Ben Stiller gets green-light for Zoolander II

[HMG] – If you’re one of the few people who saw Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in Zoolander at the theaters, we have some good news — Paramount have finally green-lit a Zoolander II

The original opened on September 28, 2001 — right after the 9/11 disaster, so — being as all they think of is money- Paramount have been reluctant to restart the franchise as ticket sales then were so painfully low. But after strong DVD sales and a top-ten on iTunes they’ve ‘graciously’ relented.

To give you an idea how clenched these guys are, the movie cost $28-million, earned $18-million in its opening weekend and has so far pulled in over $60-million worldwide – plus DVD’s, plus iTunes…Go figure!

The sequel, however, will not be such an indulgence for Ben or his fans; He wrote, produced, directed and starred in the first one [along with most of his family,] but this time Deadline says the directing and writing will be handled by ‘Iron Man 2′ writer, Justin Theroux.

Justin is now visiting ‘Paris Fashion Week,’ trying to “immerse himself on what is current in fashion,” according to those engaged on the film.

And Ben and Justin could pull out some stops for this outing — Paramount’s almost doubled the budget to $50-million. Owen Wilson is also expected to resurface as Hansel, but that’s not certain yet. The sequel’s villain, however, will be Jonah Hill.

We don’t have a date of release yet, but you can be sure that with an ego like Ben’s that will soon be announced…