Portal:Austin Powers
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Introduction
The Austin Powers series is a series of American spy action comedy films: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). The films were directed by Jay Roach; produced, written by and starring Mike Myers as both the title character and Dr. Evil; and distributed by New Line Cinema.
The franchise parodies numerous films and characters, including James Bond and Jason King, and incorporates myriad other elements of popular culture as it follows a British spy's quest to bring his nemesis down. The character represents an archetype of 1960s Swinging London, with his advocacy of free love, his use of obscure impressions and his clothing style.
Selected general articles
- The Austin Powers franchise is a series of action-comedy films consisting of International Man of Mystery (1997), The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). Each film starred and was written by Canadian-English actor Mike Myers, who portrayed the titular character along with several other roles, such as Dr. Evil, Fat Bastard and Goldmember. The series has also featured Basil Exposition (Michael York), Number 2 (Robert Wagner and Rob Lowe), Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), Scott Evil (Seth Green) and Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley). The franchise was directed by Jay Roach and distributed by New Line Cinema.
The films have received mixed to positive reviews: International Man of Mystery earned a 70% "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Spy Who Shagged Me gained 52%, and In Goldmember 55%. The films are parodies of the earlier features in the James Bond series as well as other 1960s spy films. Read more... - "Soul Bossa Nova" is a popular instrumental, composed by and first performed by American impresario, jazz composer, arranger, and record producer Quincy Jones. It appeared on his 1962 Big Band Bossa Nova album on Mercury Records.
Jones said that it took him twenty minutes to compose the piece, which features prominently a cuíca (responsible for the distinctive "laughing" in the first bars). Roland Kirk was the flute soloist, Lalo Schifrin was the pianist, Chris White was the bassist, Rudy Collins was the drummer, and Jerome Richardson was the alto flutist. The album liner notes do not specify the brass players. Read more... - Sir Nigel Powers (played by Michael Caine
Scott Aukerman [47]) is a character who appears in the third Austin Powers movie, Austin Powers in Goldmember. He is portrayed as the father of Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and Mini-Me. Read more...
Mini-Me is a character played by Verne Troyer in the second and third Austin Powers movies: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Read more...- Austin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy action comedy film directed by Jay Roach, and the third installment in the Austin Powers film series. It stars Mike Myers in the title role, and was co-written by him and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. The movie co-stars Beyoncé in her theatrical film debut, as well as Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Michael York, Verne Troyer, Michael Caine, Mindy Sterling and Fred Savage. There are a number of cameo appearances including Steven Spielberg, Kevin Spacey, Britney Spears, Quincy Jones, Tom Cruise, Danny DeVito, Katie Couric, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Travolta, Nathan Lane, and The Osbournes.
In a self-parody of the Austin Powers series, there is a film within the film in the opening. 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. Read more... - "Boys" is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for her third studio album, Britney (2001). It was written and produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams (known collectively as The Neptunes). A version of the song, entitled "The Co-Ed Remix", was released as the sixth and final single from Britney on July 29, 2002. The new version also served as the second single from the soundtrack of Austin Powers in Goldmember. "Boys" is a R&B and hip hop song, including funk influences. The remix carries a slower tempo than the album version, and both versions are noted to be reminiscent of Janet Jackson. Some critics praised Williams and Spears' chemistry, as well as the production on the track, while others did not think the song worked well.
While the song did not perform well on the Billboard charts in the United States, it reached the top ten on the Belgian charts and in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and charted in the top 20 in Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. The song would later be certified Gold in Australia. The song's accompanying music video, directed by Dave Meyers, was nominated at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Video from a Film." The clip features Spears and Williams at a party. The singer has performed "Boys" a number of times including at the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, on Saturday Night Live, and on several of her concert tours. Read more... - Dr. Evil (Douglas "Dougie" Powers) is a fictional character played by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers film series. He is the antagonist of the movies, and Austin Powers' nemesis. He is a parody of James Bond villains, primarily Ernst Stavro Blofeld (as played by Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice). Dr. Evil routinely hatches schemes to terrorize and take over the world, and is usually accompanied by Number 2, an eye-patch wearing goon who fronts his evil corporation Virtucon Industries, his cat Mr. Bigglesworth and his sidekick Mini-Me, a dwarf clone of himself.
Myers revived the character for a brief appearance on the December 20, 2014 episode of Saturday Night Live, a show on which Myers previously had a regular role. During the sketch, Dr. Evil called out both North Korea and Sony Pictures on their spat over The Interview. Read more... - Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (or simply Austin Powers) is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach, and the first installment in the Austin Powers series. It stars franchise co-producer and writer Mike Myers as Austin Powers and Dr. Evil, Powers' arch-enemy. Supporting roles include Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, and Michael York. The film is an affectionate spoof of the James Bond films and other popular culture from the 1960s.
The film, which cost US$16.5 million, opened on May 2, 1997, grossing US$53 million from its North American release and over $67 million worldwide. The film spawned two sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), with Myers repeatedly mentioning the possibility of a fourth film over the years (as of 2018). Read more... - Number 2 is a fictional character in the Austin Powers franchise. He is played by Robert Wagner in all three films, while his younger self is played by Rob Lowe in The Spy Who Shagged Me. He briefly appears as a teenager in a flashback in Goldmember, portrayed by Evan Farmer. The character was modeled on the James Bond villain Emilio Largo who was number 2 of SPECTRE in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball.
His name is intended as a humorous dual parody. Number One is the traditional term for a First Officer in the British Navy. "Number 2" is a reference to this while also a commonly used slang term for defecating. After one of Dr. Evil's henchmen attempts to assassinate Austin Powers in a bathroom stall, Austin Powers grunts and drowns him in a toilet and issues the exchange:
: Austin Powers: Who does Number 2 work for? Who does Number 2 work for?
: Cowboy in the next toilet stall (Tom Arnold): Yeah, that's right! You show that turd who's boss!
In the original release and pressings, Austin grunted "Do you work for Number 2? Do you work for Number 2?" The reason of replacing the clips with the also-filmed clips of "Who does Number 2 work for?" are unknown. Read more... - Sir Austin Danger Powers, KBE, is a fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films, and is created and portrayed by Mike Myers. He is the protagonist of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).
He is a womanizing, hard-partying British spy embodying the Swinging London mod culture and hippie culture of the 1960s who, with his nemesis Dr. Evil, was frozen in a cryonics experiment. The series' humor follows his attempts to adjust to the modern world as he continues to try to save it from terrorism. Read more... - Frau Farbissina (Frau Kaput in Spain), is a fictional character played by Mindy Sterling in the Austin Powers film series. Farbissina is a German attack and defence specialist and the founder of "the militant wing of the Salvation Army". She is also Dr. Evil's henchwoman and tries to help in his schemes to terrorize and take over the world. She has a heavy German accent, and is well known for a running gag in which she shouts her orders needlessly loud and screeching, often startling Dr. Evil. For her performances Sterling was nominated for Favorite Supporting Actress in a Comedy at the BMI Film & TV Awards. Read more...
- Johan van der Smut, better known as Goldmember, is a fictional character in the third film of the Austin Powers trilogy, Austin Powers in Goldmember. He is played by Mike Myers. The character was partially inspired by the James Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. He serves as one of two main antagonists of the film. Read more...
- "Beautiful Stranger" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on May 29, 1999, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records as a single from the soundtrack of the film, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the song with William Orbit, and it was inspired by her then relationship with British writer Andy Bird. The soundtrack for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me was a much expected release and Madonna's song was chosen by the album's executive producers to promote it. "Beautiful Stranger" has appeared on two separate Madonna greatest hits collections: GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009). Musically, "Beautiful Stranger" is a psychedelic pop song that features heavily reverberated guitars and bouncy drum loops. Its lyrics tell the tale of a romantic infatuation.
The song received positive feedback from music critics who praised the production and Madonna's progress with her music, following her critically acclaimed album Ray of Light (1998). It was a commercial success reaching the top of the charts in Canada, Finland, Iceland and Italy, number two in the United Kingdom and top-ten in many markets. Although the song was not commercially released in the United States, it reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to airplay. It reached number one on the US dance charts. "Beautiful Stranger" also earned Madonna her fifth Grammy Award, winning the trophy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Read more... - Austin Powers: Oh, Behave! is an action video game developed by Tarantula Studios and published by Rockstar Games for Game Boy Color on 18 September 2000 in North America, and on 3 November 2000 in Europe.
The game is a collection of mini-games and features based on the Austin Powers movie series. The game also included Austin Powers themed remakes of Pac-Man, rock–paper–scissors and the board game Othello. Read more... - "Work It Out" is a song by American singer Beyoncé. It was released on June 11, 2002, by Columbia Records as the lead single from the soundtrack album to the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which Beyoncé stars as Foxxy Cleopatra. It was later included on international editions of Beyoncé's debut studio album, Dangerously in Love (2003). Beyoncé co-wrote the song with its producers, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. "Work It Out" is an R&B song which incorporates elements of 1960s and 1970s funk and post-disco.
The song was generally well received by music critics, many of whom complimented its retro style and various influences. It has been credited as the beginning of Beyoncé's career as a successful solo artist, after finding success as the lead singer of Destiny's Child. "Work It Out" was nominated in the category of Best Original or Adapted Song at the 2003 Black Reel Awards. Commercially, the song failed to make an impact on the US Billboard Hot 100 but managed to find success on a few Billboard component charts, topping the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. "Work It Out" also reached the top ten in Norway and the UK. Read more... - Scott Evil (birth name Scott Farbissina) is a fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films. He is played by Seth Green.
Scott Evil is the biological son of Dr. Evil and Frau Farbissina. He was conceived in 1969 after Dr. Evil obtained and used some of Austin Powers' mojo and returned via time-travel to have a one-night stand with Farbissina. During childhood, Scott was told that he was artificially conceived in a laboratory. Read more... - Fat Bastard is a fictional character in the second and third films of the Austin Powers series. A morbidly obese henchman hailing from Scotland, Fat Bastard serves Dr. Evil in his quest to destroy Austin Powers. The character is portrayed by Mike Myers.
His extreme size and weight (1 metric tonne, according to Dr. Evil) endows Fat Bastard with massive strength. He exhibited this prowess in the sumo ring in the third movie. Read more... - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is a 1999 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach, and the second installment in the Austin Powers film series. It stars franchise co-producer and writer Mike Myers as Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, and Fat Bastard. The film also stars Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, and Elizabeth Hurley. The film's title is a play on the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
The film grossed around $312 million in worldwide ticket sales, taking more money during its opening weekend than the entire box office proceeds of its predecessor. It was nominated at the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Makeup (Michèle Burke and Mike Smithson). It is followed by Austin Powers: Goldmember (2002). Read more... - "Word Up!" was later covered by Mel B of the Spice Girls (known as Melanie G at that time). It was released on June 28, 1999. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was also on the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack and was later featured on the Japanese edition of her album Hot. Read more...
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