Ben Stiller is Here to 'Spread Goodness'

While I certainly didn't love Permanent Midnight and Your Friends and Neighbors, they showed that Ben Stiller could actually convey some dramatic depth. It's been a long time since he's effectively drawn that out, but it looks like we'll see it sooner than later. Variety reports that Stiller will direct Help Me Spread Goodness for Participant Films, which is described as being dramatic "with comic overtones." Though there's no mention of who will star, it sounds like it could be a good vehicle for Stiller on that front, as well: A Chicago banker is duped by one of those Nigerian e-mail scams, and from there, the film takes aim at some serious socio-economic problems in that country and others in Africa. Sounds heady, but that's kind of where Stiller is focusing himself behind the camera these days; he's also linked to the extremely ambitious The Trial of the Chicago 7, which was a Spielberg project. How is he attracting these projects? Well, he did direct a massive hit last year in Tropic Thunder, and while the tone of that film is obviously different than these, he has a much higher profile than a lot of other directors who don't star in Night at the Museum movies. Plus, let's face it: Tropic Thunder was really well-directed for an action comedy. The ETA of both films are related, with Variety stressing that a shoot for Spread Goodness depends on the progress of Chicago 7. They may have to re-cast some or all of that ensemble, depending on when they want to get it in theaters, and that should slow down that progress just a little.