You can tell a lot about people’s answer for their favorite movie, and the 2025 movie schedule is bound to produce a handful that folks claim as their own. So hearing that Ben Stiller revealed that former first lady Laura Bush revealed 2001’s Zoolander as her own is a pretty amusing story.
However, I’m not sure if that’s wilder than the further piece of information the co-writer/director/star of that franchise gave as a response. As he appeared on The Today Show to promote Season 2 of Apple TV+’s Severance, Stiller was given this Bush family secret from someone who would know first hand: Today host/Laura Bush’s daughter Jenna Bush Hager:
I have to tell Ben something, which is that my mom's favorite movie is Zoolander.
To be able to tell someone you or someone close to you are fans of their work is an honor, so hearing this story is pretty heartwarming. It must also be pretty rewarding for Ben Stiller, as this anecdote should only boost Zoolander’s status as a cult classic. While the 2001 comedy tanked at the box office, everyone seems to have slowly come around to it being one of Ben Stiller’s best movies. That is except for Mrs, Bush, who was apparently an early adopter.
Of course, now I’m wondering if Stiller somehow knew this information previously. I only say that because while he seems to be pleasantly surprised, the actor behind Derek Zoolander had this piece of Zoolander 2 trivia up his sleeve for this occasion:
Oh my god, incredible. I wanted to get her in Zoolander 2, but she was wise, she knew to stay away.
On one hand, having Laura Bush appear in this legacy-quel could have been one of the best celebrity movie cameos to have ever landed. However, between that proposed cameo was supposed to see Laura Bush involved in an orgy, and Zoolander 2’s surprisingly “good” flopping at the 2016 box office, Mr. Stiller’s remarks seem to back this call on multiple levels.
I mean it was sequel one of the entries on our list of sequels we wish were never made. I'd be inclined to ask Mrs. Bush what she has to say on the matter though, as Jenna Bush Hager added these further details to her story:
We did a screening at the White House, which she invited all of her friends. And just this year — she's 78 years old — we were playing a family game and she wrote her favorite movie, everybody else wrote Shawshank and she wrote Zoolander.
I still can’t pick which half of this beautifully strange knowledge I’m more blown away by, so I’m going to need a little while. And before anyone asks, according to The Wrap, President George W. Bush’s favorite films in the White House ranged from Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers to the classic tearjerker Field of Dreams. The more you know, I suppose.
Those of you looking to return to the world of ridiculously good looking satire can stream Zoolander with an active Paramount+ subscription. Meanwhile, Ben Stiller has two sports comedies on the docket for 2025, as he’ll be in The Dink and Happy Gilmore 2 - both of which do not have release dates at the time of this writing.
