Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

There are no real secrets in Hollywood, although the production did its best to keep quiet the identities of the many surprise celebrity cameos planned for Austin Powers in Goldmember. Even when some of the superstar names made it into press reports, the filmmakers were undaunted in trying to preserve as much of the surprise element they could for audiences to enjoy firsthand. With the help of cast and crew alike, they managed to conceal specifics about the cameo appearances.

"Discovering those unexpected moments on your own while watching the film for the first time is what makes these kind of movies so enjoyable," says Lyons. "It’s always disappointing when those moments are spoiled for the audience. On a show of this magnitude, it’s remarkable that we were able to keep the lid on as tightly as we did. Thanks for that goes in great part to our incredible cast and crew."

"The only reason to do a third movie is to beat the success of the second one," says Mike Myers. "We had to pull out all the stops in terms of having more fun. Our motto became: If you write it, they will come! So we wrote these huge stars in to the film. Everyone we asked agreed to do it, not one person turned us down. I couldn’t believe they were all fans of Austin, which is a huge concept for my tiny Canadian brain to wrestle," he jokes.

Producers John Lyons and Eric McLeod took on the overwhelming task of coordinating the production’s tight shooting schedule with the hectic and demanding calendar of each individual star involved. The elaborate production number required Myers and several superstar cameos, along with a large group of dancers and extras, to all work at the same time. Lyons had promised the participants the entire endeavor would require only a few hours of their time for one day, a nearly impossible feat, as anyone in the motion picture industry can attest.

The scene was filmed outdoors on Paramount Pictures’ New York street back lot on November 29, 2001. Jay Roach can only shake his head and deadpan, "It was the most intense, anxiety-ridden filming day of my career."

"I think back on it now and I really can’t believe that day ever happened," says Lyons. "It was almost surreal. We had geared up for it for such a long time, and the sequence is absolutely pivotal to the story, and then in a matter of six hours, it was over.

Although Quincy Jones’ iconic "Soul Bossa Nova" has been used in the previous movies, the filmmakers decided they wanted to thank him for his contribution by giving him a special moment on screen.

"We wanted to give Quincy a nod," Mike Myers says. "He wasn’t in the earlier films, which was never by design, it just didn’t happen. We really wanted to right that wrong, so we drop in on him and say, ‘Hi’ in the opening number."

Late in the production, when plans were being finalized for a special set visit from Katie Couric, producer John Lyons was surprised to discover the journalist had only been on a handful of movie sets throughout the career. The wheels began to turn and another cameo appearance was born. Couric was given the star treatment – a day of incessant practical jokes – and proved to be a great sport, not to mention a terrific prison guard. Couric makes her motion picture debut in Austin Powers in Goldmember.

---

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5 6