Ben Stiller doubts a movie like Tropic Thunder would have been greenlit in the current climate.
The 58-year-old actor, who directed and starred in the now-controversial 2008 action-comedy film, said the “edgier” comedy is now “just harder to make,” in a new interview with Collider.
When asked if a film like that, which has since been labeled as racially offensive, could be made in today’s environment, he replied: “I doubt it.”
He added: “Definitely not at the scale we reached, nor in terms of the economics of the business.”
‘I think even at the time we were lucky to pull it off, and I actually attribute it to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks. He read it and said, ‘All right, let’s do this.’ It’s a very internal movie when you think about it.’
He then referenced Robert Downey Jr.’s “uncertain” role in the film, which has been criticized for its use of “blackface.”
Ben Stiller, 58, doubts a movie like Tropic Thunder could have been made in the current climate; He is photographed on November 10 in West Hollywood.
The actor, who directed and starred in the now-controversial 2008 film, said that “edgier” comedy is “just harder to make” in this environment, in a new interview with Collider; seen in a frame
Downey Jr.’s character undergoes a fictional procedure called ‘pigmentation alteration’ to play a black soldier in a film.
“The idea of Robert playing this character who plays an African-American character is incredibly risky,” Stiller said.
Of course, at that time it was also risky. The only reason we tried it was because I felt the joke was very clear in terms of who it was aimed at: 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 the truth. I’m being honest.’
Last year, Stiller staunchly defended Tropic Thunder, which also starred tom cruise, Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey – and insisted he is ‘proud’ of the hit film after it came under fire from a woke crowd over Downey Jr’s ‘blackface’.
She denied apologizing on behalf of her hit sitcom after woke millennials attacked it for perceived racist undertones and offensive depictions of the disabled.
The Stiller-directed film about a group of hapless actors who are forced to fend for themselves after getting lost while filming a war movie in the Vietnamese jungle was a global hit after its release in 2008.
However, in recent years it has been considered racially insensitive in some quarters due to Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor who surgically darkens his skin pigment to play an African-American soldier.
Stiller defended the film in a post on X (formerly Twitter) and insisted that he never apologized for his decision to develop the film from an original script co-written by the actor and Justin Theroux.
When asked if a film like that, which has since been labeled as racially offensive, could be made now, he replied: “I doubt it.”
He then referenced Robert Downey Jr.’s “uncertain” role in the film, which has been criticized for its use of “blackface”; Stiller pictured in a photo with Donwey Jr.
Of course, at that time it was also risky. The only reason we tried it was because I felt the joke was very clear in terms of who it was aimed at: actors trying to do anything to win awards,” Stiller said; Downey Jr. pictured in a photo
‘But now, in this environment, I don’t even know if I would have ventured to do it, to tell the truth. “I’m being honest,” he added.
His admission was a response to one of the numerous posts published in defense of the film.
‘@BenStiller Please stop apologizing for making this movie. It was and still is funny AF… Even funnier now with cancel culture what it is. It’s a MOVIE.
‘Everyone (sic) can get over it. “I was DYING laughing when I first saw it back in the day, just like everyone else,” the post read.
In response, Stiller tweeted: ‘I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder. I don’t know who told you that. It’s always been a controversial movie since we released it. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.’
A second social media follower drew attention to a historic tweet from the actor, posted in response to a light-hearted claim that Tropic Thunder should be banned after American snowboarder Shaun White dressed as Simple Jack, a disabled character in the film , for Halloween in 2018.
Stiller commented at the time: “Actually, Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then.”
“It was always intended to mock actors who tried to do anything to win awards. I stand by my apologies, the movie, Shaun White, and the great people and work of @SpecialOlympics.”
Upon its release, the film sparked a coalition of more than 20 disability advocacy groups, including the Special Olympics, to protest the liberal use of the word “retarded.”
More recently, Downey Jr. has been the target of woke millennials for his role as a white actor playing a black character, despite the self-conscious nature of Stiller’s script and his decision to seek approval from the NAACP. for the Advancement of People of Color). ) before its release.
The Stiller-directed film about a group of hapless actors who are forced to fend for themselves after getting lost in the Vietnamese jungle was a hit upon its release in 2008.
Last year, Stiller staunchly defended Tropic Thunder, which also stars Tom Cruise, Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey, and insisted he is “proud” of the film.
A second social media follower drew attention to a historic tweet from the actor, posted in response to a light-hearted claim that Tropic Thunder should be banned.
His admission was a response to one of the numerous posts published in defense of the film.
Discussing the film in 2020, Downey Jr. admitted that he had his own reservations about taking on the role, which ultimately earned him an Oscar nomination in 2009, before changing his mind.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do that. I’ll do it after Iron Man,'” he told The Joe Rogan Experience. And then I started thinking, “This is a terrible idea.”
“I thought, ‘Wait, man. Be realistic. Where is your heart?” My heart is a) In my mind I can be black for a summer, so there is something for me.
“The other thing is that I can expose to nature the crazy, selfish hypocrisy of artists and what they think they are allowed to do sometimes.”