Ben Stiller Learned the Hard Way One Should Never Yell ‘Cut’ on Steven Spielberg’s Movie Set

May 18, 2009
Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Ben Stiller stopped by to promote “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” and the crew immediately commented on how skinny he looked. Ben explained he lost weight for a movie.

Ben then told Howard he originally had the idea for his movie “Tropic Thunder” almost 20 years ago on the set of Steven Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun.” But it was also on that film that Ben said he ticked Steven one day. “He yelled at me because I said ‘Cut!’ after I messed up a scene.” Luckily, Ben said Spielberg only scolded him for a short time, telling the young actor, “You never yell ‘cut.'”

Fortunately for Ben, the pair have since made up – Spielberg’s company produced “Tropic Thunder.”

Howard asked if Robert Downey Jr.’s blackface character in “Tropic Thunder” set off any studio red flags, but Ben claimed it hadn’t: “There was a little question about it, but not as much as you would think.”

Howard also wondered if working with Tom Cruise was weird, but Ben laughed it off, saying Tom was actually a nice guy.