Original artwork, not a still
We get the warhead and hold the world ransom for... one million dollars!
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Frozen since 1967, Dr. Evil prices the world in Sixties money, and the joke lives in the pause: the big dramatic build, then a sum that sounds like a small-business loan. Fans still say it with that pause whenever a price sounds small, and the sequel pays it off when the President tells him a hundred billion dollars does not exist in 1969.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Austin Powers: International Man of MysteryShow the scene
Thirty years after he froze himself, Dr. Evil is thawed in 1997 and calls his henchmen together in his underground lair. Number Two warns that his old schemes, a world ransom included, have already been done, so Dr. Evil falls back on the classic: steal the nuclear warhead that the breakaway Russian republic of Kreplachistan is about to hand to the United Nations. He announces the plan, pauses for effect, and names his price as one million dollars. Number Two clears his throat and notes that Virtucon alone makes over $9 billion a year. Dr. Evil asks if that is a lot, then raises the demand to a hundred billion.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: Austin Powers: International Man of MysteryDr. Evil section and Dialogue, the first lair briefingReference checked
- Springfield! Springfield! script: International Man of MysteryLair briefing, mid-film transcriptReference checked
- Springfield! Springfield! script: The Spy Who Shagged MeDr. Evil's call to the President, near the endReference checked
Context reviewed
