Ben Stiller visits howard stern !

BEN STILLER COMES OUT SWINGING 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 claimed he lost weight for a movie, leading everyone to wonder if his next film was set in a concentration camp. Ben struck back, asking if Howard still lived in the same glass-walled penthouse: "It's the Fortress of Solitude above Manhattan." Howard asked Ben how he felt about the openly-gay Neil Patrick Harris admitting (on this show) to having had sex with his wife (before Ben met her): "I don't know if there was actual...I don't know what to think of it. I don't know if it's a compliment. I don't know if it's a backhanded whatever...I feel like, it's Neil Patrick Harris. The jury was out before he declared [he was gay]." Howard laughed: "Was this before she dated Clay Aiken or after?" SPIELBERG YELLS AT KIDS Ben told the crew he originally had the idea for "Tropic Thunder" almost 20 years ago on the set of Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun." Ben said he pissed Steven off during the filming: "He yelled at me because I said 'Cut!' after I messed up a scene." Ben laughed that Spielberg's tirade was short: "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. Jimmy agreed, describing a pleasant Sunday he spent watching football with Tom - despite the embarrassing/drunken antics of Adam Carolla.