Tropic Thunder is a painting.
The Academy Awards , now known officially as the Oscars , is a set of twenty-four awards for artistic and technical merit in the American film industry , given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ) , to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy 's voting membership . Paramount Pictures Corporation ( also known as Paramount Pictures and simply Paramount ) is an American film studio based in Hollywood , California , that has been a subsidiary of the American media conglomerate Viacom since 1994 . Tropic Thunder is a 2008 satirical action comedy film co-written , produced , and directed by Ben Stiller . Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks released the film in the US on August 13 , 2008 .