“I must have really screwed up”: the failure of this film traumatized Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller looks back at the failure of Zoolander 2

Ben Stiller has several cult comedies to his credit, such as Maria at all costs (1998) or Me and my stepfather (2000). But also Dodge ball! Not even hurt! (2004) or the trilogy Night at the Museum (2006, 2009, 2014), without forgetting Zoolander (2002), which he also directed. A totally absurd film in which Ben Stiller plays Derek Zoolander, a successful model who loses everything from one day to the next. What follows is a series of improbable and comical situations that will lead the hero to have to foil an assassination attempt.

With his 60 million dollars in his pocket, for a budget of 28 million dollars, Zoolander it was a good success for Ben Stiller. Only, almost 15 years later, his attempt to bring Derek Zoolander back into the spotlight with a sequel was successful a failure. Produced on a much larger budget, estimated at $50 million, Zoolander 2 it only grossed $56 million worldwide.

But above all, if the first work had a rather positive reception from the press and public, Zoolander 2 for its part it has had catastrophic returns. On Rotten Tomatoes, the feature film has only 20% positive reviews between journalists and spectators. What Ben Stiller went through, as he revealed on David Duchovny’s podcast, Fail better (through Variety).

“I didn’t know it was that bad.”

During his speech, Ben Stiller explained that he really thought so Zoolander 2 it was what the public expected. But she received a real slap in the face when she saw the first box office figures and press feedbackwhich made him question himself.

I thought, “Wow, I must have really screwed it up.” The audience wasn’t there. And the reviews were horrible.

Ben Stiller also shared his worries and his questions with the fear of no longer being able to make people laugh.

It really scared me because I didn’t know it was that serious. And what scared me most about this experience was that I felt like I didn’t know what was funny anymore.

The actor was”taken aback“from this unexpected failure for him, but who had it”affected for a long timeWhich doesn’t stop him take the positive since, according to him, in case of success of Zoolander 2, the producers would surely have pushed for him to make a third and he would have jumped at the chance. But instead, Ben Stiller was able to take the time to focus on other projects, comedic and otherwise. For example, he recovered very well in the series with Escape to Dannemora (2018) e Separation (2022) as producer and director. Furthermore, filming for the second season has just concluded for the latter.

Source: Cine Serie

Ray

Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.