Mike Myers entertains the crowd at The Love Guru premiere in L.A.
Yeeeah, baby! Mike Myers is back, delving into the self-help philosophy genre for laughs this time with his latest, the rainbow-paletted comedy The Love Guru. It goes like this: The Toronto Maple Leafs’ star hockey player hits the skids professionally and personally when his wife leaves him and starts dating a rival on the L.A. Kings. Enter Pitka (Myers), the famous love guru, whose unconventional methods may be the only way Roanoke can get back on his game and win the Stanley Cup.
Don’t be fooled by this film’s silly premise—it has a heartfelt message that inadvertently stemmed from a personal tragedy. After Myers’ father passed away, the philosophies of New Age writer Deepak Chopra helped him through his grief. Hearing Myers spout aphorisms is as transfixing as watching the Bellagio’s fountain show. His eyes gloss over and out drifts a soothing—and sometimes Hindi-accented—voice, accompanied by his signature grin.
Fandango spoke with the love guru himself about creating the film and his future plans. Another Wayne’s World? You never know.
Q: Have you always been fascinated with Indian culture?
Mike Myers: I have. I grew up in Toronto and as long as I can remember, as long as there was cable, even those old cable boxes that were wired to the TV, there have been Bollywood movies on Toronto TV. They were on channel 47 at two o'clock in the morning. Rakesh would come on and it would be Indian cinema night. He would say things like, [in a Hindi accent] “Still awake? This next adventure….” [Laughs] I would watch it and go, “Wow. This is just a tapestry.”
Q: What was your inspiration for Guru Pitka?
Myers: In 1991, my father passed away and I went on a spiritual quest. It was a light one, not too terribly deep because I'm not terribly deep and neither was my father. I saw Deepak Chopra on Oprah. His philosophy and writings speak to me and he led me to a whole bunch of readings across the board. I did a stage show in 1994 and for the first time I did the guru Pitka--an extension of me dealing with my father's death. I started doing this voice. Friends would call me up and say, “I'm feeling depressed. Talk to me in the voice.” [In a Hindi accent] “You're a beautiful creature. The universe loves you.” [Laughs]
Q: Instead of hello, you use actress Mariska Hargitay’s name as a greeting. You could have used Anna Kournikova too, no?
Myers: [Puts hands together and bows head] Anna Kournikova. That's a goodie! One of my best friends in New York is good friends with Mariska Hargitay. He was my main disciple in the stage show that I did there. I said, “I need a mythical salutation.” He said, “Mariska Hargitay.” He kept saying it to me onstage, and on the fifth show, Mariska Hargitay showed up! She came backstage and couldn't have been nicer about it.
Q: How did you get her in the movie?
Myers: I called her and she said, “Tell me when and what to wear. I'm so in.” About a week and a half ago she saw the film and she loved it, which was super awesome. She sent me an unauthorized T-shirt from the internet that says “Mariska Hargitay.” [Laughs]
Q: Were a lot of celebrities game to appear as disciples of Pitka?
Myers: Everyone came to play. Everyone got that this is a silly movie that's just for fun -- a great delivery system of a nice message: You have to love yourself. If you love yourself, then you can invite others to love you.
Q: Is it true you have a man-crush on your co-star Justin Timberlake?
Myers: Is that a shock to anyone? [Laughs] He's unbelievably talented. He's the most talented human being that I've ever met.
Q: Was it difficult picking which songs to use in the movie?
Myers: No. It's a joy. I can't believe that I get to do this. It's unbelievably satisfying to go, “You know what song I love and haven't heard in a long time? ‘More Than Words.’" They say, “Alright.” That's it? Great. Let’s do it.
Q: What's going on with Shrek IV and Walter Mitty?
Myers: Walter Mitty I'm not doing. And Shrek IV, I [don’t] know.
Q: How long before we see you in another live-action movie?
Myers: I don't know. I'm making it up as I go along. I didn't go to school for this. My dad sold encyclopedias and my mom worked in a factory office. This is not the family business. It's something that I wanted to do as a kid and it's turned out a thousand million times better than I ever thought it would. I don't have a template for it and I don't have a master plan.
Q: Would you want to do another Austin Powers?
Myers: I have an idea, and again it's one of those things that will emerge or it won't. What's remarkable is not the stuff that I begin to develop, which is usually at a ratio of about 20 to 1, it's the stuff that gets born. That's a miracle to me.
Q: The Wayne’s World skit with Dana [Carvey] was awesome. Did that reenergize talks about doing something else with those characters?
Myers: I don't have any plans. I'll tell you that I loved it. I had such a great time. That's all I know. I love making comedy. I never stopped loving it. I will continue to love it and I can't believe that I get to do it.
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