I believe, though, Lorne warned her about…maybe the headbanging scene in the car. Myers, I believe, wanted to headbang less because it wasn’t funny and it hurt. When she pressed, Lorne told her she could do it her way and not be invited back or do it Myers way.
The Lorne biography has a story that says a lot about both men.
When Myers first saw the finished cut, he hated it and - apparently in a blue funk - wrote out 18 notes or maybe 18 pages of notes (too lazy to look, but a lot). Lorne didn’t want even one, but he was too squeamish to confront him. (He can’t stand firing anyone either.) So he told Spheeris she had to do it. She won them all but they never talked again.
I don’t know anything about Mike Myers, but I tend to shrug over celebrity feuds over creative control. Artists get emotional about their work, and very possessive about it.
For me to regard a celebrity as a jerk, they must gain a reputation for treating people like crap, especially non-celebs. Condescending or overbearing behavior in real life situations makes a celebrity a jerk.
And in the end, Myers and Carvey still had to do enough headbanging in that scene that they couldn’t turn their necks for the rest of the shoot. (That’s why Wayne and Garth always do that weird shoulder-dip maneuver whenever they turn to face someone.)
What I always read was that Myers is a perfectionist when it comes to comedy–to the point of psychosis. And that has always caused problems on film sets. He will grind everything to a halt while he tries to make it the “perfect fart joke.”
To be fair, a lot of comedians are - Lucille Ball was a notable example. The difference is Lucille Ball worked out the best way to get into a fight while stomping grapes before the cameras started rolling.
I spent some time around people trying to break into comedy when I was younger. For them, it’s a job. They take it very seriously and rightfully so, it’s how they paid their rent. They worked hard to make their presentation easy, casual, fun, and funny. They want to present themselves as an approachable friend to the audience but every nuance in their voice and mannerism was intentional and rehearsed ad nauseum. They’re really no different than any other actor on a stage. I think audiences just expect comedians to be easy going in real life to match their stage persona and it just comes across as a shock to some people that they’re such different people. We don’t have the same expectations with an actor playing a role on stage, but I think it’s easier to separate the two because we know the actor probably didn’t write the part he’s performing. In the end, it’s their name on the marquis and they alone are the ones who get the accolades or the blame so they need the control.
I watched a video (done by Myers) recollecting some of his work. He said of Penelope Spheeris that he wanted her as she’d previously done some Heavy Metal Bio movie. Oookay. So he probably had to convince Lorne of that too. And he only had kind words for Spheeris (whatever she thinks of him).
He also mentioned how the “Bohemian Rhapsody” took like 10 days and many takes and he was open to Guns and Roses - yet I cannot think of a better and more unexpected song to open that movie. And he and Dana Carvey’s head hurt.
And c’mon, if he threw a shit-fit because his bagel wasn’t buttered correctly he’s a dick that is hard to work with? That ain’t anywhere near Francis Ford Coppola vs Marlon Brando territory. Boo hoo, Hollywood is a bitch goddess.
Once you start producing, yeah, every minute is money. If Mike Myers wants to hire Mike Myers, well that’s tough shit, eh?
I’d have to know exactly how poorly buttered it was to judge. I’ve gotten some shitty bagels that would have thrown me into a rage if I was paying huge sums of money for that kind of personal service…