Zoolander 2


Zoolander 2 is a 2016 American action comedy film co-produced and directed by Ben Stiller who wrote the script alongside Justin Theroux, John Hamburg, and Nicholas Stoller. The sequel to the 2001 film Zoolander, the film stars most of the principal cast members from the previous film reprising their roles such as Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor, Milla Jovovich, Nathan Lee Graham, Theroux, Billy Zane, Tommy Hilfiger, and Jerry Stiller, while Alexander Skarsgård and Andy Dick also returned in different roles. New cast members include Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen.
Filming took place from April to July 2015, in Rome, Italy. The film was released on February 12, 2016, by Paramount Pictures, to mostly negative reviews from critics and was a box-office flop, earning $56.7 million against a $50–55 million budget. It was dedicated to the memory of Drake Sather, the co-creator of the character Derek Zoolander and a writer on the first film, who committed suicide in March 2004.

Plot

Agent Valentina Valencia of Interpol's fashion division, a former swimsuit model, examines the expressions of recently-assassinated pop singers' last images, believing they match Derek Zoolander's signature look, "Blue Steel". A flashback via news reports reveals that the Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too collapsed two days after opening, killing Derek's wife Matilda Jeffries and injuring his former-rival-turned-best-friend Hansel McDonald, while Jacobim Mugatu received two consecutive life sentences for attempting to assassinate the Malaysian Prime Minister, with co-conspirator and Derek's agent Maury Ballstein turning states evidence and disappearing into the Witness Protection Program. Derek later lost custody of his and Matilda's son, Derek Zoolander Jr., retired from modeling and subsequently became reclusive.
Billy Zane visits Derek in "extreme northern" New Jersey, invites him to the House of Atoz fashion show by "Queen of Haute Couture" Alexanya Atoz, and persuades him to resume a regular lifestyle in order to regain custody of his son. In the "uncharted Malibu territories", Hansel is informed by his orgy that they are all pregnant by him; Zane later arrives and invites him to the fashion show. After reconciling at the event following an acrimonious reunion, Derek and Hansel surprisingly discover that the ever-changing fashion world is now dominated by the likes of hipster fashion mogul Don Atari and the non-binary All. Forced onto the runway in "Old" and "Lame" outfits, they are doused by a large bucket of prunes. Afterwards, Alexanya sarcastically congratulates them.
Valentina tracks down the duo and instructs them to help Interpol uncover the assassin. Through her, Derek discovers his son is residing at a local orphanage. When they meet, Derek is distraught by his son's obesity. After Matilda's ghost asks him to protect their son, Hansel convinces Derek to accept Derek Jr. After meeting the Headmaster, Derek guides his son around Rome. However, Derek Jr. becomes disgruntled with his father and returns to the orphanage.
Hansel is anonymously contacted and ordered to travel to St. Peter's Basilica at midnight. He, Derek, and Valentina meet with Sting, who recounts the tale of Adam and Eve and the little-known Steve, a secret many popstars have died to protect. Sting reveals that Steve, the common ancestor of all models, and Derek Jr., his closest descendant, hold the bloodline of the Fountain of Youth. Derek returns to the orphanage to find it in disrepair, discovering that Derek Jr. and the Headmaster, revealed as the Evil DJ, have disappeared.
Derek encounters Mugatu at the Fashion Prison and attempts to interrogate him, but Mugatu tricks him, traps him, and escapes. Infiltrating the House of Atoz, Hansel witnesses Mugatu reuniting with Alexanya and killing Don Atari, and also discovers Derek Jr. has been imprisoned. At the IncrediBALL, he, Derek, and Valentina enter a bathhouse, discovering Derek Jr. strapped to a sacrificial table. Mugatu and numerous fashion designers prepare to cut out Derek Jr.'s heart and consume his blood, believing it to grant them eternal youth. Derek, Hansel, and Valentina successfully interrupt Mugatu, who reveals that he actually gathered the designers together to kill them and avenge his imprisonment.
Revealing herself as Mugatu's disguised henchwoman Katinka Ingabogovinananananana, Alexanya attacks Valentina, while Mugatu reveals to Derek that he sabotaged Derek's Center by having the construction crew build the base with faulty materials. Mugatu then throws an explosive towards the lava, which Derek halts with his "Magnum" look but struggles to keep suspended in mid-air. After Sting arrives and reveals himself as Hansel's father, he, Derek, Hansel, and Derek Jr. successfully use the "El Niño" look to hurl the explosive towards Mugatu, presumably killing him in the process. Derek Jr. forgives his father for his mother's death and Derek and Valentina confess their love for each other, with Matilda's ghost arriving to give them her blessing.
Six weeks later, Derek and Hansel have resumed modeling. Hansel resumes living with his orgy and has now fathered 10 children. Derek and Valentina have a daughter named Darlene V. Zoolander, while Derek Jr. becomes the next hot model and is now in a relationship with Malala Yousafzai. Derek and Hansel celebrate with their friends, Derek's family, and a newly-reformed Mugatu, who apparently survived the explosion.

Cast

In December 2008, Stiller confirmed that he wanted to make a sequel to Zoolander, saying: "I've been trying to get Zoolander 2 together and we've had a few scripts. I feel that is the sequel I really would like to do some day because I like the original and I would make sure it was something new and worthy of it first." When interviewed on the May 15, 2009 episode of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Stiller said he was looking at a number of scripts. By February 2010, Justin Theroux, who also co-wrote Tropic Thunder with Stiller, was hired to write and direct the sequel. By the following month, Stiller confirmed he would be co-writing the script, stating, "We're in the process of getting a script written, so it's in the early stages. But yeah, it's going to happen." At some later, unspecified point, Stiller had taken over as director. On the December 17, 2010 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Owen Wilson said a Zoolander sequel would likely be made, tentatively titled Twolander.
In January 2011, Stiller confirmed that the script had been completed, and described the plot: "It's ten years later and most of it is set in Europe... it's basically Derek and Hansel... though the last movie ended on a happy note a lot of things have happened in the meantime. Their lives have changed and they’re not really relevant anymore. It's a new world for them. Will Ferrell is written into the script and he's expressed interest in doing it. I think Mugatu is an integral part of the Zoolander story, so yes, he features in a big way." In July 2012, Stiller described a difficult development process: "We have a script, as we've had for a little while, and is not quite coming together right now but I hope it does. I would like to do it at some point in the future." In September 2014, Ferrell said of the sequel, "We are actually supposed to do a read-through of a sequel script soon, and Mugatu is a part of it."
By November 20, 2014, Penélope Cruz had joined the cast, and by January 29, 2015, Christine Taylor was confirmed to reprise her role as Matilda Jeffries. By February 9, 2015, it was announced filming was set to commence at Rome's Cinecittà studios in the spring of 2015. On March 10, 2015, Stiller and Wilson appeared at the Paris Fashion Week in character as Derek Zoolander and Hansel McDonald. On April 13, 2015, it was revealed Cyrus Arnold had been cast as Zoolander's son. On April 21, 2015, Fred Armisen joined the cast. In May 2015, Stiller revealed via Instagram the casting of Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, and Nathan Lee Graham. Stiller offered former First Lady Laura Bush a cameo appearance in the orgy scene, but she politely declined.
Principal photography began on April 7, 2015, and ended on July 13, 2015. The film was shot at Cinecittà studios in Rome, Italy. During production, a 96 camera bullet time rig was used to catch the end sequence, but the footage was not used.