And who says things don't happen for a reason?

Thanks to a 1996 movie about television, essentially, comedy geniuses Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are bringing a classic 1975 television show -- "Starsky & Hutch" -- to life this week on the big screen.

The movie in question was "The Cable Guy," the Jim Carrey dark comedy which Stiller directed and had a co-starring role in. And it was on that film where he first met Wilson, who was featured in a smaller role.

STARSKY & HUTCH Stiller And Wilson Interview; Movie Clips; Slideshow; Contest Stiller And Wilson Interview: HTML Version Enter To Win Movie Prizes

In a recent @ The Movies interview with the dynamic screen duo, Stiller told me that he and Wilson had "connected on a creative level" and the working relationship grew from there. Since then, they've worked together on "Permanent Midnight," "Meet the Parents," "Zoolander," "The Royal Tenenbaums," and now "Starsky & Hutch."

The interesting thing about "Starsky & Hutch" is that it's not a remake or re-interpretation of the series, but a prequel that takes us back to the roots of David Starsky's and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson's (Wilson) partnership. Thrown together on a case for the first time, the mismatched pair of cops try to derail a major cocaine operation -- and become good friends, as well as partners, in the process. Rapper Snoop Dogg assumes the iconic role of their informant, Huggy Bear.

The most important thing to Stiller and Wilson was that the movie version of "Starsky & Hutch" in some way was to include original stars Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul. Their participation started in conversations with Stiller and Wilson, and ended with a memorable cameo appearance in the movie.

"I got together with Paul because he lived in L.A. and plays golf with my agent," Stiller recalled. "We were able to get together and have lunch before the movie started shooting. He was really fun and so supportive and is a naturally cool guy like the character, Starsky. I just wanted to connect with him and it was great -- it's great they make an appearance in the movie, too."

Soul wasn't as readily available to Wilson, though, but the two eventually connected.

"I spoke to him on the phone because he lives in England, but there really wasn't much contact until the day they showed up to do their scene," Wilson told me. "It great to see those guys because they didn't do the characters since 1975. They came out dressed in the wardrobe and started right in. You could see why the show was such a phenomenon because they have this great chemistry."

Movie preview audiences of the movie have felt that chemistry, too, director Todd Phillips told Stiller. And the actor says that's a great feeling, knowing that the film is connecting with audiences past and present.

"Todd was telling me that every time they show up in the movie, the audience applauds and is so happy to see them -- especially the people who know the show," Stiller said. "That's the interesting thing -- the dichotomy of the younger and older audience who knows the show and who don't. To please the audience that knows the show, there's an expectation to stay true to it at some level. As for the younger audience, they just seem to appreciate the movie for what it is."

Of course, with the names Stiller and Wilson on the marquee, it's pretty safe to say there are going to be some big laughs. Needless to say, that presented Phillips, Stiller and Wilson with an interesting quandary since the show was at its heart an action-drama. But that's not to say there wasn't room for comedy, and a lot of it.

"We didn't go down the middle of it with the movie, we were more on the comedic side," Stiller explained. "If you look at the show, they did a lot of comedy on those episodes and there were a lot of really humorous situations."

While the tone of the movie is decidedly comedy, one thing Stiller and Wilson want audiences to be aware of is that it was never their intention to poke fun at Glaser or Soul. If fact, they're playing the characters totally straight.

"You have to respect the fact that these guys are the reason a movie is even being made," Stiller said. He credited their "natural chemistry and charisma" to the show's success.

"The show was basically just a cop show," Stiller said. "There was nothing ground-breaking about it except for the fact that these two guys' relationship was something people wanted to see and watch. The show was based on who they were."

Giving Up Some 'Soul'
Not only does the film version of "Starsky & Hutch" recall the heyday of the classic television show, it also revives bits of the pop culture the show inspired. It comes in a scene where, trying to impress a pair of hottie cheerleaders (Carmen Electra and Amy Smart), Wilson sings and performs Soul's smash hit "Don't Give Up On Us, Baby" on acoustic guitar.

Well, sort of.

"I have to confess that I'm not that musical and they had to resort to the magic of moviemaking," Wilson cheerfully explained. "They shot it so you couldn't see that I couldn't play the guitar and they also had to run my voice through one of those tune machines -- computers -- to get it on key. Even with all that help, Ben said that he's never seen a more 'Soulless' performance."

"The notes are all there -- technically he's hitting the notes -- but there's sort of a vacant look in his eyes, almost as if 'The Manchurian Candidate' is singing," Stiller deadpanned. "Owen is in his own world."

The interesting thing about "Starsky & Hutch" is the approach Stiller and Wilson took to get into character. While they clearly have the ability to skewer pop culture with amazing ease (check out "The Ben Stiller Show" and "Zoolander" for classic examples), they approached the film from the standpoint of Phillips (who also directed "Old School"), whose comedic sensibilities are much different from their own.

"Todd has his own sensibilities which is not as satiric -- the things he finds funny are not the same things that I find funny, yet they work," Stiller explained to me. "I want to be able to work with directors that have different kinds of sensibilities than I do. That's what part of the process is. I brought a little bit of my own thing to it, but the tone of the movie is not really a parody. It's like we are playing it pretty straight, but we're probably not the perfect guys to play Starsky & Hutch in reality."

Plus, as veterans of comedy, Stiller and Wilson well know that you can't be funny by trying to be funny.

"I think that's important," Wilson told me. "By keeping the movie set in the '70s, people couldn't go, 'Look how funny these guys look walking around in present day.' We're taking it seriously as the characters and I think that it's never that funny when someone is winking at the audience and going, 'Look how cute I'm being.'"

Of course, that's not to say they didn't feel funny on the set. And we're talking funny strange, not funny ha-ha in the clothes of the times -- but they got used to things in a hurry.

"I remember my first wardrobe fitting and feeling kind of ridiculous when I put on the clothes," Wilson said. "But it was funny because it helped me get the whole vibe -- that and seeing Ben with the Gran Torino."

A Permanent Pair?
Both Stiller and Wilson well know that another big screen "episode" of "Starsky & Hutch" will be up to audiences. One thing they know for sure is that the pair, as well as fellow cast members Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell (who also appeared in "Zoolander" with Stiller and Wilson) love working together.

The funny thing is, apart from "Zoolander," being in films together has been more a measure of happenstance for Stiller and Wilson than any plans to do projects together.

In fact, the scene in "Meet the Parents" where Kevin (Wilson) meets his ex-fiancee's new suitor Greg Focker (Stiller), almost didn't happen, Wilson said.

"Ben had to sort of talk (director) Jay Roach into casting me, and then later talk him into not cutting my scene," Wilson recalled for me, musingly. "Although now, when I run into Jay, he says he loves the scene and it's his favorite."

And Stiller has found himself on the opposite side the equation, too, for "The Royal Tenenbaums" -- a film that earned Wilson and director Wes Anderson a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination.

"'Tenenbaums' happened because Wes and Owen brought that to me because a lot of people turned it down," Stiller laughed.

In the end, the way in which Stiller and Wilson have ended up in movies together really doesn't matter to either one of them. The bottom line is that they've had a great time.

"We've had a lot of fun -- its been this sort of natural progression where we never sat down and said, 'We have to do this together, we have to do that together'," Stiller said. "We have never worked at it, but have always looked forward to it."