Austin Powers in Goldmember


Austin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third in the Austin Powers film series and stars Mike Myers in multiple roles including Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Both Myers and Michael McCullers co-wrote the screenplay, which also features co-star Beyoncé Knowles in her theatrical film debut, as well as Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Michael York, Verne Troyer, Michael Caine, Mindy Sterling and Fred Savage.
Goldmember is a loose parody of the James Bond films Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, also incorporating elements of Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me and GoldenEye. It opens with a self-parody of the Austin Powers film series called Austinpussy, where Austin Powers is featured in a bio-pic parody of the James Bond film Octopussy. The self-parody is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise as Austin Powers, Gwyneth Paltrow as Dixie Normous, Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil, Danny DeVito as Mini-Me, and John Travolta as Goldmember.
The film was distributed by New Line Cinema and released in the United States on July 26, 2002. It grossed $73.1 million opening weekend, surpassing 2001's Planet of the Apes for the biggest July opening of all time. It also surpassed New Line's Rush Hour 2 as the biggest opening for a comedy film. Goldmember finished its box office run with an international haul of $296.6 million. A fourth film in the series is currently in development.

Plot

plans to travel back in time to 1975 and bring back Johan van der Smut, also known as "Goldmember", who developed a cold fusion unit for a tractor beam which Dr. Evil names "Preparation H". He intends to use the tractor beam to pull a meteor into the Earth, striking the polar ice caps and causing a global flood. Moments after this plan is revealed, Austin Powers and the British Secret Service attack the base and arrest Dr. Evil. Austin is knighted for his services, but is disappointed when his father, the famous super-spy Nigel Powers, does not attend the event. Basil Exposition later informs Austin that Nigel has been kidnapped, and the only clue is that the crew of his yacht have had their genitalia painted gold.
Austin visits the imprisoned Dr. Evil, who tells him that Goldmember is behind the abduction. Time-travelling to 1975, Austin infiltrates Goldmember's roller disco club and is reunited with his former lover, FBI agent Foxxy Cleopatra, who is undercover as a disco singer. With Foxxy's help, Austin locates his father, but is unable to rescue him. Goldmember takes Nigel through Dr. Evil's time machine into the present day. Foxxy wants revenge on Goldmember for murdering her partner, and accompanies Austin in his pursuit. In the present, Dr. Evil and Mini-Me instigate a riot in their prison, allowing them to escape. A British Intelligence mole named Number 3 informs Austin that Dr. Evil has moved to a new lair near Tokyo. Austin and Foxxy travel to Tokyo and confront Fat Bastard, who is now a sumo wrestler. Fat Bastard explains that a Japanese business man, Mr. Roboto, is working on a device for Dr. Evil and Goldmember.
Austin and Foxxy later meet with Mr. Roboto, who pleads ignorance about Nigel's whereabouts. Unconvinced, Austin and Foxxy infiltrate Roboto's factory where the command unit for the tractor beam is being loaded in Goldmember's car, and Roboto hands Goldmember a golden key needed to activate the beam. Foxxy confronts Goldmember while Austin attempts to free Nigel, but Goldmember escapes with the command unit and flees to Dr. Evil's submarine. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil's son, Scott Evil, has become increasingly evil in an attempt to prove himself to his father, to the point that he too is going bald. Scott presents his father with sharks with laser beams attached to their heads, a request that had gone unfulfilled in. Dr. Evil replaces Mini-Me with Scott as his favored son; the rejected Mini-Me defects and joins Austin.
Austin, Foxxy and Mini-Me infiltrate the submarine, but Austin is captured. Dr. Evil prepares to activate the tractor beam, but Foxxy has stolen the key and frees Austin. Austin prepares to shoot Dr. Evil, when Nigel appears and reveals that Austin and Dr. Evil are both his sons. Dr. Evil tells him that his parents died in a car accident, but Nigel reveals that the explosion came from an assassination attempt and he thought that only Austin survived and didn't know that Dr. Evil survived too until after the two Belgians made him evil. Dr. Evil and Austin embrace, enraging Scott, who flees to pursue his own vengeance, whilst Goldmember commandeers the tractor beam's controls, unzipping his pants to reveal his gold-covered genitals to be a spare key. Goldmember activates the tractor beam, but Austin and Dr. Evil work together to reverse its polarity, destroying the meteor and saving the world. The heroes arrest Goldmember, who turns to the camera to reveal the entire string of events was adapted into a film by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise as Austin, Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil, Danny DeVito as Mini-Me, and John Travolta as Goldmember. Austin, Foxxy, Dr. Evil, Mini-Me and Nigel are in the audience of a Hollywood theater watching the film. Upon exiting the theater they run into Fat Bastard, now thin but with sagging hanging flesh, thanks to the Subway diet. As Austin and Foxxy kiss, in Dr. Evil's Hollywood lair, Scott – now completely bald, dressed like and laughing in a manner similar to his father – declares he will get his revenge on Austin before dancing to Michael Jackson. During the end credits, Britney Spears hangs out with Mini-Me asking him if she can give him her cell phone number.

Cast

Title concerns

The title of the film, Goldmember, led to legal action being taken by MGM, the distributors of the James Bond film franchise, that briefly led to the film's title being removed from promotional material and trailers. The dispute was quickly resolved and the film title remained unchanged on the provision that the film would include trailers in its cinema releases for the then-upcoming James Bond film, Die Another Day, and .

Characters

, having conquered the 1990s and the 1960s, travels back to the 1970s and teams up with his nemesis Dr. Evil to thwart a new villain, Goldmember. Myers also plays Fat Bastard for the second time, this time parodying the kind of "wire fight" seen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film also stars Beyoncé Knowles as Foxxy Cleopatra, Michael York, reprising the role of Basil Exposition, and Verne Troyer in his second appearance as Mini-Me. The film also introduced a new character named Number 3, who is portrayed by former child star Fred Savage. Clint Howard plays a radar operator in all three films. Michael Caine guest stars as Austin's father, Nigel; this role was inspired by The Ipcress File, a 1965 film starring Caine.
Four actors who appeared in the earlier films play different characters in Goldmember. Rob Lowe, who played the friend of a dead guard in International Man of Mystery, reprises his role as a younger Number 2 from The Spy Who Shagged Me, while Neil Mullarkey and Eric Winzenried appear as the Physician and Henchman Sailor in the Sick Bay. Michael McDonald appears as the royal guard.

Goldmember

Johan van der Smut, better known as Goldmember, is a fictional villain played by Myers. The name was inspired by the James Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. Goldmember's Dutch origins and character traits were, according to Myers, inspired by an episode of the HBO TV series Real Sex featuring a Dutchman who operated a "sex barn" north of Rotterdam. The man's distinct forms of expression caught Myers' attention while he was writing.
Sigourney Weaver was to act in the film, in cameo. She wanted to play an assistant who gives the sumo towels after they have taken off their underpants. This was not done because of her schedule.

Release

Box office

Austin Powers in Goldmember took in £5,585,978 in the United Kingdom on its opening weekend. In the United States, it broke the opening weekend record for a spoof movie, surpassing the previous Austin Powers film. The film grossed US$73 million on its opening weekend, and grossed a total of $213 million in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo.

Home media

Austin Powers in Goldmember was released on video and DVD on December 3, 2002. The DVD was released under the Infinifilm label, and was re-packed in 2011 as part of the Austin Powers 3 Film Collection

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 54%, based on 184 reviews, with the site's critical consensus reading, "While the narrative structure is messy and doesn't make much sense, the third installment of the Austin Powers franchise contains enough inspired bits to entertain." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 62 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Myers was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for the third time, but lost against Daveigh Chase for her role as Samara Morgan in The Ring, making it the first time Myers lost the award. However, he did win the award for Best Comedic Performance, making it the first time he won the award, having previously lost twice for the first two films.

Awards

AwardCategoryNameOutcome
2003 MTV Video Music AwardsBest Video From a Film"Boys " by Britney Spears
BMI Film & Television AwardsBMI Film Music AwardGeorge S. Clinton
Black Reel Awards of 2003Best Breakthrough PerformanceBeyoncé Knowles
Black Reel Awards of 2003Best SongBeyoncé Knowles, "Work It Out"
Canadian Comedy AwardsFilm – Pretty Funny Male PerformanceMike Myers
Canadian Comedy AwardsFilm – Pretty Funny WritingMike Myers
Empire Awards 2003Best ActorMike Myers
Empire Awards 2003Scene of the YearThe opening sequence
Golden Satellite Awards 2002Best Costume DesignDeena Appel
Golden Satellite Awards 2002Best Original Song"Work It Out"
Golden Satellite Awards 2002Best Overall DVD
Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild AwardsBest Character Hair Styling – FeatureCandy L. Walken, Jeri Baker, Susan V. Kalinowski
Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild AwardsBest Period Hair Styling – FeatureCandy L. Walken, Jeri Baker, Susan V. Kalinowski
2003 Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite Movie
2003 Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite Female Butt KickerBeyoncé Knowles
2003 Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite Male Movie StarMike Myers
2003 Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite Fart in a Movie
2003 MTV Movie AwardsBest Comedic PerformanceMike Myers
2003 MTV Movie AwardsBest VillainMike Myers
2003 MTV Movie AwardsBest Female Breakthrough PerformanceBeyoncé Knowles
29th Saturn AwardsBest CostumeDeena Appel
2003 Teen Choice AwardsChoice Movie Actor: ComedyMike Myers
2003 Teen Choice AwardsChoice Movie: Female Breakout StarBeyoncé Knowles

Soundtrack

The song "Hey Goldmember" interpolates and is a parody of four 1970s disco songs formed into a medley; "Sing a Song" by Earth, Wind & Fire, "Get Down Tonight", " Shake Your Booty", and "That's the Way ", all by KC and the Sunshine Band.
"Sing a Song" is not listed in the credits but is sung by Beyoncé at the beginning.

Track listing

  1. "Work It Out" – Beyoncé
  2. "Miss You" – The Rolling Stones
  3. "Boys" – Britney Spears featuring Pharrell Williams
  4. "Groove Me" – Angie Stone
  5. "Shining Star" – Earth, Wind & Fire
  6. "Hey Goldmember" – Foxxy Cleopatra featuring Devin and Solange
  7. "Ain't No Mystery" – Smash Mouth
  8. "Evil Woman" – Soul Hooligan featuring Diana King
  9. "1975" – Paul Oakenfold
  10. "Hard Knock Life " – Dr. Evil
  11. "Daddy Wasn't There" – Ming Tea featuring Austin Powers
  12. "Alfie " – Susanna Hoffs

    Charts

Possible sequel

In October 2005, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mike Myers discussed the possibility of studio sources moving forward with a fourth film. "There is hope!". "We're all circling and talking to each other. I miss doing the characters." In May 2007, in an interview with IGN, "So no more Austin Powers?" was asked, and Myers replied, "No, no, there is a fully conceived idea for a fourth and I can just say that it's from Dr. Evil's point of view. So if you balanced how much of it was Austin with Dr. Evil, it's more about Dr. Evil than Austin". Also, in the audio commentary from the DVD release of Goldmember, Myers revealed that in the fourth film, Fat Bastard would return and regain the weight that he lost in Goldmember.
In May 2007, at the Shrek the Third premiere, Mike Myers announced that a fourth Austin Powers film was planned, but that it would focus more on Dr. Evil rather than Austin. He also said that he'd start work on it after he started work on The Love Guru, which became a box office bomb. In February 2008, it was announced that Jay Roach would return as director. In April 2008, it was reported that Gisele Bündchen had been offered a role in the film. However, Seth Green, who played Scott Evil, state that there was any script at the moment and that Austin Powers 4 would be made if a script is written and approved. In June 2008, in an interview, when asked about another Austin Powers film, Myers stated, "I have an idea, and again it's one of those things that will emerge or it won't." In July 2008, Mike Myers stated that he had begun writing Austin Powers 4, and that the plot is "really about Dr. Evil and his son."
In March 2010, Jay Roach indicated to MTV that Myers is working on ideas for a fourth film. In August 2011, Mike Myers revealed he would return, and had begun writing a script for a fourth installment. In September 2013, when asked about the future of Austin Powers, Myers answered "I'm still figuring that out." In September 2015, Verne Troyer expressed his desire to return as Mini-Me if he was asked to do so.
In May 2016, Roach was asked about the fourth Austin Powers film during an interview with Larry King, and he stated the ideas for the fourth film that he and Myers have are good and interesting. In August 2016, in a telephone interview, Mike Myers stated "Everything is being negotiated and worked out and all that stuff" in regards to the fourth installment of the Austin Powers film series.
In April 2017, as the twentieth anniversary approached for , Mike Myers claimed he would love to do another Austin Powers film, but audiences would "just have to see". Two days later, Roach stated that a fourth film would only occur if Myers creates a good story for it. In May 2017, Troyer stated that Mini-Me will reveal that he can speak in the fourth movie. However, Troyer died on April 21, 2018, delaying production of a fourth film and precluding him from reprising his role as Mini-Me. In May 2018, Myers reiterated his interest in making a fourth Austin Powers, stating that it would be fun, also hinting that some tribute to Troyer might be included. In November 2018, Myers stated that the project's future is "looking good" with the script already written and that Austin Powers and Dr. Evil will return soon, citing his parenthood as the reason of how long the production has lasted and that Roach will most likely reprise his directorial duties.
In January 2020, Jay Roach again indicated that he was interested in doing a fourth film.