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Austin Powers in Goldmember

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Austin Powers in Goldmember
The theatrical poster of Austin Powers in Goldmember
Directed byJay Roach
Written byMike Myers
Michael McCullers
Produced byToby Emmerich
Richard Brener
John S. Lyons
Eric McLeod
Demi Moore
Mike Myers
Jennifer Todd
Suzanne Todd
StarringMike Myers
Beyoncé Knowles
Seth Green
Michael York
Robert Wagner
Mindy Sterling
Verne Troyer
and Michael Caine
CinematographyPeter Deming
Edited byGreg Hayden
Jon Poll
Music byGeorge S. Clinton
Quincy Jones (song "Soul Bossa Nova")
Distributed byUnited StatesNew Line Cinema
United KingdomEntertainment Film Distributors
Release dates
July 26, 2002
Running time
94 minutes
Country United States
LanguageEnglish

Austin Powers in Goldmember is the third film of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. It was released in late July 2002. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember and Fat Bastard. The movie co-stars Beyoncé Knowles, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Michael York, Verne Troyer, Michael Caine and Fred Savage. There are a number of cameo appearances including Steven Spielberg, Britney Spears, Quincy Jones, Tom Cruise, Katie Couric, Nathan Lane and The Osbournes.

In a self-parody of the Austin Powers series, there is a film within the film. Austin Powers is featured in a bio-pic called Austinpussy (a parody of the James Bond film Octopussy) directed by Steven Spielberg and starring 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.

Goldmember is a loose parody of the James Bond movies Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, also incorporating elements of The Spy Who Loved Me and GoldenEye. The film took in approximately $288 million from movie tickets worldwide.

Production

Naming 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 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.[1] Coincidentally, MGM is now the TV distributor for New Line's films and TV series.

Characters

Austin Powers (Myers), having conquered the '90s and the '60s, travels back to the 1970s and teams up with his nemesis Dr. Evil (also played by Myers) to thwart a new villain, Goldmember (Myers once again). 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 (parodying a blaxploitation movie heroine, primarily Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones ), 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 A.K.A. the Mole (portrayed by Fred Savage). The actor Clint Howard plays a radar operator in all three movies.

Three actors who appeared in the earlier movies play different characters in Goldmember. Rob Lowe who played the friend of a dead guard in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery reprises his role as a younger Number 2 from The Spy Who Shagged Me, while Neil Mullarkey (quartermaster clerk in International Man Of Mystery) and Eric Winzenried (army private soldier in The Spy Who Shagged Me) appear as the Physician and Henchman Sailor in the Sick Bay.

Goldmember

Johan van der Smut, better known as Goldmember, is a fictional villain played by Mike Myers (John Travolta played the character in a cameo at the end of the film). 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.[2]

Plot

Dr Evil's new lair lies behind the Hollywood Sign

The movie starts with an action sequence, after which the protagonist is revealed to be not Powers, but Tom Cruise playing him, alongside other A-list actors (Gwyneth Paltrow as Dixie Normous, Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil, and Danny DeVito as Mini-Me), in a film about Powers directed by Steven Spielberg. Powers is then shown talking to Spielberg during the production of the film, but breaks into his usual dance in the beginning until he and his group stumble on Britney Spears in the middle of a music video shoot (for her song "Boys"). Austin and Britney start a dance off until Britney turns out to be a fembot when twin machine gun barrels pop out of her leather top. She tries to kill Austin but fails, and Austin uses his mojo to make her head blow up.

The year is 2002. In his new underground lair behind the famous Hollywood sign, Dr. Evil outlines his latest evil plan. Using a time machine he will go back to 1975 and bring back a Dutchman, Johan van der Smut (alias Goldmember), who had developed a cold fusion unit for a tractor beam. He intends to use the tractor beam to pull a golden meteor into the Earth to strike and melt the polar ice caps and cause global flooding. However, the plot is discovered by the British Secret Service, and Austin leads a group of commandos to arrest Dr. Evil and place him in a maximum security prison.

Austin is knighted for his services but is disappointed when his father (the famous super-spy Nigel Powers) fails to attend the investiture. However, he later learns that his father was kidnapped from his yacht and that some of the crew have had their genitals painted with gold. It was immediately revealed to Austin that Nigel was kidnapped after he skipped out on the knighting ceremony. In search of answers, Austin visits the imprisoned Dr. Evil, who tells him that the insane Goldmember is behind the abduction and, on the condition that he be transferred to a normal prison to be with his beloved Mini-Me, reveals that he is in 1975.

Traveling back to 1975, Austin infiltrates Goldmember's roller disco club "Studio 69" (a spoof of Studio 54) and begins the search. Austin meets up with Foxxy Cleopatra--an old flame and FBI agent--who is working undercover in the club. Austin locates his father but before they can escape they are delivered into Goldmember's inner sanctum. Goldmember abducts Nigel to 2002 in Dr. Evil's time machine. Austin and Foxxy give chase in the MOD's time-travel device (a pimpmobile).

File:Goldmemberfoxy.jpg
Austin Powers with Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles)

Back in 2002, Frau Farbissina visits Dr. Evil is in his normal prison and tells him that his son, Scott, wants to take over the family business and has started becoming evil to the point of losing his hair. By way of a passionate kiss, Frau passes a key to Dr. Evil. The other prisoners are encouraged to start a riot, which distracts the guards and permits Dr. Evil and Mini-Me to escape.

A British Intelligence mole (who, much to Austin's disgust, actually has a large mole on his face) in Dr. Evil's organization informs Austin that the doctor has moved to a new lair somewhere near Tokyo, Japan. Austin and Foxxy fly to Tokyo where they are informed that Dr. Evil's henchman Fat Bastard is wrestling at the Asahi Sumo Arena. Slipping into the changing rooms, Austin confronts Fat Bastard and manages to subdue him. Fat Bastard confesses that a Japanese businessman, Mr. Roboto, is making some sort of contraption for Dr. Evil.

Dr. Evil's new lair is a submarine lurking in Tokyo Bay. Goldmember tells Dr. Evil that they have the ultimate insurance policy in Austin Power's father. Mini-Me escorts Nigel to his cell but he starts to subvert Mini-Me, claiming that he will gain as much respect from Dr. Evil as he actually is of him: one-eighths. Later, Scott presents his father with a pair of sharks with laser beams attached to their heads. Overjoyed, Dr. Evil professes his love for his son and seats Scott at his right hand, displacing Mini-Me. The clone leaves dejected (but not before giving everyone in the room the finger).

Austin and Foxxy 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. Roboto hands Goldmember a golden key which is needed to activate the beam. Foxxy confronts Goldmember, but Nigel is about to have an "unfortunate smelting accident" and Goldmember escapes as Nigel is being rescued. They chase Goldmember through Tokyo, but he reaches the safety of Dr. Evil's sub which departs before they can apprehend him. Austin and Nigel dispute the course of action but cannot agree, and go their separate ways.

File:Goldmemberdutchman.jpg
Goldmember

In Austin's hotel, the mole has arranged the defection of Mini-Me. Austin, Foxxy and Mini-Me (now an Austin Mini) use Nigel's spy car in submarine mode to reach Dr. Evil's lair and gain entry. Foxxy splits up from Austin and Mini-Me, and they begin to search the sub.

In the control room, Dr. Evil threatens the World Organization with a global flood. To prove he isn't bluffing, he uses the tractor beam to pull a satellite out of orbit. Following the successful trial of the beam, Roboto demands a bonus which Dr. Evil refuses. Becoming more evil, Scott takes over and disposes of Roboto in the shark tank.

Austin and Mini-Me, disguised as one person are waylaid by the medical officer but obtain a plan of the vessel. Rumbled by the MO, Mini-Me escapes and meets up with Foxxy while Austin is taken to the control room.

Dr. Evil offers to show Austin his plan before killing him, but the activation key is missing. Foxxy and Mini-Me enter with guns and the missing key. Austin now threatens Dr. Evil at gunpoint, but his father intervenes and reveals that Dr. Evil and Austin are brothers, separated at an early age during an assassination attempt. The three are reconciled, but Scott interrupts, angry that now that he's finally become evil his father is turning good. Declaring that he hates them all, he vows revenge and leaves.

However, Goldmember intends to complete the destruction of the world. Although Foxxy throws the activation key into the shark tank, Goldmember has a spare: his gold-plated penis. As Goldmember begins to activate the tractor beam, Dr. Evil reverses the polarity of the cold fusion unit, which electrocutes and kills Goldmember and destroys the meteor.

Then it suddenly appears this entire string of events was actually adapted into a film by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise. The whole Austin Powers cast (aside from Scott) are in the audience of a Hollywood theater, and enjoy watching the film. Upon exiting, they bump into Fat Bastard, but he isn't fat anymore - he took the Subway diet and lost a lot of weight, and is now very thin. Austin and Foxy congratulate him on this achievement, though "Fat" Bastard reveals all of his excess skin sagging off his muscles, and adds that his neck looks like a vagina. Austin and Foxxy exit the theater and share a quick but intimate kiss under some fireworks.

Meanwhile, alone in Dr. Evil's Hollywood lair, a completely bald, maniacal Scott has taken over Dr. Evil's criminal empire and declares, like his father did in the last two films, that he will "get" Austin Powers; he then proceeds to inexplicably get out of his chair and dance like Michael Jackson.

Cast

File:RobertWagner3.jpg
Robert Wagner as Number Two in New Line's Austin Powers in Goldmember


Cameos

Release

The film took £5,585,978 in the UK on its opening weekend. In the US, it broke the opening weekend record for a spoof movie, surpassing the previous Austin Powers film. The film grossed $73 million on its opening weekend, and grossed a total of $213 million in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo. It is also the acting debut and most successful film of pop star Beyonce Knowles.

Soundtrack

Untitled

The song "Hey Goldmember" is a parody of four '70s disco songs formed into a medley; "Sing a Song" – Earth, Wind & Fire", "Get Down Tonight", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", and "That's the Way (I Like It)", all by KC and the Sunshine Band.

Original soundtrack track listing

  1. "Work It Out" – Beyoncé
  2. "Miss You" (Dr. Dre Remix 2002) – The Rolling Stones
  3. "Boys" (Co-Ed Remix) – Britney Spears featuring Pharrell of N*E*R*D
  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 - (which samples "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy)
  10. "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" (Dr. Evil Remix) – Dr. Evil
  11. "Daddy Wasn't There" – Ming Tea featuring Austin Powers
  12. "Alfie (What's It All About, Austin?)" – Susanna Hoffs

Filming locations

The following is a list of known locations during the filming of Austin Powers in Goldmember.

  • Moab, Utah (Intro Air-Drop)
  • Georgia State Prison (Outside Prison View; Mock internal view of older visitation section)

References

  1. ^ "Spy vs. spy ends amicably". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  2. ^ USA Today- movie news (date 2002-07-25)
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