Days of Thunder

When he sent up the world of fashion in Zoolander‚ quadruple threat Ben Stiller had us perfecting our own versions of "Blue Steel" and competing in amateur "walk–offs." Now as producer–writer–director and star of the action–comedy Tropic Thunder (out August 13)‚ he pokes fun at something he knows quite a bit about: the Hollywood blockbuster machine.

When the future of a Vietnam War film is threatened by its out-of-control budget and the inflated egos of its stars‚ the director turns to guerilla filmmaking in the jungles of Southeast Asia to save the project. The film-within-a-film’s ensemble – led by a past-his-prime action hero (Stiller)‚ an Oscar-winning Method actor (Robert Downey‚ Jr.) and a detoxing comedian (Jack Black) – end up in real-life peril as these bumbling characters try to rise to the occasion and flee to safety.

It wouldn’t be a Hollywood satire without some well-placed celebrity cameos‚ and Tropic Thunder doesn’t disappoint. You’ve probably already heard about Tom Cruise’s movie-stealing turn as a boisterous studio head‚ but some of our favorite cameos are from actors who are playing themselves. Among them (SPOILER ALERT!) Tobey Maguire‚ who in a trailer before the film‚ stars opposite Downey‚ Jr.’s character in a movie about forbidden love between two monks; and an outed romance between the film’s rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and ex-boy bander Lance Bass.


Tropic Thunder opens nationwide August 13 from Paramount Pictures.