After the recent trailer for the second Meet the Parents sequel (entitled Little Fockers) was released online, it became abundantly apparent, to all who saw it, that one fairly big name was missing from amongst the growing list of recurring stars; Rain Man himself; Dustin Hoffman, was nowhere to be seen.
After failing to reach a deal with Universal, Hoffman walked away from the picture, and was subsequently written out of the script (which has been developed by John Hamburg; the man behind both previous installments, and a number of other Ben Stiller movies; and Larry Stuckey; writer of Elling); which has since been filmed and completed without him.
Universal declare that the latest Focker comedy has scored extremely well with test audiences, and could easily be released “as is”, but due to the fact that the movie was finished well under budget (although still coming in at around $100 million), and can still be improved slightly, John Hamburg and producer Jay Roach have used all their cunning (and the majority of the left over funds) to convince Dustin to reprise his role as Bernie Focker (the father of Ben Stiller’s character; Gaylord).
A series of significant reshoots are now scheduled to take place next month (September); inserting Bernie Focker into the mix, with four key scenes (out of over half a dozen additions) featuring him working with on screen wife Barbra Streisand (The Way We Were), and a big scene near the film’s conclusion which features all major players.
Also reprising their roles will be Dodgeball’s Ben Stiller; as Gaylord Focker; The West Wing’s Teri Polo; as Gaylord’s wife Pam; Goodfella’s Robert De Niro; as Pam’s ex-CIA agent father Jack; and Marley and Me’s Owen Wilson; as Pam’s ex-fiancee Kevin; all of whom will be joined by newcomers Jessica Alba (The Fantastic Four), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs), and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park).
American Pie director Paul Weitz will be behind the lens of the latest installment of the Meet the Parents franchise, which is due to be released later this year, in its traditional Christmas slot (hitting theaters on December 22nd); but until then, the Dustin Hoffman-less trailer can still be viewed below.
