So how did you go from Evil DJ to co-writing Zoolander 2 with Ben?
It was difficult…. Me and Ben had been friends during that period, and subsequent to that we’d written Tropic Thunder together, and then when Tropic Thunder ended I kept asking what was going on with Zoolander because if there was going to be a sequel, I really wanted to be a part of it. And when it came up, he asked me to write it with him, and so I did.
Have you had ideas gestating for the past 15 years?
I really just knew that I loved those characters and felt that I could write their voices. We went through a lot of ideas, and then just went ‘ok’ because it was a little daunting. Once we got into story and the larger idea of where it was going to be set and the world it was going to exist in, then it just became fun. Weirdly, we played it straight when we talked about it. Taking into account that it’s been 14 years since we’ve seen them, it became about what have they done in those last 14 years? Where are they in their lives as middle aged men as opposed to hot young models? Once we got into the story and knew the spine of it, then it’s just about decorating the Christmas tree and having as much fun as possible.
When you have a movie like this with so much expectation… do you expand on your acting role in the film during writing?
There’s no real space for it. I do reprise Evil DJ, we’ll see him again. I’m a pre-existing character from the first one, but I wasn’t trying to make that role bigger than it needed to be. People want to see Derek, Hansel and Mugatu, and then any other parts that we can create. They’re the stars of the show.
It’s still just as shallow as it was. What changed and what was fun and we capitalised on, was that many things didn’t even exist when we last saw Derek and Hansel. Internet bloggers, Twitter, Instagram, iPads… the way that fashion is disseminated has changed completely. In the first film they were using mini flip phones and there wasn’t really any internet presence. The world for them has changed drastically and we just got to capitalise on that by introducing a new wave of characters that they wouldn’t necessarily understand.
What are some of the things in the fashion world that you find most bizarre and that you worked into the script?
Nothing bizarre. But the gender lines of models and trans-gender models are things that Derek and Hansel might not understand. Or something as simple as Instagram would be something that they’d have trouble figuring out. But essentially, the beauty of it is that fashion is still as flamboyant and absurd as it ever was.
Did you go to fashion shows for inspiration?
I went to Paris just when we started writing it, and did the full Paris Fashion Week, and had a blast. People take it so seriously, and the fun part is obviously watching the people taking it so seriously. But also the nightlife, the parties and the elaborate dinners that they would have for the designers and models. That’s when you get to interact and talk to these people. It’s like Cirque Du Soleil without the gymnasts. If you think about it, enormous amounts of energy, money, attention goes into what is essentially a ten minute show, and then it’s over.
Did Anna Wintour have any input?
Ben consulted with her on some stuff. She’s lovely. Right when we were starting out she had us at the Met Ball, and I was taking pictures as well. I don’t know what I was wearing, a suit…
There’s a full list of celebs in this movie. How was it choosing the cast?
It was a dream. The first one, Ben couldn’t get anyone to do it. Because no one really knew what the movie was, and didn’t know how it would play out, they didn’t want to be made fun of. But the second one, even during the writing stage everyone wanted to be in it. They said, ‘Please for just one second, I’ll do anything.’ So in the writing of it we were able to just go ‘Enter this person, enter that person.’ And we got most of them; we stood a really good chance of getting a lot of them. It was great. It’s rare, and you can only do that with a sequel of a big movie; writing cameos that people want to do.
When did you first meet Ben?
I was doing a play on Broadway and his then girlfriend was in the play and he came. I was a huge fan of the short lived Ben Stiller Show, which I thought was a ground breaking piece of television, and probably why it was cancelled. But I really liked it and when I saw him I really nerded out and told him it was the best thing and was quoting bits. So he was flattered. We just became friends and then we would write little things together. We’d work on bits when he was going on talk shows, I started showing him my writing, and he was a big fan of my dialogue, but I didn’t really understand structure. He really gave me an education in those early years on what it meant to write and what it looked like. And eventually we became great collaborators. We find similar things funny in life, particularly in the industry that we’re in. I think that’s why Tropic Thunder… any time you have a film camera, and big personalities… There’s insane people in Los Angeles and Hollywood.
What’s Ben Stiller’s set like?
He works incredibly hard. And it shows. The scope of his films are really big. He’s not operating on a different budget to anyone, he just puts in more hours than anyone I know. He’s not ever not working. He’ll finish up a 16 hour day, and I’ll be going back to rest… this is in Hawaii, and I’d see him jogging and talking on the phone, and I’m like ‘How are you doing this?’ And then he’d get home and I’m about to go to bed, and he’d call saying ‘We should work on these pages for tomorrow.’ Then I’d be emailing him at midnight and about to go to bed, and he’ll call to discuss more changes. You might be doing 120% and he’d be doing 130%.
Zoolander 2 is released in cinemas on February 11.
