Ben Stiller has admitted that he doubts several of his popular comedy films from the 2000s, would have been able to be made today.
The actor, 59, said that changes in attitudes towards more problematic or offensive jokes – like those that littered his biggest hits – has created ‘landmines everywhere’.
Ben directed, co-wrote and starred in 2008 comedy, Tropic Thunder, about a group of hapless actors who are forced to fend for themselves after getting lost while filming a war movie on location in Vietnamese jungle.
While the film – which co-starred the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey – was a global hit upon release, it has attracted controversy for its offensive depictions of the disabled and racist overtones.
Discussing the action flick and his 2001 hit, Zoolander – which he also directed, co-wrote, and starred in and which gained a sequel in 2016 – Ben acknowledged that similar movies were less common today.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, he said: ‘For whatever reason, people going to the cinema for a comedy stopped being a thing. Maybe the tone they had in the 2000s was just of its time?’
Ben Stiller has admitted that he doubts several of his popular comedy films from the 2000s, would have been able to be made today (pictured last week)
Ben directed, co-wrote and starred in 2008 comedy, Tropic Thunder, about a group of hapless actors who are forced to fend for themselves after getting lost while filming a war movie on location in Vietnamese jungle (pictured in film)
Robert Downey J r.’s famously ‘dicey’ role in the movie saw his character donning blackface under the guise of a fictional procedure called ‘pigmentation alteration’ (seen)
Speaking about the number of jokes that would be deemed too offensive today, Ben described them as ‘landmines everywhere.’
He insisted that the real change in attitudes came with the advent of Twitter in 2009, saying it ‘changed everything’ by offering people ‘an immediate response’ to share their displeasure.
He then specifically referenced the character of Simple Jack, an intellectually disabled farm boy he plays in Tropic Thunder that sparked a coalition of more than 20 disability advocacy groups, branding it demeaning and likely to encourage bullying.
Recalling the controversy, Ben said: ‘It wasn’t a Twitter storm. Everything didn’t blow up. But instant reactivity can now, all of a sudden, just kill.’
He claimed that because of this, comedians were more wary about the jokes they made nowadays and also focused on pitching films that they thought studios would approve and would make lots of money, which he described as ‘awful’.
He said: ‘You’re more trepidatious, and there’s no denying the environment is more volatile, but when studios keep saying no, creatives will stop trying and, instead, pivot to movies they think will get made, and that’s awful.
‘Studios are trying to create movies that will make a billion dollars, but comedy is cut and dried. People are laughing or not. And that’s tough.’
Last year, Ben admitted that he doubted a film like Tropic Thunder would have been greenlit today, claiming ‘edgier’ comedy is now ‘just harder to do’.
Discussing the action flick and his 2001 hit, Zoolander (pictured) – which he also directed, co-wrote, and starred in and which gained a sequel in 2016 – Ben acknowledged that similar movies were less common today
Speaking about the number of jokes that would be deemed too offensive today, Ben described them as ‘landmines everywhere’, and specifically referenced the character of Simple Jack, an intellectually disabled farm boy he plays in Tropic Thunder (pictured)
Asked if a film like that could be made in the current environment in an interview with Collider in November, he replied: ‘I doubt it. Definitely not at the scale we made it at, too, in terms of the economics of the business.’
He admitted that even in 2008, the film was seen as risky, explaining: ‘I think even at the time we were fortunate to get it made, and I credit that, actually, to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks.
‘He read it and was like, “Alright, let’s make this thing.” It’s a very inside movie when you think about it.’
He then referenced Robert Downey Jr.’s famously ‘dicey’ role in the movie, which sees his character donning blackface under the guise of a fictional procedure called ‘pigmentation alteration’.
Ben confessed: ‘The idea of Robert playing that character who’s playing an African American character, I mean, incredibly dicey.
‘Even at the time, of course, it was dicey too. The only reason we attempted it was I felt like the joke was very clear in terms of who that joke was on – actors trying to do anything to win awards.’
‘But now, in this environment, I don’t even know if I would have ventured to do it, to tell you the truth. I’m being honest.’
Discussing the film in 2020, Robert admitted he had his own reservations about taking the role, which ultimately netted him a 2009 Oscar nomination, before having a change of heart.
Last year, Ben admitted that he doubted a film like Tropic Thunder would have been greenlit today, claiming ‘edgier’ comedy is now ‘just harder to do’ (L-R Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black in film)
He told The Joe Rogan Experience: ‘I thought: “Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll do that after Iron Man”. And then I started thinking, “This is a terrible idea.”
‘I thought: “Hold on, dude. Get real here. Where is your heart?” My heart is a) I get to be black for a summer in my mind, so there’s something in it for me.
‘The other thing is I get to hold up to nature the insane, self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they’re allowed to do on occasion.’
Ben has previously refused to issue an apology on behalf of Tropic Thunder, and staunchly defended the film – which he co-wrote with Justin Theroux – on X in 2023.
After a fan tweeted at the star begging him to stop apologising for the comedy, he replied: ‘I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder. Don’t know who told you that.
‘It’s always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.’
