The director an “emotionally needy” Mike Myers sabotaged out of a job: “I got canned”
If enough people talk shit about the same person, then by the law of averages, that person would likely be a bit of a shit. Based on how many former collaborators didn’t part with him on the best terms, Mike Myers would appear to fall into that category.
For a while, he was one of the biggest comedy stars in the business. However, when the wheels fell off, he didn’t seem too bothered about putting them back on again. That’s understandable, when he’s insanely rich and in his 60s, but maybe his reputation has got something to do with it.
Ever since the career-destroying The Love Guru, Myers has restricted himself to supporting parts in movies that almost always require him to be buried under prosthetics of some kind. If that floats his boat, then so be it, but his spiteful side was on full display when he sabotaged Penelope Spheeris out of a job directing Wayne’s World 2.
One of the most beloved comedies of its era, the feature-length Saturday Night Live spinoff launched the actor’s movie career, which didn’t happen without incident. The ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ scene is the film’s most famous moment, bar none, and at no point did Myers think it was anything other than a waste of time.
“They hated doing it. They hated banging their head in the car,” she admitted to The Hollywood Reporter. “The worst part is Mike said not only does it hurt, it’s not funny.” When an early cut was screened to test audiences, Spheeris was pleased with the response, up until a certain point. “That’s when the crap hit the fan,” she intoned, with Myers having a subsequent one-man screening of his own and handing her 11 pages of handwritten notes.
“Most of them sucked,” she added.
The director and the co-writer/star couldn’t agree, with producer and SNL figurehead, Lorne Michaels, taking his side. “Lorne took me aside and said, ‘Penelope, if you don’t change the movie, you won’t be able to direct Wayne’s World 2. Mike’s not going to approve you,” she recalled. When she refused, Michaels told her she was the one who had to tell him. “So I told him. And I got canned.”
With Wayne’s World earning more than $180 million at the box office, the sequel was fast-tracked into production, with Stephen Surjik at the helm. After being informed that her services were no longer needed, Spheeris “cried for two weeks, and then I got over it,” which didn’t end her feud with Myers.
Describing him as being “emotionally needy” and “more difficult as the shoot went along,” the filmmaker revealed that she tasked her daughter to ply Myers with snacks to placate him whenever he was in danger of losing his cool. In response to her accusations, he did say he was “incredibly grateful for Penelope Spheeris’ contributions on Wayne’s World,” calling it “a bright highlight in my professional career.”
He still couldn’t resist getting a dig in, though, with his statement offering that he was “very proud of the work Dana Carvey and I did,” how it “was wonderful to be able to work with Dana again,” that he’s a “hilarious, talented, and great guy,” and how he’s “missed him,” with absolutely no mention of Spheeris whatsoever.
