Zoolander (2001)

At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers:

Drake Sather (character Derek Zoolander), Ben Stiller (character Derek Zoolander)

Stars:

Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor

1 win & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Stiller	...	Derek Zoolander
Owen Wilson	...	Hansel
Christine Taylor	...	Matilda Jeffries
Will Ferrell	...	Mugatu
Milla Jovovich	...	Katinka
Jerry Stiller	...	Maury Ballstein
David Duchovny	...	J.P. Prewitt
Jon Voight	...	Larry Zoolander
Judah Friedlander	...	Scrappy Zoolander
Nathan Lee Graham	...	Todd
Alexandre Manning	...	Brint (as Alexander Manning)
Asio Highsmith	...	Rufus
Alexander Skarsgård	...	Meekus
Donald Trump	...	Donald Trump
Christian Slater	...	Christian Slater

Storyline

Derek Zoolander is VH1's three time male model of the year, but when Hansel wins the award instead, Zoolander's world becomes upside down. His friends disappear, his father is disappointed in him, and he feels that he's not good as a model anymore. But when evil fashion guru Mugatu hires Zoolander, he thinks his life has turned back round again, that is until he finds out that Mugatu has actually brainwashed him to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Can Zoolander and his new friends find out how to prevent the incident before it's too late?

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Plot Keywords:

male model | fashion model | abraham lincoln character | john wilkes booth character | fashion | 

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Taglines:

3% Body Fat. 1% Brain Activity.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and drug references

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Derek Zoolander

Filming Locations:

Corner of N. Moore St. & W. Broadway, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,525,043, 30 September 2001

Gross USA:

$45,172,250

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,780,981

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, VH1 Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Trance artist BT was originally scoring the film in collaboration with Ben Stiller, but was replaced with Composer David Arnold.

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Goofs

When Mugatu is explaining to Derek why he wants him to campaign for him, Todd brings him a large coffee. Mugatu spits it out, with no foam mustache, and for a second a foam mustache appears. After Derek's surprised look, it disappears again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
(Announcer): And here in Malaysia, there is an almost overwhelming sense of euphoria as the newly-elected prime minister has given this nation a gift of hope promising to raise the substandard minimum wage and end child labor once and for all. Already considered a living saint he has become this small country's greatest hope for a thriving future in the new millennium.

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Alternate Versions

The original DVD and a 2014 Blu-ray (with the same green and white artwork) that was very briefly available but pulled from shelves use the original plain end credits sequence with names in flying blue text and no other visuals, transitioning to the crawl a few moments before the music changes. The 2016 Blu-ray (with new extras) changes those credits to the alternate ones (previously available as an extra feature), with Mugatu dancing around clips of the movie illustrating each actor; it then abruptly changes music when the crawl starts (and leaves the last portion of the crawl silent), giving an overall sloppy feel. The original version of the credits does not appear to be available on this edition. The framing of the movie overall seems a little iffy on the 2016 edition as well.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Will Ferrell/Hannibal Buress/Dustin Lynch (2016)

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Soundtracks

Ruffneck
by Matt Cantor, Aston Harvey & Navigator (as Raymond Crawford)
Performed by Freestylers (as The Freestylers) featuring Navigator
Courtesy of Mammoth Records and Courtesy of Freskanova Records

User Reviews

AUSTIN Posers--Hip, Daffy, Yet Kinda Sweet

In Entertainment Weekly, Ben Stiller described this feature-length adventure of the moronic male model he created for the VH1 Fashion Awards as "MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE meets EYES OF LAURA MARS." Me, I can sum it up in two words: "AUSTIN Posers." No, better yet, I'll boil it down to one word: "endearing." That's right, endearing! As lighthearted as it is lightheaded, this daffy spoof of conspiracy thrillers and the mad, mod world of male models and other hipsters has a surprising undercurrent of sweetness to it. Star/director/co-writer/co-producer Stiller plays dopey Derek Zoolander as a gentle, essentially kind-hearted naif under his hip veneer. The same is true of Owen Wilson, putting his twang and quirky humor to good use as Derek's rustic yet hippy-dippy rival-turned-ally Hansel. I suspect folks will like ZOOLANDER even better on DVD, since there are tons of hilarious extended scenes and deleted scenes as well as the original Zoolander TV sketches that Stiller & Co. did for VH1. As Derek says in the voiceover intros on the DVD menu, the ZOOLANDER disc is a wonderful introduction to "the world of DiviDuh"! :-)