War huh? What is it good for? Well, judging by the reaction to the UK premiere of Tropic Thunder in London’s far-from-balmy Leicester Square, it’s at least good for a top-quality giggle.
The three stars of Ben Stiller’s action comedy, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black and Stiller himself, were out in force amid a jungle of camouflage-clad models, friends and well-wishers to celebrate the movie’s launch.
For people yet to watch the film, the main talking point is Downey Jr’s portrayal of Method-espousing actor Kirk Lazarus. But for those who’ve been lucky enough to see the hilarious flick, all tongues were wagging about Tom Cruise’s slightly disconcerting cameo.
“He’s awesome, he’s hilarious and I’d work with him again in a second,” says Stiller of his A-lister buddy. “He’s been supportive of the movie from the beginning and it was great to have him in it.”
Does this foray into comedy mean that Stiller and Cruise’s long-mooted plans to make the Hardy Boys update, The Hardy Men, are coming to fruition?
“You know what we had a lot of fun working together so I hope so. We’ve got to get together on a script first but it’s definitely something we want to do.”
Stiller’s latest directorial effort is without a doubt his most ambitious effort yet, how did he cope with all the big bangs?
“Whenever you make a movie you wonder if you’re ever going to be able to get out of it but this was great,” he says. “I’ve been involved with lots of movies where you get to blow stuff up and luckily the explosions went well on this movie. The camera was rolling when it was supposed to be, so everything was cool.”
Jack Black, dapperly dressed in a weather-themed suit (“This jacket was my design, I said I wanted something with lightning and thunder to honour the movie but it looks a little bit like bird shit.”), is set to star next in Harold Ramis’ pre-historical comedy Year One (“It's going to be very good. It’s a comedy… set in biblical times,” says Black helpfully) but he’s not ruling out a sequel to his latest release.
“I had a great time making this movie,” he says. “I hope there’s a Tropic Thunder 2; I think we could call it Arctic Lightning.”
Tropic Thunder is released in the UK on Friday.