Editing Zoolander (section)

== Production ==
===Development===
Ben Stiller first created the character for a skit at the1996 VH1 Fashion Awards.<ref name="Kaplan"/> The name "Derek Zoolander" was invented by Bates while he was editing the first short film and was inspired by the names of two male models who both worked for [[Calvin Klein]]: the [[Dutch people|Dutchman]] [[Mark Vanderloo]] and the [[Americans|American]] Johnny Zander.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/video/media/2016/02/12/model-jonny-zander-inspired-zoolander-movie.cnnmoney/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306220758/http://money.cnn.com/video/media/2016/02/12/model-jonny-zander-inspired-zoolander-movie.cnnmoney/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |title=Meet the model who inspired 'Zoolander' |author1=Bronte Lord |author2=Logan Whiteside |author3=Alison Kosik |name-list-style=amp |publisher=[[CNNMoney]] }}</ref><ref name="Foreman">{{cite web |date=February 12, 2016 |last=Foreman |first=Katya |title=The male model: How did we get to Zoolander? |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160212-the-male-model-how-did-we-get-to-zoolander |website=BBC Culture }}</ref>

===Casting===
Owen Wilson  was Stiller's first choice for the role of Hansel but it was uncertain if he would be available and auditions were held. [[Jake Gyllenhaal]] auditioned for the role. Andy Dick was going to play Mugatu, but was unavailable due to a previous commitment to the TV show ''[[Go Fish (TV series)|Go Fish]]''.<ref name="Kaplan">{{cite web |date=28 September 2021 |last1=Kaplan |first1=Ilana |title=''Zoolander'' at 20: How a Post-9/11 Flop Became the Comedy Everyone's Still Quoting |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a37762711/zoolander-20th-anniversary-ben-stiller-interview/ |website=Esquire |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220100851/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a37762711/zoolander-20th-anniversary-ben-stiller-interview/ |archive-date= Dec 20, 2023 }}</ref><ref name="vf-history-20">{{cite web |first1=Andrew |last1=Buss |title="But Why Male Models?": An Oral History of Zoolander |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/zoolander-20th-anniversary-oral-history |website=[[Vanity Fair (magazines)|Vanity Fair]] |publisher=Condé Nast |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930124439/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/zoolander-20th-anniversary-oral-history |archive-date=2021-09-30 |date=30 September 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> Stiller had originally intended to play Derek's agent Maury as well, but was already set to play the lead role and direct the film, leading him to cast his father Jerry Stiller as Maury instead.<ref name="newsau">{{Cite web |last=Coy |first=Bronte |date=September 11, 2017 |title=16 years on: What you never knew about Zoolander |url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/16-years-on-what-you-never-knew-about-zoolander/news-story/ed99c5eb7a0e601ec029b7fb8272bb2c |access-date=March 11, 2022 |website=[[News.com.au]]}}</ref>

[[David Bowie]] appeared as himself as the judge of the walk-off scene, filming his cameo in September 2000. He later stated, "It was just too funny a script to walk past. An absolute hoot!"<ref name="Pegg" /> With his entrance accompanied by a freeze-frame and a snippet of his song "[[Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance]]" (1983), biographer [[Nicholas Pegg]] describes Bowie's appearance as "willingly sending up the media's image of him as the ultimate arbiter of cool."<ref name="Pegg">{{cite book |last=Pegg |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Pegg |title=The Complete David Bowie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LqFkDQAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Titan Books]] |location=London |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78565-365-0 |edition=Revised and Updated |page=679}}</ref>

=== Filming ===
The opening scenes were filmed at the real life 2000 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards during commercial breaks.

"Derelicte" is the name given to the fashion line designed by Mugatu and is a parody of a real fashion line created by [[John Galliano]] in 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 1, 2008 |title=Political Threads |url=http://onthemedia.org/transcripts/2008/02/01/08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207141402/http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2008/02/01/08 |archive-date=February 7, 2008 |access-date=February 9, 2008 |publisher=[[On the Media]]}}</ref> It is described by Mugatu in the film as "a fashion, a way of life inspired by the very [[homeless]], the [[vagrants]], the [[crack whore]]s that make this wonderful city so unique."  The fashion line in the film consists of clothing made from everyday objects that could be found on the streets of New York. Galliano used clothing worn by the destitute as an inspiration for a real-life fashion line in 2000.

During the scene in which David Duchovny, as J.P. Prewett, explains the conspiracy to Derek, he finishes answering Derek's original question "Why male models?" only for Stiller, in character, to ask again, "But why male models?" Stiller [[ad libitum|improvised]] this line because he had forgotten what he was actually supposed to say, but Duchovny allowed it, replying in character, "You serious? I just... I just told you that a moment ago."<ref name=newsau/>

The original ending to the film would have entailed Derek getting fatally struck by a train and ascending to [[heaven]], but the idea was scrapped as the producers feared they could not fit it into the film's original budget.<ref name=newsau/>

=== Censorship ===
''Zoolander'' was never shown in [[Malaysia]], as the film depicts an attempted assassination of the Malaysian prime minister. [[Film Censorship Board of Malaysia|Malaysia's censorship board]] deemed it "definitely unsuitable".<ref>{{cite news | title = Zoolander faces Malaysian censorship controversy | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/sep/28/filmcensorship.news | date = September 28, 2001 | publisher = [[TheGuardian.com]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Malaysia shuns Stiller's 'Zoolander' | url = https://apnews.com/32c6700a490095f52f85b0829c7a77eb | date = September 27, 2001 | work = [[Associated Press]] | access-date = April 2, 2019}}</ref> The film was also banned in neighboring [[Singapore]]<ref>{{cite news | title = Singapore bans US comedy film | date = February 8, 2002 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1809357.stm | publisher = BBC News}}</ref> due to "controversial elements" according to the country's Board of Film Censors.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-02-09 |title=Zoolander banned in Singapore |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/zoolander-banned-in-singapore/article18286381/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref> It was subsequently made available in Singapore in 2006,<ref>{{cite web | publisher = [[IMDb]] | title = Release dates for Zoolander (2001) | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196229/releaseinfo}}</ref> with an NC-16 rating. In the United States, the film was originally rated R for its sexual content, profanity and drug references, but was later re-rated PG-13 on appeal.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021 }}

In the Asian release, all references to the country of Malaysia were changed to [[Micronesia]], the subregion which Hansel mistook for Malaysia at one point in the western version.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/films/15-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-zoolander/86738|title=15 things you (probably) didn't know about Zoolander|date=2013-11-14|work=ShortList|access-date=2017-12-05 }}</ref>

In the United States, since the film was released on September 28, 2001 (about two weeks after the [[September 11 attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]]), Stiller made the executive decision to digitally remove any backgrounds that originally contained the Twin Towers in the background skyline.<ref>{{cite web|title=Twin Towers Removed From Zoolander Film|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2001-10-30-0110300058-story.html|work=Sun Sentinel|date=October 30, 2001 |access-date=October 30, 2001}}</ref> Stiller defended his decision to erase images of New York's World Trade Center Towers from the film, saying he did what he thought was appropriate at the time.<ref name="vf-history-20" /> The Twin Towers were later restored for the 2016 Blu-ray release.

=== Accusations of plagiarism ===
''[[Glamorama]]'', a 1998 [[satire (film and television)|satirical]] novel by [[Bret Easton Ellis]], tells the story of a vacuous male model who becomes involved in a plot concocted by international terrorists who recruit from within the fashion industry.<ref name="StarTribune">{{cite news |newspaper=[[Star Tribune]] |last=Hanson |first=Eric |title=Ellis dissects the glitterati in 'Glamorama' |url=https://www.startribune.com/ellis-dissects-the-glitterati-in-glamorama/11380706/ |date=1999-01-30 |access-date=December 22, 2021 }}</ref> In 2005, Ellis stated that he was aware of the similarities between ''Zoolander'' and ''Glamorama'' and said that he attempted to take legal action.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.informationleafblower.com/blog/archives/2005/09/the_better_you_1.html |title=Information Leafblower |publisher=Information Leafblower |access-date=July 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210062304/http://www.informationleafblower.com/blog/archives/2005/09/the_better_you_1.html |archive-date=February 10, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ellis was later asked about the similarities in a 2009 BBC interview but said that he is unable to discuss the topic due to an out-of-court settlement.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A6127427 |title=collective&nbsp;— bret easton ellis interview |publisher=BBC |access-date=July 21, 2009 |archive-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804160030/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A6127427 |url-status=dead }}</ref>