Stiller Ebert Apology: Famed Critic Went 'Overboard' and Calls 'Zoolander' 'really funny'

Famed film critic Roger Ebert did not beat around the bush regarding his opinion of films, and in 2001, the Ben Stiller film "Zoolander," was on the receiving end of some harsh criticism.

"There have been articles lately asking why the United States is so hated in some parts of the world," Ebert wrote in a review. "As this week's Exhibit A from Hollywood, I offer 'Zoolander,' a comedy about a plot to assassinate the prime minister of Malaysia because of his opposition to child labor.

"You might want to read that sentence twice," Ebert said.

Stiller spoke at a panel at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday. As the writer, director and star of "Zoolander," Stiller recalled running into Ebert backstage at "The Tonight Show," when they were both appearing as guests some time after the review had been published.

"It seemed rather harsh to me," Stiller said in the talk, which was part of the Tribeca Talks Directors Series discussion with Jay Roach, according to the Huffington Post. "To his credit, I ran into him like, five or six years later backstage at 'The Tonight Show,' and he said, 'Hey, I just want to apologize to you. I wrote that about 'Zoolander' and I [now] think it's really funny.'

"'Everything was a little crazy [back then],'" he continued. "'It was September 11 and I went overboard.' I said 'Thanks for telling me backstage at 'The Tonight Show.'"

Stiller is now working on a sequel to the film, which was popular in spite of the harsh review.

"It's the old adage: if you believe the good ones, you have to believe the bad ones," said Stiller. "I know people who like reading reviews, but, for me, you can always feel what's getting good reviews or bad reviews."

"People will let you know," he continued. "For me, that metric is one you can't get wrapped up in."

"What do you do if they don't like you?" he said. "I guess you can learn from them."

Ebert wrote his final review for the film "To the Wonder," before he died on April 4 after a battle with cancer.