Development
Myers himself has stated in interviews that the idea for Austin Powers came to him one night while driving home from ice hockey practice. Hearing the song "The Look of Love" by Burt Bacharach on his car radio, he wondered "Where have all the swingers gone?", and conceived the character who would become Austin Powers. The first phrase he thought the character might say was "Do I make you horny?" which later did indeed become a catch phrase for the character. He has also disclosed that the character also draws on his recollections of former Radio Caroline DJ Simon Dee who hosted the first real TV chat show in the UK in 1967 which ended with his driving off in a sports car with a young blonde in the passenger seat.
Though he is a Canadian by birth, Myers' parents are natives of Liverpool, England, and Myers holds dual nationality. Although the films parody the plots and characters of 1960s spy movies, the humour is influenced by Myers' British heritage, particularly the Carry On films and the comedic works of Benny Hill and Peter Sellers, of the latter of whom Myers is a self-confessed fan (his favourite films being the Bond spoof Casino Royale and The Party). Influences from Sellers' films are apparent throughout the series; the character of Austin Powers reflects the inspiration of Seller's portrayal of the character Roger Danvers in the 1972 film There's a Girl in My Soup. Powers' dandyish appearance can also be shown to have been inspired by that of the fictional Jason King - the adventurous character from the ITV Spy-fi series Department S who was featured in the eponymous spin-off series. Other obviously-apparent influences are The Beatles films, The Monkees television series and the "cocktail party" skits from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.
Read more about this topic: Austin Powers (film Series)
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“I hope I may claim in the present work to have made it probable that the laws of arithmetic are analytic judgments and consequently a priori. Arithmetic thus becomes simply a development of logic, and every proposition of arithmetic a law of logic, albeit a derivative one. To apply arithmetic in the physical sciences is to bring logic to bear on observed facts; calculation becomes deduction.”
—Gottlob Frege (1848–1925)
“I do seriously believe that if we can measure among the States the benefits resulting from the preservation of the Union, the rebellious States have the larger share. It destroyed an institution that was their destruction. It opened the way for a commercial life that, if they will only embrace it and face the light, means to them a development that shall rival the best attainments of the greatest of our States.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“The young women, what can they not learn, what can they not achieve, with Columbia University annex thrown open to them? In this great outlook for women’s broader intellectual development I see the great sunburst of the future.”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)