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model look, but admits to feeling the pressures
of aging in Hollywood. He jokes that within the
fashion industry, Hansel and Derek would be
considered ‘ancient relics’ but says it was vital
they factored this into the film.
“Being able to finally make this movie and
I'm this age, I had to understand how I could
feel like it made sense for the movie. In Derek
and Hansel's minds, they are still models and
how do models think of themselves at this age?
For me, that thing of Derek and Hansel trying to
figure out how they belong in this new world is
something I could really connect with.”
Unlike his alter ego though, Stiller is far from
over the hill. In his 28-year career the native
New Yorker has written, starred in, directed
and/or produced over 50 films. From awkward,
family comedy
Meet the Parents
to great tale of
redemption
Dodgeball: A True
Underdog Story
, Stiller is a
formidable comedic force
and it looks highly likely
2oolander
will be a runaway,
runway success.
2oolander,
or "two-hundred-Lander?" as
Derek says in the teaser, promises plenty of big
laughs, fashion espionage and celebrity cameos,
including Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian
and
Sherlock
star Benedict
Cumberbatch, unrecognisable
as non-gender specific
supermodel ‘All’.
“Benedict
Cumberbatch is great,
he was so game and
so excited. I felt really
fortunate that people
who were fans of the
first movie wanted to
come on board and be a
part of it. There is definitely
a few surprises in there,”
says Stiller.
He does, however, admit to
feeling frustrated at having to reveal so much
before the film’s release, saying that he wishes
"everything could be a surprise" – a statement
now all the more poignant since Cumberbatch’s
character has caused controversy among the
transgender community, some of whom find his
portrayal offensive.
At 50, Stiller still manages to pull off the male
D
uring 2015 Paris Fashion Week there
was an incident on the catwalk that
shocked both the film and fashion world.
During the finale of the Valentino show,
two runway superstars returned
after a 15-year hiatus: Derek
Zoolander and Hansel, aka
Hollywood heavyweights
Ben Stiller and Owen
Wilson, gatecrashing
the fashion show to
announce the long
awaited
Zoolander
sequel.
“That was really
exciting and scary
because it was a big
surprise – you can't trip and
it was a big thing we worked on
for about a year to get to that point
and keep it a secret, and Anna [Wintour,
US Vogue
editor] was a big part of making
that happen too. The lead up to it was pretty
wild because we were hiding for three hours
backstage, the models didn't even know...” says
Stiller, who plays the hapless male model and
also directed and co-wrote the film which is due
out in February.
Zoolander 2
19
FEATURE
CINEMA
CINEMA
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
The lead up to it was
pretty wild because we
were hiding for three hours
backstage, the models
didn't even know...
•
Zoolander 2
is in cinemas on
Feb 11
and is
reviewed next
issue
Meet the Parents