As a
> result, the film went over budget.
>
> So I Married an Axe Murderer opened to mixed reviews and flopped at
> the box office. But it has accrued a cult following over the years.
>
It's actually a good film, maybe helped by Nancy Travis. I saw it back
>
> Other actors who had been considered for Axe Murderer included Woody
> Allen, Chevy Chase, Albert Brooks, and Martin Short. When Myers
> agreed to star, he insisted on re-writing the script to better suit
> his sensibilities.
>
> This resulted in a law suit with the original screen writer, Robbie
> Fox which eventually resulted in Fox getting sole writing credit.
>
> Myers also clashed with director, Thomas Schlamme. When Myers was
> unhappy, he locked himself in his trailer and refused to work. As a
> result, the film went over budget.
>
> So I Married an Axe Murderer opened to mixed reviews and flopped at
> the box office. But it has accrued a cult following over the years.
>
then, though maybe second run, and I found it on VHS a couple of years ago
at a garage sale, so I've watched it 2 or 3 times in recent years.
What struck me is that it was a warmup for Austin Powers. He does play up
the Scottish ancestry, and it's like he's working things out that would
become Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard (and I think there's more).
It doesn't ruin the film, but it seems kind of blatant after seeing the
Austin Powers films too many times. Perhaps he felt he could recycle
because the film didn't do so well.
Michael
God's Debris
Dec 8, 2012, 2:04:00 AM12/8/12
to
On Tue, 4 Dec 2012 12:05:42 -0800 (PST), TMC <tmc...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/10/03/what-the-hell-happened-to-mike-myers/
>
>Posted by lebeau
>.
>Mike Myers successfully made the transition from Not Ready for Prime
>Time Player to movie star. His characters and catch-phrases were
>inescapable. Myers wasn�t just a comedian, he was shaping pop
>culture. And then, he stopped. What the hell happened?
>
I never understood his appeal. He's one-dimensional and rarely funny.
Lucky for him not everyone agreed with me.
wrote:
>http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/10/03/what-the-hell-happened-to-mike-myers/
>
>Posted by lebeau
>.
>Mike Myers successfully made the transition from Not Ready for Prime
>Time Player to movie star. His characters and catch-phrases were
>inescapable. Myers wasn�t just a comedian, he was shaping pop
>culture. And then, he stopped. What the hell happened?
>
Lucky for him not everyone agreed with me.
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