Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by Ben Stiller and starring Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the film itself feature a dimwitted male model named Derek Zoolander, played by Stiller. The film involves Zoolander becoming the pawn of corrupt fashion executives in order to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia.