What do you do when your new movie turns into one of the biggest bombs of the summer? You go back to what you know. Take this rumor for what it's worth -- probably not much given its "anonymous insider" source -- but the word is that Mike Myers has shaken off (or maybe learned from) the disaster that was The Love Guru, and has set to writing a fourth Austin Powers flick. According to the same rumor, he'll be collaborating on the screenplay with Michael McCullers, the SNL vet who wrote and made his directing debut with this year's considerably more successful Baby Mama. The plot will have a "father and son theme loosely based on his own life" (??!!) which suggests a prominent place in the cast for Seth Green.

I didn't think The Love Guru was very funny -- and neither did anyone else, I don't think -- but I did appreciate how giddy Myers got about fart jokes and lame double entendres. Genuine enthusiasm can go a long way in comedy, and Myers has never lacked for that, which is largely the reason why I'm not ready to give up on him just yet. Well, and also the fact that I thought all three of the Powers movies were pretty good.

And I'll say this: I laughed at the Guru Pitka's use of "Mariska Hargitay" as a patented mantra. Sue me.

We know that Val Kilmer is talented, whether it's morphing into icons like John Holmes or Jim Morrison, or voicing KITT, or being Bruce Wayne. But these days, Kilmer is all about the inspiration. There was talk recently of a collaboration with 50 Cent on some music, and now the actor has told MTV that he's the man behind Dr. Evil's Mini-Me -- not quite the news you'd expect to hear.

He explains: "[I was] the genesis of Mini-Me... [On] Island of Dr. Moreau, I told Marlon Brando my plan to save my performance just in case there was a giant hole in the second half. I was going to strap the little man to my chest. And, you know, you can't get around that visual. And then he [Brando] STOLE my little man!" So then he sees Vern Troyer on the big screen as Mini-Me, and "I asked Mike Myers about it myself. He said, 'absolutely.'" (That it came from the movie.)

So there you have it, folks. Val Kilmer is the reason that we now have Vern Troyer.

Catching an afternoon screening of Iron Man last weekend, the questionably denigrating representations of Afghani villains bugged me less than the bizarre cultural references in the trailers preceding it -- especially when it came to accents. Three previews in a row contained characters speaking intentionally mangled English, a fact all the more recognizable because all of them were played by well-known actors. You Don't Mess With Zohan showed Adam Sandler as a tough Israeli hair stylist. The Love Guru preview found Mike Myers blabbering on with South Asian inflections. Rounding things out in perhaps the most innocuous case, Cate Blanchett popped up as a Communist baddie in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Are these gross caricatures or fair play?

We've touched on this issue before, but it looks like each month the trend gets a little stronger. There's edgy and there's a line: Borat may or may not send the wrong message, but the character's faux Kazakh accent tells you a lot about the way Americans tend to judge foreigners on the basis of their less-than-perfect English. The specific nature of the satire gives Cohen's performance an underlying purpose -- unlike, say, Love Guru, which seems more like a chance to ignorantly marvel at Myers' ability to turn Indians into a continuous punchline. Recently, a few Hindu groups launched protests against the film. This could mark uncharted terrain for Myers, who did not, as far as I know, get lambasted by any hippies after the first Austin Powers.

It was a mere 11 days ago that rumors surfaced that supermodel Gisele Bündchen was in talks to star in Austin Powers 4. (You know, the movie that hadn't been mentioned in almost a year? That was our first clue that something was up). But today, MTV spoke with Seth Green (aka Scott Evil), and got the official word that we can chalk it up to just another crazy internet rumor.

Green told MTV, "I'll tell you what, if a script for Austin Powers 4 gets written and then it gets green lit by whatever version of New Line is still making movies, and everybody agrees to do it, then we'll have something to talk about. But at this point, Austin Powers 4 is nothing more than something Mike Myers talked about off-handedly during the Shrek press." I guess you can't get more straightforward than that.

I can't help but be just a teensy bit disappointed that a fourth film is not going to happen. I am probably one of the few people who thought Goldmember was pretty darn funny. Plus, I thought Myers was on to a good idea when he said that the fourth film would focus on Dr. Evil (with maybe the exception of the first movie, Dr. Evil's side of things was becoming infinitely more interesting). One thing is for sure, by the looks of the trailer for Myer's latest character comedy, I think I would much rather get another Austin Powers movie than another installment of The Love Guru.

For starters, I had no idea that a fourth Austin Powers film was even on the horizon. So imagine my surprise when the Boston Globe reported that Gisele Bündchen was in talks to star in the latest installment of Mike Myers' spy franchise. According to the Globe, Bündchen has already been given a script and her agent is arranging meetings with Myers and producer Jay Roach.

Myers first spoke about another Austin Powers film back when he was still prepping The Love Guru with Jessica Alba. Myers had told MTV, "We're developing a fourth [movie], entirely from Dr. Evil's point of view." Myers also said that he would only be working on a Powers film in his spare time. Judging by Myers' slate for 2009 it doesn't look like he is going to have much free time; the actor is still attached to star in the Keith Moon biopic, See Me Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked for Your Pleasure, as well as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (both films are scheduled for release in 2009).

Moviefone is hosting our first look at the new trailer for Baby Mama, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Looking to capitalize on the very-hot-right-now pregnancy theme, Tina Fey plays a successful (yet still single) businesswoman who's having trouble getting pregnant on her own. When she learns how expensive a surrogates fee can be ($100,000), she begins to explore other options ... like allowing a sleazy-looking slacker (Poehler) to carry the baby for her. What follows appears to be a pretty cute buddy flick co-starring two of the funnier and more talented comedic actresses working today. I especially like the scene with Dax Shepard (who plays Poehler's husband/boyfriend), and I hope he shows up more than a few times throughout. Sigourney Weaver, Greg Kinnear, Maura Tierney and Romany Malco also star, while Michael McCullers (of Austin Powers fame) wrote and directs. Baby Mama will arrive in theaters this April 25, and you can check out the trailer above or head on over to Moviefone to watch it in glorious HD.

You know what stinks? Coming up with a fairly cool idea for a new column ... only to discover that someone even cleverer not only snagged the idea a few months ago, but also did such a bang-up job that it makes a new rendition seem pointless.

But since I'm in a writing mood, here's the story: I was sharing a pithy IM convo with a good pal, and somehow we got into mocking Borat and Austin Powers for being way too over-quoted. (I call it the Stairway to Heaven Syndrome: When something of serious quality melts into near-nothingness because of endless repetition and constant over-exposure.) So I said "Hey, I could do a funny Cinematical Seven on 'the world's most annoyingly over-quoted movies'!!"

My friend's response was "Hey, good idea. Just like this one." The author is the youthful-yet-not stupid Adam Quigley, whose work you just might know if you hang around JoBlo's Movienerd Blissfactory once in a while. And while I'm well aware that I'm recycling someone else's (months old) list, I just figured it was too much fun to not pass along.

Not to spoil too many of the surprises, but the movies I would have picked for my Cine Seven are ALL on Adam's list, but they were mostly the easy ones: Swingers, Austin Powers, Borat, Holy Grail, Office Space, etc. Check out the full list of the 10 Most Obnoxiously* Over-Quoted Movies of All Time. And feel free to let us know which ones we might have forgotten. For example, I love love love The Princess Bride, but I'm tired of hearing idiots scream "inconceivable" and waiting for a charitable chuckle. (Also, most of the picks are (logically) comedies, but I'd like to hear about some over-quoted non-comedies. I suppose Jaws, Star Wars, Casablanca and Scarface would make that list.)

(* See, Adam went with "obnoxiously," whereas I was going to use "annoyingly." Well played, Quigley!! And special thanks to Will Goss for the linkage and the nerdly movie conversation. )

Earlier this month a bunch of us came up with a list of the movie characters we'd love to have thanksgiving with. Now, here's the opposite. The title is pretty self-explanatory, so I don't need to set it up much. But as usual, we invite you to tell us of your own picks for worst Thanksgiving dinner guest. Please try to make it a movie character, though, because none of us know your annoying aunt, and plus this is a movie site.


Hannibal Lecter from Manhunter, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising

If you were to have Dr. Lecter (Brian Cox; Anthony Hopkins; Gaspard Ulliel) to your Thanksgiving feast, you'd want to prepare and cook all the food yourself. Otherwise, you might end up eating human flesh instead of turkey (or turducken, or whatever non-people-based meal you prefer). Then again, you might actually end up the meal, which is certainly much worse than unknowingly tasting Ray Liotta's brains. So, the best thing is to not even invite the guy.


Graham Young from Young Poisoner's Handbook

Another character who might be an interesting guest, but like with Lecter, you'll need to keep an eye on the food, or at least on the tea. Graham (Hugh O'Conor), aka "the teacup murderer" likes to play with poison, and there's a good chance he's going to spike the dinner or drinks with thallium.

Over at quigspot.com is a listing of what the blogger deems the "Ten Most Obnoxiously Overquoted Movies." He says in the intro: "Nothing makes a great movie suck like people quoting it day in and day out for months at a time. It's the go-to route used by individuals who aren't clever enough to come up with their own material, made worse by them thinking (thanks to the select few that laughed at their referencing) they've suddenly become the most hilarious stand-up comedian since George Carlin." I agree to some extent, but while it's true that quoting movies is not the most enlightened form of comedy, it can be a lot of fun. The key is to stick to obscure quotes -- avoid "Luke, I am your father" and "Say hello to my little friend." At a party, an obscure quote that someone else recognizes can help you recognize a kindred spirit, and snag you a new friend or even a romance. Still, there are some movies that get quoted far too frequently, and it becomes particularly hard to deal with once they're embraced by the "frat guy" crowd, as almost all of quigspot's choices are.

The ten selected overquoted films are: 10) Office Space (good call, but the boss' voice is just too much fun to do. Quoting this one simply has to be done sometimes, especially in an office setting), 9) Monty Python movies (disagree -- I don't hear Python quotes much these days), 8) Wedding Crashers (definitely getting obnoxious, especially at bars), 7) Anything with Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane, absolutely), 6) The 40 Year-Old Virgin (maybe, but when the lines are that funny, who can argue?), 5) Anchorman (see #6, although "I'm kind of a big deal" has reached the end of the line), 4) The Austin Powers series (yup), 3) Borat (Should have been #1 -- some guy dressed as Borat at a Halloween party I attended stayed in character the entire night and almost drove me to murder), 2) Napoleon Dynamite (absolutely) and the choice for the #1 most obnoxiously overquoted movie is ... 300.

Movies I'm guilty of quoting? 1) Wayne's World -- whenever anybody orders Chinese food, I can't resist throwing in "I'll have the cream of sum yung guy." I'm also a fan of "If Benjamin were an ice cream flavor, he'd be pralines and dick." 2) The Naked Gun series. Endless possibilities really, but my favorite is "Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to stay on my toes." 3) Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski -- literally every line of both is gold. Which movies do you love to quote? And which movies do you think get quoted too frequently?

Out of the ashes of development hell, Mike Myers will rise as Walter Mitty. Oh, how I wish the ashes had buried this project too deep to ever see the light of day. There are films that shouldn't be touched, and then there's Danny Kaye, who made Walter Mitty come alive in 1947. At first, the project was going to star Jim Carrey -- a decent Kaye look-alike, I'll give him that. And surprisingly, the remake had high-profile directors attached that included Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. When all of that fell apart, Owen Wilson (ugh, no!) was to star with Mark Waters directing the project. That would've been interesting, to say the least, since he's the guy behind The House of Yes and Mean Girls. But finally, all that was scratched and now Myers is going to be the man.

A whole new script of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is being made for the actor, "specifically tailored" to him. At the very least, I hope that they will make him a distant relative, grandson or something, instead of taking over the same role, but I doubt that will be the case. Jay Kogen, a writer for shows like The Simpsons and Frasier is currently writing the script. I like Myers a lot, but I just really don't like the idea of this. However, after a bit of stretch out of the spotlight, the actor is just piling on the work, so maybe he'll be too busy and the flick will stay in that sweet development hell. For one thing, he's now talking with New Line and Jay Roach about making another Austin Powers. No writer is on the case or anything, but Myers wants a sequel that comes from Dr. Evil's point of view. I imagine that spin is the only hope for the film to be fresh, since comedy sequels just never seem to live up to the feature egg that created them. Then again, I'll sit through another for some more Alan Parsons jokes.