According to Nikki Finke, who as far as I can tell is the only source for this, Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. were approached by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences about hosting this year’s Oscars as a duo, but turned them down. Pretty disappointing, especially if RDJ was considering doing the whole show in blackface, as Billy Crystal used to do. But you can hardly blame them for not wanting to take orders from this guy:
Remember that Black List? The list of the best unproduced screenplays I mentioned the other day? Ben Stiller has signed on to direct one of them, Mark Friedman’s Help Me Spread Goodness…
…about a Chicago banker who gets swindled in a Nigerian Internet scam. While the project is meant to be entertaining [thank goodness, I couldn't take another one of Hollywood's deliberately boring think pieces. -Ed], it sheds light on current issues in Nigeria and other African countries, fitting the Participant Media mandate to make films that compel social change.
Timing of when Stiller helms the film depends on the progress of “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” the Aaron Sorkin-scripted drama that Stiller took over after Steven Spielberg exited as director. [Variety]
Well sure, the old internet-scam-as-lead-in-to-African-politics plot device. It’s just like those old Sally Struthers commercials, about how you can sponsor an African child for just two boner pills a day. Oh Ndugu, how happy he looks! …In related news, I think I saw a production of this your sister was in. She played Goodness.
The Night of the Museum 2 trailer is out and it doesn’t look too awful. It’s got Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria… pretty much every comedic actor in Hollywood. Hey, it’s easy work and a cash cow. Bill Hader playing Custer is definitely the highlight of the trailer. Bottom line, if you have to take the little poop machines to a dark room in the hopes that they’ll shut up for five seconds, you could do a lot worse. However, be warned, Clint Howard is in this. I heard they had to cut a few of his scenes to get the rating down to a PG.
Now that Tom Cruise has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Les Grossman (a nomination which, let’s face it, is entirely conceivable that Cruise bribed and/or lobbied for), everyone wants to know what the next step for the character is. And by ‘everyone’, I mean people who get paid to kiss celebrity ass for a living.
“I’ve talked about doing different videos with the character,” Cruise said. “I’ve started working with Ben [Stiller] on it, and we’ve kind of talked about different things to do. We were gonna do some in our free time, but we haven’t found the free time…yet.” [E! Online]
Wow, is that a threat? Look, I know there are actually lots of respectable people who thought Les Grossman was funny. But if you’re one of them, ask yourself what was funny about it: was it the character, the dialog, the makeup, a combination of the three; or Tom Cruise’s vacant-eyed stare? I humbly submit that any idiot off the street would’ve been better. And as for trying to do Funny or Die videos with it or whatever: dude, just stick to filming your Scientology ceremonies. Those are hilarious!
Everyone’s got a story about this today and it seems like the quote’s being blown out of proportion. But at the premiere of Madagascar 2 in London, Ben Stiller had this to say about the possibility of a Zoolander sequel:
“I feel that is the sequel I really would like to do some day because I like the original and I would make sure it was something new and worthy of it first.” [TheSun]
Zoolander is one of the rare movies to which a sequel might actually be a good idea. The first made a fairly modest $60 million worldwide (on a $30 million budget) and then became sort of a cult hit on DVD. It’s easily the high point of Stiller’s acting career, and Mugatu is probably my favorite Will Ferrell character. If the same movie came out today, it’d make $100 mil, easy. Need proof of its popularity? Check out the mouth on virtually every greasy dipshit on the internet and tell me they’re not doing Blue Steel.
On second thought, maybe a Zoolander sequel’s not such a good idea.
