Mike Myers has been absent from the big-screen for some time, but he did make an appearance in one of the year's best movies…sort of. In Edgar Wright's BABY DRIVER, a robber makes the mistake of getting Austin Powers masks for a heist, rather than masks featuring the Michael Myers of HALLOWEEN fame. It's a humourous moment and has led to the Austin Powers mask becoming a popular Halloween item, and Edgar Wright told THR that he was delighted by the news.
I'm very proud. I feel like through my career, I have given people some very easy Halloween costumes, like Shaun in Shaun of the Dead. I even mentioned to Warner Bros. [which released Austin Powers under New Line Cinema] that they may ship a lot of masks at Halloween, and I think that's exactly what's happened.
According to Edgar Wright, it wasn't intended for all three robbers to wear the Austin Powers mask. Only one robber was initially supposed to wear the mask, while the others would be wearing the correct Michael Myers mask, but, when they couldn't get clearance to use the HALLOWEEN mask, the script was changed. With the masks now in short supply, Edgar Wright regrets not keeping one for himself. "I didn't think about that, but I probably should have," Wright said. "The other funny thing about it that was once Jamie [Foxx] was in the mask, he started providing extra dialogue, so there are a lot of extra Austin Powers-isms. It was funny to have Jamie Foxx, Oscar-winning actor, wearing a rubber Mike Myers mask." AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year, if you can believe that, and Mike Myers is finding himself quite pleased by the popularity of the mask, telling THR that he's "equally proud of my work as the killer in Halloween as I am for my work in Austin Powers."
Are any of you planning a BABY DRIVER costume this year? While we're talking Halloween, be sure to enter JoBlo's 6th Annual Halloween Costume Contest for a chance to win a great prize!
BABY DRIVER is now available on DVD/Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD.