Mike Myers Got Pitched ‘Shrek’ While Crying as He Walked Out of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ Premiere; His First Reaction: ‘That’s the Worst F—ing Title Ever’

Mike Myers recently joined Vulture for a career-spanning interview in which he hilariously recounted how he was first pitched “Shrek” immediately after walking out of the the world premiere screening of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.” But that didn’t stop DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg from pitching him the chance to voice a a big green ogre.
“I went to the premiere of ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and Jeffrey Katzenberg comes up to me afterward in the lobby and brings his daughters, who then do the dance sequence from ‘Austin Powers,'” Myers said. “This was after such a heavy movie, and I was in tears because my parents were in World War II. I was shell-shocked and then they’re doing the dance, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s great. Read a room!'”
Katzenberg asked Myers if he would ever consider doing an animated movie, to which Myers said,...
“I went to the premiere of ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and Jeffrey Katzenberg comes up to me afterward in the lobby and brings his daughters, who then do the dance sequence from ‘Austin Powers,'” Myers said. “This was after such a heavy movie, and I was in tears because my parents were in World War II. I was shell-shocked and then they’re doing the dance, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s great. Read a room!'”
Katzenberg asked Myers if he would ever consider doing an animated movie, to which Myers said,...
- 12/4/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Similar News
‘Duster’ Review: Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson Lead J.J. Abrams’ High-Octane, Low-Impact 1970s Crime Romp for Max
- 5/13/2025
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News

12 Years Later, I Still Can’t Understand How Hajime Isayama Let Wit and Mappa Get Away With Those Absurd Attack on Titan Animations
- 5/13/2025
- by Laveena Joshi
- FandomWire

Variety Nominated for 92 SoCal Journalism Awards, Including Best Website and Five Nods for Journalist of the Year
- 5/13/2025
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV

The 2025 Vince Vaughn Comedy Dominating Netflix's Top Charts
- 5/12/2025
- by Pauli Poisuo
- Slash Film

How A Cancelled Jim Carrey Movie Earned One Fan $5,000 From Nintendo
- 5/4/2025
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film

Peyton Reed’s 2008 Romantic Comedy Paired Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel, But It Was Very Cringe
- 5/2/2025
- by Jhelum Mehta
- FandomWire

‘Bad Thoughts’ Netflix Review: Tom Segura’s Comedy Series Is Traumatizing And Funny
- 5/13/2025
- by Pramit Chatterjee
- DMT

Between two drummers: Questlove and Dave Grohl on 50 years of ‘SNL’ music
- 5/12/2025
- by Scott Huver
- Gold Derby

Big Trouble in Little China: The Greatest Cult Film of All-Time?
- 5/12/2025
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com

IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.