Ben Stiller-directed “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” took over 10 years to get to the big screen.
The reinvention of the 1947 Samuel Goldwyn-produced original that starred Danny Kaye premiered at the New York Film Festival on Saturday. Introducing the movie he also stars in, Stiller thanked Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and his son John Goldwyn, who worked for more than a decade to get the film made, going through actors from Jim Carrey to Owen Wilson and taking the project from Paramount to Fox.
Stiller said, “John Goldwyn and his dad spent a lot of years shepherding this movie . . . I came aboard late in the game.” He joked of the support he got from Fox, “A lot of people think that studios are bad, and they are these faceless, greedy corporations . . . and they are. But there were some great people . . . who really decided to take a chance . . . even when I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Saying it “could not be more of a New York movie,” Stiller added, “I want to thank the Film Society of Lincoln Center for having the courage to include a Ben Stiller movie in the festival. I grew up about 20 blocks away, so it’s nice to be allowed inside the building.” Introducing the cast, which also includes Kristen Wiig, Stiller said of Sean Penn, “I think this guy has talent and could go far.”