Zoolander
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Ben Stiller
Stuart Cornfeld
Ben Stiller
John Hamburg
Owen Wilson
Christine Taylor
Will Ferrell
Jerry Stiller
Milla Jovovich
David Duchovny
Jon Voight
BT
Village Roadshow Pictures
VH1 Films
Red Hour Productions
September 28, 2001 United StatesZoolander is a 2001 comedy film directed by Ben Stiller. The film is based on a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the movie feature Derek Zoolander, a dimwitted male model. The title role is played by Ben Stiller, and in the feature film (which Stiller directed), Zoolander's agent, Maury Ballstein, is played by Stiller's father Jerry Stiller. It was banned and never released in Malaysia.
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[edit] Plot
Fashion mogul Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell) is charged by the fashion industry to find a male fashion model who can be brainwashed in order to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia at an upcoming fashion show in order to retain cheap child labor in that country. Mugatu, with help from model agent Maury Ballstein (Jerry Stiller), selects for the task the dimwitted Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller), formerly the top male fashion model in the world but displaced by the up-and-coming Hansel (Owen Wilson) at the latest VH1 Fashion Awards. After losing his fellow male models in a "freak gasoline-fight accident," Derek returns home to his father Spencer (Jon Voight) and tries to work alongside him in the coal mines, but is rejected by his family and returns back to New York City. Mugatu offers Derek a role in the upcoming "Derelique" fashion show, and through the guise of a spa treatment, brainwashes Zoolander so that he will attack and kill the Prime Minister when Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax" is played.
Journalist Matilda Jeffries (Christine Taylor), who wrote an article in Time on Derek after his loss to Hansel, becomes concerned for Derek due to the impact of the article, and starts following him, tracking him to a "walk-off" against Hansel being judged by David Bowie. Derek and Matilda learn from former superstar hand model J.P. Prewett (David Duchovny) of the fashion industry's influence on political events such as the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy and that Derek's life is in danger as the models are killed shortly after they complete their task. They are attacked by Mugatu's henchwoman, Katinka Ingabogovinana (Milla Jovovich), and her aides, and find safety at the home of Hansel, who offers to help when he hears of the conspiracy. Derek and Hansel break into Maury's office to find corroborating files they believe to be physically inside his iMac computer, but Derek leaves in order to make it to the fashion show on time.
At the show, Mugatu's discjockey (Justin Theroux), starts playing "Relax" as Derek takes the runway, and the mental programming takes effect. Hansel breaks into the discjockey's booth and switches the music to Herbie Hancock's "Rockit", breaking Derek's conditioning. Hansel and the discjockey begin "breakdance fighting", switching the music back and forth and bringing Derek closer to the Prime Minister, but ultimately Hansel unplugs the music system before the Prime Minister is harmed. Hansel offers Maury's computer as proof of the conspiracy but smashes it apart in an effort to show the critical files; however Maury publicly admits to the whole conspiracy. In the ensuing chaos, Mugatu attempts to kill the Prime Minister himself with a throwing star, but Derek throws himself into its path, turns left and releases his ultimate look, "Magnum", stopping the weapon.
In the film's dénouement, Derek, Hansel, and Maury have left the fashion industry to start "The Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good And Who Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too", while Derek and Matilda have wed and had a son who has already developed his first modeling look.
[edit] Reception
The film was never shown in Malaysia, the country figured prominently in the film, as it is depicted as impoverished and dependent on sweatshops. Malaysia's censorship board deemed it "definitely unsuitable".[1] The film was also banned in neighboring Singapore[2] due to bilateral sensitivities and the movie's excessive drug use.[citation needed] It was subsequently made available in Singapore in 2006,[3] with the R rating. The film is rated PG-13 for sexual content and drug references in the United States.
The movie's box office was hurt by the fact that it opened two weekends after the September 11, 2001 attacks; it was among the first comedy films after the occurrence to enter theaters. In the trailer for the Oliver Stone movie World Trade Center, a poster for Zoolander can be seen in the background as the shadow of the first plane to hit the WTC passes over New York City.
Despite its lackluster initial box office performance, the film developed a loyal cult following and solid DVD sales. It is often shown on Comedy Central and other cable channels.
The film was a moderate critic success scoring a 'Fresh' 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.com.
The movie has been recently resurfaced to be used as a media example for Apple Inc.'s brand of portable technologies: the iPod series and the iPhone.[citation needed]
The movie is also famous for inspiring musicians, references of the movie can be found in the band It Dies Today 's song "Freak Gasoline Fight Accident" which the title is based on a scene in the movie.
[edit] Derek Zoolander
Zoolander's name is derived from the last names of male models Mark Vanderloo and Johnny Zander. The original combination had been "Zanderloo," which Ben Stiller felt was too close to the original sources.[citation needed]
Throughout most of the film, Zoolander shows an inability to turn left. (Quote: "I'm not an ambi-turner.") To compensate, he will continuously turn right until he faces the correct direction. So, rather than making a 90° turn left, Zoolander will turn 270° right. However, a goof showed him exiting the awards show by turning left. In fact, an inability to turn left is one symptom experienced by those with Hemispatial neglect, a condition caused by damage to the right hemisphere of the brain. Patients with this problem compensate in the same way as Zoolander, turning right until they are facing the desired direction.[citation needed]
"Blue Steel" is the name of a male model pose in Zoolander. The film's protagonist Derek Zoolander invented the pose and he protects it as a trade secret (it is supposedly patented). It is his claim to fame, along with his "Spiky Black Hair". The style of the pose is identical to all his other named poses, which include "Le Tigre" and "Ferrari". This contributes to the running joke that despite his reputation as a male model, Zoolander knows only one pose. However, his "Magnum" pose that saved the Prime Minister is different from the others because he turns left, The reason he could not complete the pose Magnum was because he could not turn left, until the final scene where he uses "Magnum" to save the day.
Some quotes from Derek Zoolander: "I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, really ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is."
[edit] Mugatu
The name of the character Jacobim Mugatu is a reference to the Star Trek episode "A Private Little War." In the episode, there is a predatory, venomous primate called a "Mugato". It, like Zoolander's Mugatu, has bright white hair. Ben Stiller has said he is a huge Star Trek fan.
Additionally, when it is revealed that he was a former keyboardist for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, his real last name is shown to be "Moogberg": a reference to the Moog synthesizer and its inventor, Robert Moog.
"Derelicte" is the name given to the fashion line designed by Will Ferrell's character Mugatu. It is described by Mugatu in the film as "a fashion, a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique." The fashion line consists of clothing made from everyday objects that could be found on the streets of New York. Derelicte is a parody of a real fashion line created by John Galliano in 2000[4].
Mugatu is also a parody of the Bond villain Blofeld, who (in the films) is famous for his white cat. Mugatu on the other hand, is always seen with a white poodle.
[edit] Hansel
Hansel, played by Owen Wilson, is Derek Zoolander's rival in the film. As a hot newcomer in the modeling business, he takes the title from Derek as 'Male Model of the Year' in the VH1 awards, resulting in Derek announcing his retirement from modeling.
[edit] Parodic scenes
During Derek and Hansel's "walk-off" runway duel Hansel tells his assistant, "You gotta cut me" (referring to his bangs blocking his vision) in a parody of the prize fight scene from Rocky where the lead character, Rocky Balboa, tells his trainer Mick to lance the lid of his swollen eye, so that he can see to continue fighting. In the original scene, Rocky prompts Mick with the line "You gotta cut me."
The scene in which Derek and Hansel try to find Mugatu's files parodies the "dawn of man" scene from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, even featuring the famous Also sprach Zarathustra theme.
When Derek tells Maury Ballstein that he knows it was he who betrayed him, the background soundtrack is the theme from The Godfather Part II, mimicking the scene where Michael Corleone tells his brother Fredo that he has broken his heart by betraying the family.
The scene in which J.P. Prewitt reveals the power of the fashion industry parodies a similar scene between Jim Garrison and Mr. X from JFK.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Cameos
[edit] Glamorama (Novel)
Fans have noted similarities between Zoolander and the Bret Easton Ellis novel Glamorama. In 2005, Ellis stated that he was aware of the similarities, and said that he considered and attempted to take legal action.[1] Ellis was later asked about the similarities in a BBC interview.[2] In response to the question, he said that he is unable to discuss the similarities due to an out-of-court settlement.
