AUSTIN POWERS Masks Are A Popular Halloween Costume Again Thanks to BABY DRIVER
Some of the best Halloween costumes each year are based on popular movies that hit theaters in the months leading up to the spooky holiday. Now one of the funniest moments in Baby Driver seems to have followed that pattern and is most likely going to be a popular Halloween costume this year.
The masks are used in Edgar Wright's summer blockbuster, during a robbery when a trio of criminals accidentally buy three Mike Myers masks instead of the intended, and much scarier masked used by Halloween antagonist Michael Myers (the joke being that the fictitious killer and actor have the same name). You can watch the hilarious robbery scene below.
Apparently, the Austin Powers masks have sold out on costume sites and are no longer available on Amazon or eBay. And at least one Halloween site contacted by The Hollywood Reporter is kicking itself for not thinking to order some of the swinger-spy masks.
Wright says that he could not be more excited by the news.
"I'm very proud. I feel like through my career, I have given people some very easy Halloween costumes, like Shaun in Shaun of the Dead," Wright tells THR. "I even mentioned to Warner Bros. [which released Austin Powers under New Line Cinema] that they may ship a lot of masks at Halloween, and I think that's exactly what's happened."
Wright also explains that the Austin Powers mask moment happened out of legal necessity, and they had to change the scene because of it.
In the script, only one of the masks was going to be an Austin Powers mask, but the other two would be the correct masks of the slasher, making just one of the trio look like an idiot. Wright said the Baby Driver production didn't get clearance in time to use the horror masks, so, with Myers' and Warners' blessing, the script was altered to three Austin Powers masks.
Even Mike Myers is surprised to hear that the masks are so popular. "I'm equally proud of my work as the killer in Halloween as I am for my work in Austin Powers."
It is quite possible that the mask is extra popular because Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery turned 20 this year. But most are attributing the mask's success to its use in Baby Driver.
Wright regrets he didn't keep one of the masks for himself:
"I didn't think about that, but I probably should have," Wright says, adding, "The other funny thing about it that was once Jamie [Foxx] was in the mask, he started providing extra dialogue, so there are a lot of extra Austin Powers-isms. It was funny to have Jamie Foxx, Oscar-winning actor, wearing a rubber Mike Myers mask."