The 2001 comedy Zoolander is still widely popular with audiences nearly 25 years after its release. However, Ben Stiller recalled how one of the movie's funniest gags almost didn't see the light of day due to the threat of an R rating.
Stiller recalled the anecdote while chowing down on hot wings on the latest episode of Hot Ones. The subject came up when host Sean Evans asked him about his 2004 film Meet the Fockers, which underwent a similar issue due to the title bearing close resemblance to an expletive. To get around it, production had to prove to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) that "Focker" was indeed a real last name by finding a random person with the same name.
That led Stiller to recall the similar issue with Zoolander. He said he had to speak with the MPAA arbitration board when they wanted to give the film an R rating.
"The goat orgy thing was something they didn't care for—or they didn't think it was wholesome enough. And it was just so ridiculous. The whole thing was so ridiculous, and I wrote a like little speech, and I had to go through it all," he said. "And I think I had to talk about other movies that had come out that had worse things in them."
"But this was a real thing, it was like it was nerve-racking because it was so important," Stiller continued. "We didn't want—when you have a comedy and you have jokes that you know work, the last thing you want to do is have to cut them for a rating."
He didn't go into detail about how, exactly, he won over the MPAA or what other movies he cited, but the rest is history. You can watch the episode below, but he talks about his ratings woes at around the eight-minute mark.
