DEREK Zoolander himself, Hollywood actor Ben Stiller, helped break a world record for the world’s longest selfie stick at the premiere of ‘Zoolander 2’ in London on Thursday (February 4).
The stick, which Stiller held over his head with a mobile device attached to the end of it, measured in at around eight and half metres and a judge from the Guinness Book of Records was on hand to confirm the record-breaking effort.
Stars of ‘Zoolander 2’, including Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell were all captured in shot by Stiller’s selfie.
The film itself shows how people thought of as some of the world’s most beautiful, including musician Justin Bieber, are targeted by a mysterious group of assassins.
It is then up to world renowned male model Derek Zoolander to come out of retirement alongside his old friend Hansel (Owen Wilson) and detective Montana Grosso (Penelope Cruz) to investigate the crimes.
During their search to find both Zoolander’s long lost son and the evildoers behind the murders, they come across an old nemesis from the original movie, the fashion mogul Mugatu (Will Ferrell).
Ferrell, who has starred in a number of cult classic comedies including ‘Old School’, described how it is difficult to predict whether a film will achieve cult status.
“You know, I think for all of us, Owen and Ben and myself, these movies that we’ve done that have, you know, kind of found their little way with pop culture and the Zeitgeist, it’s always… we’re thankful for it but we kind of, you can’t just predict what’s going to work and what’s not so it’s both flattering and just bizarre and that something like this would, kind of, like a fine wine over the years just grow in stature. So, it’s fun, even though it’s been this long, it’s to step back into the shoes of these characters and get to deliver them in a new way with a new story,” Ferrell told Reuters TV.
The film’s lead star, Ben Stiller, spoke on how the original ‘Zoolander’ was only moderately successful at the box office when released in 2001 before building a cult following in the years that followed.
“I have no idea, honestly. I feel like the movie, you know, when it came out not everybody saw it. It was, I guess, a little bit out there. And, somehow, it got discovered over the years, which has been great. And we didn’t actually ever think we were going to do a sequel and then the last few years the momentum started building and now all the pieces came together and so I’m happy that we did,” said Stiller.
He also added that fashion offers a range of opportunities for comedy material and he commented on how ‘Zoolander’ has grown so popular.
“I really feel that people relate to the characters in ‘Zoolander’ more than anything and obviously the fashion industry is very easy to have fun with because everybody has to take themselves seriously to be taken seriously and it’s outsized personalities and all that, but showbiz has a lot of that too. So, it’s all kind of part of the same thing and really, ultimately, it’s the characters in ‘Zoolander’ that people connect with.”
Wilson, who also starred in the original ‘Zoolander’, commented on his in-character appearance at a Valentino fashion show in 2015 alongside Stiller.
“Well, I know when we were walking out in Paris at the Valentino fashion show that we were kind of nervous about what the reaction was going to be and I think they really had a sense of humour about themselves and seemed to kind of embrace it. Yeah,” he said.
Kristen Wiig, who appears in the movie as the enigmatic Alexanya, joked about whether she has her own equivalent of Derek Zoolander’s famed ‘Blue Steel’ pose for red carpet events, “Yeah, it’s pretty awkward when you’re out there to be honest. Sometimes you get like a little twitch and your lips start shaking because your smiling. That happens. You need to know this.”
‘Zoolander 2’ is released in the UK on February 12. (Reuters)