The Associated Press

Jay Roach’s education as a comedy director came not in college or film school, but in self-imposed study shortly before making “Austin Powers.”

He’d studied pre-law as an undergrad at Stanford University and mostly struggled for a decade as a screenwriter and cinematographer after film school at University of Southern California. Roach’s path to becoming one of the top comedy directors in Hollywood was far from assured.

Having hit it off with Roach at a dinner party, Mike Myers insisted Roach — despite his little notable experience — should direct the film.

To cram for comedy, Roach studied silent films, taking notes on movement and physical choreography. He gravitated toward a “Woody Allen form of farce” and character-based films by Hal Ashby such as “Harold and Maude” and “Being There.” He found a taste for French comedy, such as “La Cage aux Folles.”

Roach’s homework has served him well.