Inside the Making of Zoolander, 20 Years Later

Ben Stiller and others tell us what the comedy classic almost was, and how it went from box office flop to a movie we still quote today.

View in Browser      SHOP EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBE     'Zoolander' at 20: How a Post-9/11 Flop Became the Comedy Everyone's Still Quoting Critics hated Zoolander. The Washington Post described it as "a one-joke movie," while Time Out wrote that it was "a vanity comedy that fails at every level." Audiences at the time weren't much hotter on the flick; the film earned only $15 million during its opening weekend, just about half of its production budget. Many millions of Blue Steel references and I think I'm getting the black lung, Pop jokes later, that's all a little hard to imagine. Certainly timing was a factor: the Ben Stiller-led satire hit theaters just two weeks after 9/11. "It was such a hard time with comedy," recalls actress Christine Taylor, who played the investigatory journalist-turned love interest, Matilda. "Laughing might be a remedy in the moment, but the truth of the matter is, people weren't ready." Read More     The Best Winter Jeans Are Lined With Fleece The two-in-one style will keep your legs warm and toasty in the bitter cold. Read More     Warby Parker Just Reissued a Classic With the Help of 'The Paris Review' The Roland is back, and it's well read in bold style. Read More     You Can Buy Apple's AirPods Pro on Amazon for Under $200 This deal, which shaves $52 off the asking price, is music to our ears. Read More     The 52 Best Gifts That'll Impress Any Guy Finding that fail-proof gift for a man's birthday, anniversary, or holiday is suddenly a lot less daunting. Read More     'The Wall Street Journal' Just Dropped a Bomb on the Federal Judiciary In a dazzling exposé, The Wall Street Journal reveals that more than 130 federal judges have violated federal law by overseeing court cases involving companies in which they or their families own stock. The story seems to have caught most of the federal judicial branch completely flatfooted. In case you were wondering, judges (and their families) can own stocks, but they're legally obligated not to sit on cases to which the companies in which they hold stock are parties. This seems very simple, but of the examples presented are positively garish. Read More         The Crisis Facing America's Park Rangers The mounting emergencies of the modern world—suicides, homelessness, climate disasters— are now prevalent in America's most beautiful places: its wilderness parks. The rangers who care for them wonder how long they can last. Welcome to the front lines of the new great outdoors. Read More     Follow Us Unsubscribe | Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection esquire.com ©2021 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019