Myers returns to host MTV Movie Awards
Riverdancers, beware: Mike Myers is hosting the MTV Movie Awards again.
When that role first was filled by the "Austin Powers" creator-star and "Saturday Night Live" alum in 1997, he brought down the house with an energetic, hilarious "Lord of the Dance" spoof. He still loves devising his own choreography, so Myers doesn't deny a possible sequel when he presides again at the MTV event at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The show will air live at 8 p.m. on Channel 38
"I couldn't be more excited," the friendly and low-key Myers says of his second stint as host, which follows his 2007 Movie Awards appearance to receive the career-honoring MTV Generation Award. "I am 99 percent ham and one percent water, so for me, any chance to perform is great. I love working in front of live crowds, and that's one of the things I have missed about not being on 'Saturday Night Live.'
"When I'm making movies, I try to make the crew laugh, because I want what happens on the set — and what we're recording on film — to be a party. That's why I can't wait to do the MTV Movie Awards again, because it'll be that in front of a live house."
With five bids, the comedy "Superbad" is the most-nominated movie in the ceremony. "Juno" is next with four nominations; three each have gone to "Enchanted," "Knocked Up," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Transformers."
Actors contending to receive the ceremonial "golden popcorn" bucket include recent Oscar winner Javier Bardem ("No Country for Old Men"), Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Megan Fox, Katherine Heigl, Angelina Jolie, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Page, Adam Sandler, Will Smith and Denzel Washington.
The trademark irreverence of the MTV Movie Awards, which includes such categories as best kiss and best fight, suits Myers' style ideally. It also works for him as a means of promoting his newest film, "The Love Guru," which opens June 20. He plays Pitka, a relationship-expert wannabe, in the comedy that also stars Jessica Alba and Justin Timberlake.
"The last time I hosted, I was just launching a new character, Austin Powers," Myers recalls. "I love this new character. It's my favorite one I've ever done, but with this (award show), I also get to work with some old friends.
"I'm one of the few guys who almost exclusively wrote his own stuff on 'Saturday Night Live,' but I hung out with the other comedy writers. A lot of those friends come to my aid, as they have throughout my whole career. Many people have thrown down jokes for me, as I have for them; it's a great community and a very joyful experience. I'm not one of those people who fall out of love with comedy the longer they do it. I only fall more in love with it."
Myers hints at more adventures to come for Austin Powers, but he also suggests such projects might put the aptly named Dr. Evil (also played by Myers) in the forefront instead.
"If you had to go into a laboratory and find the least likely character to be popular, it would be someone with bad teeth, weird chest hair and the wrong 1960s," Myers muses of his "Powers" success. "I parodied the '60s that no one really knows: Carnaby Street, not Woodstock. This was a gentleman spy with his own private jet, and it was before the new 'Casino Royale,' so the James Bond craze wasn't at the height it's back to now.
"At a certain point," he adds, "I just make jokes that I think will be funny, and I hope the audience likes them. It's been an extremely gratifying experience that people like so much of the stuff that I like as well."
Canadian native Myers maintains he has "only about eight" projects gestating at any given time. Through his supplying the title character's words, the animated "Shrek" movies are what mainly have kept him active lately, but Myers will marry body and voice again in a remake of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and a biography of Who drummer Keith Moon.
"I love my time off," Myers says. "I play hockey and I play soccer, and I have a great group of friends. I've only ever come up with stuff in the bathroom or on vacation. The first thing ('Saturday Night Live' mentor) Lorne Michaels ever said to me was, 'Take plenty of time off. That's where your ideas come from.' But when you're back in the mode, it's fun, too.
"Making a movie is a complicated process. The audience is my boss, and I care that these things are good, so you just have to be patient. I take my time to make sure all the ingredients are right, so my ratio of things in development to things I actually do is low. Most actors I talk to have projects in the double digits.
"I have no complaints," Myers concludes. "Everything has gone way better than I ever would have thought when I was growing up in the suburbs of Toronto."
