Entertainment: One lucky basterd

2009/10/20

Mike Myers recounts the joy he felt when he got the call from Quentin Tarantino to star in Inglourious Basterds. WORKING with Quentin Tarantino on Inglourious Basterds was a “joyous” time for Mike Myers.

“It was an amazing personal experience, too,” says the actor who plays British General Ed Fenech in the movie.

Myers, a longtime admirer of the director, was delighted when, out of the blue, Tarantino telephoned to ask if he was interested in playing a British general in his wartime epic alongside an ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger. He jumped at the chance.

“Quentin called me and said ‘Do you think you would be interested?’ And I was like ‘Are you kidding? Yeah!’”

What Tarantino didn’t know at the time was that Myers is a huge fan of World War II movies, especially the ones that he’d watched on television as a kid growing up in Canada with his English-born father, Eric, who had served with the Royal Engineers in the British Army.

Myers (left) has a lot of praisers from “visionary” Tarantino.

It was, says Myers, one of the ways he had bonded with his late father. They watched classics like A Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day and A Matter Of Life And Death, and it would prompt his father to recount his own, vivid wartime memories to his son.

“Dad would tell stories of being in the Royal Engineers during World War II,” he explains. “He was in the second wave of Operation Market Garden (The Battle of Arnhem).

“And we would watch those old movies about the war and he would tell stories. It became a real bonding experience for the both of us. One of the things I always liked in those movies was the very, very smart English dude that would explain the mission to the guys who were going into battle.”

Myers even wrote his own British character inspired by the “officer who explains the mission” for Austin Powers, itself an affectionate send up of the British spy films that he’d also enjoyed with his dad.

“I wrote a character in Austin Powers named Basil Exposition that I was going to play, in addition to playing Austin Powers, but ultimately Michael York played him. I’ve always been obsessed with this kind of character.

“And with my friends and family, we have this running joke where we’ll go (clipped British accent) ‘At precisely 1700 hours, we are going to have sandwiches, at which point pickles will be distributed.’ I love that stuff.”

Myers created General Ed Fenech as a tribute to his father and to those films that they both loved so much.

“I really wish that he could have seen it because he would have loved this film, and he would have known exactly where I was coming from with the general.

“Watching it for the first time at the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival was a killer because I thought about my dad so much, but he’ll be seeing it somewhere. I have to figure that he is. And my mum will definitely see it, which is great.”

Myers is a master at creating memorable characters that have captured the imagination of a contemporary cinema audience, from the aforementioned Austin Powers to the lovable “dude” Wayne Campbell in the comedy hit Wayne’s World and its sequel.

He completely immerses himself in the project at hand. Once on set, Myers finds it best to stay in character, and it was no exception on Inglourious Basterds, which greatly impressed Tarantino.

“When I do an accent, I tend to stay in character all the time because I want it to be authentic, and I want it to be right. Because there is so much ‘hurry up and wait’ (on set), you don’t want to just get it on the third take; you want to offer the director an option on every take,” he explains.

He is full of praise for the director’s ferocious work ethics and describes Tarantino as a “master visionary” who is totally committed to the project.

“Do you know how light is made of both particle and waves? Well, he is made of equal parts fan and maestro, and he oscillates between those two states, which is why he’s got this frenetic energy. Because he’s got the creative high, and at the same time, the appreciative high. It’s so infectious, and I love enthusiastic people who want to make it the best they possibly can.”

Myers was born in Scarborough, Ontario, and after leaving high school, he joined the Second City Touring Company in Canada.

He later honed his comedy talents in the United Kingdom before returning to the United States and working for six years as a regular on Saturday Night Live, where he developed some of his best-loved characters, including Wayne Campbell who would cross over successfully into film with Wayne’s World and Wayne’s World 2, which helped establish Myers as one of the leading comedy actors of his generation.

Myers said he invented back story to the scenes.

“For example, why is Churchill in the scene? Why is this mission impossible? Why is it important and what do they stand to lose if it goes wrong? And what happened to the previous dudes? What’s his next meeting?

“You do all of those things just for the thrill of doing the before’s and after’s. Just answering these questions makes you buy the reality, and then the audience buys the reality of what you are buying.” — Courtesy of United International Pictures

WIN: NST/INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS CONTEST

WIN exclusive T-shirts in conjunction with the movie‘s release in Malaysia tomorrow. Just answer two questions and complete the slogan in not more than 20 words. Please use the original contest form. The first five with the correct answers and the most creative slogans will get a T-shirt each.

Questions:
1. Name Mike Myers‘ character in Inglourious Basterds _________________________________________________

2. Inglourious Basterds is directed by Quentin Tarantino (True/False)

3. “I will watch Inglourious Basterds because (in not more than 20 words)_____________________________
_________________________________________________
________________________________________________”

Name: __________________________________________
Age: __________________ Sex: _____________________
IC No: __________________________________________
Phone No: _______________________________________
Address: _________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

Send your entries before Nov 4 to:
NST/INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS CONTEST,
United International Pictures,
C-27-03, 3 Two Square,
2 Jalan 19/1,
46300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.

Rules and regulations:
• The contest is open to all Malaysians.
• Each winner will receive one prize only.
• Prizes are not exchangeable for cash.
• Judges‘ decision is final and no further correspondence will be entertained.