Ben Stiller hasn’t directed a feature film since 2015’s “Zoolander 2” — I bet he regrets that one. This notable absence in film is because Stiller has found a new calling as the director of smartly efficient television. 2018’s “Escape to Dannemora” was just a warmup for what he would do next …
In 2022, Stiller absolutely triumphed with his dystopian WTF-did-I-just-watch sci-fi office drama “Severance.” The atmosphere, and minimalist world-building, was efficiently realized. The reviews the series garnered were flat-out raves, it was one of the most acclaimed shows of 2022.
As he shoots the second season of that series, it does look as though Stiller is prepping his filmmaking comeback with Amazon/MGM’s “The Seven Five,” and none other than Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) is in early talks to star in the crime drama (via TheInSneider).
This is said to be a feature adaptation of Tiller Russell’s acclaimed 2014 documentary of the same name. Here’s the synopsis:
Set in the 1980s in New York City, The Seven Five centered around a corrupt police precinct and its ringleader, Michael Dowd, who was arrested in 1987 with a handful of other dirty cops who stole money and drugs. He served 14 years in prison, and his arrest exposed widespread corruption within the NYPD.
Tony McNamara (“The Favourite”) was working on a draft of the script for Stiller. It’s unclear whether that’ll be the shooting script or if Stiller will put his own spin on it.
Don’t expect this one to shoot this year. After he completes production on the third and fourth seasons of “The Bear,” White is supposed to star as Bruce Springsteen in Scott Cooper’s “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” set to shoot later this fall.
“Zoolander 2” notwithstanding, Stiller has had a fairly fruitful career in feature directing, his credits include “Reality Bites,” “The Cable Guy,” “Zoolander,” “Tropic Thunder” and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”