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Zoolander

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Do you ever surf the web to see what the buzz is on your movies?
I've looked at some of those sites, but I try not to get into them too much. I'm not really in favor of people posting reviews based on a test screening, because the test process is about working on your movie until you feel like, ''Okay, I'm ready to present it to the public.'' And you start out with a cut of the movie that's way too long and slow and fat, and then you whittle it down and get it to its fighting weight, and that's what the process is.

So what's all this about a remake of ''Starsky and Hutch'' with Vince Vaughn? Yeah, and we might actually do another movie before that. We're putting together a couple of ideas. But we definitely want to do a movie together. I think he's so funny. As far as the casting, I would be Starsky for sure, because he was the Paul Michael Glaser role. I'm definitely not David Soul. But Vince could do anything. And Huggy Bear? Snoop Doggy Dogg, definitely.

''The Ben Stiller Show'' didn't even last a whole season on Fox, so are you surprised that it's achieved cult status with the Gen X population?
I think we did 13 pretty good episodes, which is hard to sustain. But anyone thinking I made a brave choice in doing that TV show should know I only did it because I didn't know any better and I couldn't get work. It wasn't like people were going, ''Ben, please star in this series or this movie.'' No one was offering me anything.

How did you manage to cast your new bride, Christine Taylor [Marcia in 1995's ''The Brady Bunch Movie''], as your ''Zoolander'' love interest, you lucky dog?
We both kind of agreed we weren't going to make it an issue, but then it worked out that the studio actually suggested it after a few other actresses they wanted didn't work out. But the one love scene we have, it's an orgy scene. Owen Wilson's in it, with a little person and a Maori tribesman. It's pretty bizarre. The MPAA wanted to give us an R rating, and I had to appeal it to get it overturned. The idea of group sex they had a problem with, but they ended up seeing it our way.

You made a short film for your wife's birthday last year starring her dog, Kahlua, and the chocolate Labrador also shows up in ''Zoolander.'' Does she have an agent yet?
Oh yeah, ''The Kuminator'' is an action film, and Kahlua's wonderful in it. She saves the day and does her own stunts. It's funny, but when Christine and I first met, I didn't have the understanding of how important Kahlua was to her, and so I didn't have such a great relationship with the dog. What I learned from Kahlua was the more love you give, the more you get back. The more time I spent with her, the more we became attached, and now it's just the best.