(L to R) Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in ‘Little Fockers’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Preview:
A new entry in the ‘Meet the Parents’ franchise is in the works.
Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner are in talks to return.
John Hamburg is writing the script.
Of all the film franchises that have made a return of late, we’re not sure that we had ‘Meet the Parents’ on our bingo card.
Yet here we go… Deadline brings word that Universal Pictures is putting the pieces together for a fourth movie based on the reliable comedy concept of awkward encounters between future in-laws.
What’s the story of the ‘Meet the Parents’ movies?
(L to R) Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in ‘Meet the Parents’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
The idea for the ‘Parents’ franchise actually originated years before Ben Stiller accidentally knocked an urn full of ashes from a mantle or milking a cat was ever discussed.
Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke created and co-wrote an independent film, also titled ‘Meet the Parents,’ back in 1992.
Glienna directed, wrote two original songs, and starred as protagonist Greg: a Chicago advertising agent who travels with his fiancée Pam Burns to meet her parents, Irv and Kay, over a weekend but sets off a series of accidents and causes the family to fall apart.
After Pam’s sister Fay commits suicide, framing Greg in the process, Irv attempts to shoot him but accidentally kills Kay and Pam before dying of a heart attack. So… yes, a little darker even than what followed.
Sensing some potential (albeit with less murder/suicide), Universal bought the rights to the indie movie. The studio hired screenwriter Jim Herzfeld to expand the script and tone down some of the sharper edges, which led to what we all now know as ‘Meet the Parents’ in 2000.
Jay Roach directed that film, with John Hamburg re-writing the script. It stars Stiller as Gaylord “Greg” Focker, a male nurse who is looking to propose to his girlfriend, Pam (Polo). Upon learning that Pam’s sister’s fiancé sought her father’s permission to marry, Greg sees an opportunity when they travel to her parents for the wedding.
As it turns out, Pam’s father is the stern, authoritative Jack Byrnes (De Niro), who claims to have been a florist in his career but is in fact a retired CIA counterintelligence officer. And not quite as retired as he claims. Chaos ensues, including the aforementioned urn destruction, injuries and bad behavior from Jack’s beloved cat Mr. Jinx.
(L to R) Blythe Danner and Robert De Niro in ‘Little Fockers’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Danner played Dina, Jack’s wife who is much less stress-inducing than him, but still less easygoing than Greg’s family. Yet despite all the madness, Greg does manage to convince Jack he’s worthy of Pam and ends up engaged.
That film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $166.2 million domestically and a total of $330.4 million worldwide.
A sequel was greenlit, with Roach returning to direct and Herzfeld and Hamburg once more writing. In 2004’s ‘Meet the Fockers,’ Greg and Pam decide to have Jack and Dina meet his parents.
The eccentric, fun-loving and free-spirited couple are, Bernie Focker (Dustin Hoffman), a lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-dad, and Roz (Barbra Streisand), a sex therapist for elderly couples. While Dina bonds with the Fockers, cracks form between Jack and the Fockers due to their contrasting personalities and backgrounds.
There’s also the small matter of Greg potentially having fathered a child as a teenager with the Focker family house-keeping and renewed tension with Jack. Yet it all works out happily and Greg and Pam marry at the end.
‘Meet the Fockers’ was an even bigger hit, earning more than $279 million domestically and more than $522 million worldwide.
The world had to wait until 2010 for the third entry, ‘Little Fockers,’ which saw Hamburg back writing, this time alongside Larry Stuckey. Paul Weitz took over directing chores.
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‘Little Fockers,’ which finds Greg and Pam preparing to celebrate the fifth birthday of their twins Samantha and Henry.
However, things seem to go awry for Greg when his in-laws, Jack and Dina Byrnes, visit them, and Jack announces he is looking for his successor as the head of the Byrnes family. Jack’s family has been hit by his daughter’s (Pam’s sister) divorce and more disruption, plus some health issues.
Yet more madness follows, though it ends well for both men, even if Greg’s parents announce they’re moving to Chicago to be closer to him and Pam.
This third film was critically panned and not as successful as the previous two entries, ending up with a worldwide total of $310.7 million.
As for what might happen in a future entry? We predict tension, slapstick and chances for family bonding. There’s a chance that Hoffman and Streisand could return as Greg’s parents.
But the big question on everyone’s lips is… will Mr. Jinx the cat also come back? We hear he has a fairly feral manager.
When will the new ‘Meet the Parents’ movie hit theaters?
With the movie still lacking a director and since the cast isn’t yet locked in, Universal hasn’t set a release date for the film. We can’t imagine it arriving much before 2026, though.
(L to R) Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in ‘Little Fockers’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
List of Movies in the ‘Meet the Parents’ Franchise:
(L to R) Director David Gordon Green and Ben Stiller on the set of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director David Gordon Green and Ben Stiller about their work on ‘Nutcrackers’, how the unusual production came together, discovering the Janson siblings, Stiller’s experience working with Green and the kids, tone, choreographing the dance sequence, shooting on location, reading children’s stories, and making a family Christmas movie.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Green, Stiller, Linda Cardellini, Homer Janson, Ulysses Janson, Atlas Janson, and Arlo Janson.
Director David Gordon Green on the set of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
Moviefone: To begin with, David, I understand that this production was done in an unusual way, can you talk about how this movie came together?
David Gordon Green: It all started a little bit backwards, where I met the cast before we had a script. These four kids were the sons of a friend of mine from film school that live on this farm where we filmed it and they’re ballet dancers, and so hanging out with them, I just thought there’s a movie here if we’re crazy enough to turn a camera on them. I got my buddy Leland (Douglas) to come and write a movie and our influences were the 80s movies we grew up on. Movies like ‘Overboard’, ‘Bad News Bears’ and ‘Six Pack’, this Kenny Rogers movie about orphaned kids was a big one for me, and ‘Uncle Buck’, which I think is a classic but somehow underappreciated. We wanted to lean into those tropes, the nostalgic flavor of those movies, and make a family Christmas movie that I could show to my kids.
Ben Stiller in ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: Ben, what was it like for you as a filmmaker yourself to work in that specific way with David on this movie?
Ben Stiller: Well, I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, and over the years we’ve tried to figure out something to do together. He is such a good filmmaker. He comes from the independent world. He can work in different genres. But he’s great with comedy and he loves movies. This guy loves movies. He loves making movies. I don’t know when the last time I was on a set with a director where they just literally said out of nowhere, “I love making movies.” But he did a couple days in, I was like, this is my guy. I love it. He was just so excited to capture these kids and this place and this world. He was coming from a very independent, organic place with this movie where he just wanted to make something that I think hearkens back to the world that he comes from with his first movies. He created such a fun atmosphere. As an actor, you just want to work with a filmmaker who has a point of view and has a voice and feels inspired, and that’s what it felt like on this one.
Director David Gordon Green on the set of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: David, after making three ‘Halloween’ movies and an ‘Exorcist’ film, what was it like to make a family friendly Christmas movie?
DGG: It is fun because it’s a different set of challenges. How do you not lean into some of the vulgarity and the grotesqueness that gives me such a jolt in the filmmaking process, but this was leaning into different things and trying to find things that felt natural and authentic about childhood and things that made me laugh about this group, this ensemble, and then bringing Ben Stiller into the insanity. It was a different set of circumstances and honesty, it was cool. We shot it on 35 millimeter and really wanted it to be a bit of a flashback to that era of movies and put our modern day independent minded spin on it.
(L to R) Ben Stiller and director David Gordon Green on the set of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: The movie is a comedy with dramatic moments. David, can you talk about striking the right tone for this film?
DGG: It wasn’t difficult once we landed Ben Stiller for the movie. I felt very comfortable with the dramatic gravity of the movie and the comedic opportunity of the movie. He’s one of the few actors in that niche that can play in both ranges so well, so we could lean one way and then feel like we’ve done the funny version of the scene, what happens if we play it in the serious emotional version of the scene? In the editing room, we got to make a lot of those decisions and figure out what our balance was. I was really trying to engineer something that parents and kids would each get something different out of and enjoy watching together.
Ben Stiller in ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: In addition to being a great actor, Ben is also an accomplished writer, director and producer. David, is it an added asset to have someone like him on set?
DGG: Yeah, it was valuable. He’s an actor I’ve always admired and a director I really admire. The choices he’s making these days, and it had been too long since the last time he was in front of the camera so for me, it was “Hey man, let’s do this. This is an opportunity to let loose and take all the pressure off because it’s not a big franchise.” There’s only so much preparation you can do because these kids have never acted before, been in front of a camera, and the animals are running lose all over their house. You can’t be in control. All you can do is put a camera in a place and start to play. So for both of us, it was a chance to really break the rules that the last several years of our professional careers had constructed these cages around us of discipline and this was just anarchy. What greater collaborator to do that, to step back into that world of anarchy than Ben Stiller?
(Far Right) Director David Gordon Green and the cast of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: David, can you talk about working with the Janson siblings and what is it like directing actors who have never acted before?
DGG: A couple of them couldn’t read and they weren’t going to memorize their scripts in a traditional way, so we brought in an acting coach to give them the essence of a scene and help sculpt what that might be so that when Ben got to town, they would already have a formation of an idea. It wasn’t like “Hey, Arlo, you stand here and say this line.” It wasn’t memorized in that way, it was more like, here’s what the in and out of the scene must achieve, and then we do play to the nuances. Sometimes we’d play it funny, and the kids would be allowed to cuss and other times we’d say “Okay, keep it clean, and let’s do this one in a different style”. It was just playful. It was one 35-millimeter camera sitting on a tripod, and we just try to put it in a place where whoever was the hero of the scene, whether it was Ben or one of the kids or one of the pigs, let’s let them lead the way. Every day unfolded like that. You could have a plan for the day, but it was never going to work. You would always just have to evolve with the realities of this organism of the creative process on this movie. It was fun and liberating in a lot of ways because there weren’t the traditional rules that you have on a movie with either a studio behind you or the pressure of a franchise or these other things that we come face to face with as filmmakers. This was like, let’s just roll the dice and see if these kids are as cool as I think they are, and they exceeded all our expectations.
The cast of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: Ben, what was your experience like working with the Jansons and acting opposite non-actors?
BS: I mean, that was one of the reasons I wanted to do the movie, just to have an experience where these kids weren’t going to have a pre-determined idea of what they’re supposed to do or be professionally trained in any way. I felt like if David was thinking that they would be great to be in this movie, then there must be something there and a reason for that. He was right. They just brought so much of their heart and their innocence and their humor to the process. So, every day, as I thought it might be, it was different. We didn’t know what would happen, and it was a little bit chaotic in a great way, and I think that was what David wanted to capture, the real-life moments, and make this film not feel like a cookie cutter movie for the holidays, but really feel like something that was unique and independent and organic. Every day was just fun. It flew by. The whole movie is very real. They are doing the ‘Nutcracker’ at the theater in Wilmington in less than a month. When we shot the movie last year, they were doing the ‘Nutcracker’, and I went to see them all dance, and these guys are amazing dancers. I mean, it’s all kind of real.
‘Nutcrackers’ premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: David, what was it like shooting the ‘Nutcracker’ dance sequence at the end of the film?
DGG: The kids were preparing to do the ‘Nutcracker’. They’re doing it again right now. They do it every year and so I had their ballet teacher choreograph the scene. I said here’s our version of the story. Can you choreograph something for us? They take ballet three times a week, so they know what they’re doing, and they have the discipline as dancers. I think that was a great attribute to them as actors is there was a little bit of if they have choreographers that they’re working for and the directors of the dance department that they acknowledge and admire, Ben and I could step into those shoes a little bit. They were receptive to the guidance and the sculpture that we were trying to create, and then that just got us ready for the dance sequence in the middle of the night on the street when it was 10 degrees outside, which was a very surreal experience for the entire town. It was a fun community to be making a movie in because there’s not a lot that has filmed in Wilmington, Ohio. It was funny, because we went back to the Murphy Theater where we filmed the movie, where they were going to put on their big dance performance at the end of the film and we played the movie for a crowd. So, it was fun realizing that a lot of people had no idea what we were doing. They were like “Oh, this is a real movie.” I think they thought it was some sort of weird performance art we were just doing on the streets of their town last year. It was cool to have this. They were always very supportive and a welcoming artistic community, so it was cool to be able to find that balance between the agricultural community, the artistic community, and see everybody enjoying a movie with one mindset. It was a beautiful experience.
‘Nutcrackers’ premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: David, in the film, you mention that the Murphy Theater is where actor John Ritter was married. Is that true?
DGG: It is the theater that John Ritter was married in. I was very proud to be able to work that nuance into it because I’m a big John Ritter fan. So, I love the fact that we could lean into that reality with our tour of the Murphy Theater.
Ben Stiller in ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: There is a scene in the movie where Ben’s character is reading bedtime stories to the kids and ends up retelling the plot of ‘First Blood’. David, was that an improvisation or was that in the script?
DGG: It was in the script and one of the funny aspects of that scene was our script supervisor, her first job was ‘Rambo III’, so we had a creative consultant there guiding us through some of the attributes of later in the franchise for the kids to know and put their spin on it. That was a fun sequence to film, and it was hard not to laugh every time because Ben had to play it seriously and it was hard for me and the kids not to crack up every time.
Director David Gordon Green on the set of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: David, if you had to read a bedtime story to a child based on one of your movies, which one would it be?
DGG: That’s an interesting question because I’ve recently written a children’s book based on ‘Halloween’. That’s out now, and that was a very fun experiment because we were looking at that exact thing that you’re talking about and I thought that would be the one because it’s such a provocative, alluring thing for young readers and young minds. People talk about ‘Halloween’ and Michael Myers and my kids were always so curious about it, but I didn’t want to show them the movie, so I made the children’s book version of it for them. That would be a fun one. I would also do ‘Your Highness’. I think that would be a great one. Danny McBride and I have talked about that maybe it didn’t work financially or commercially as a big budget studio movie, but maybe as a strange, offbeat, animated show for kids would’ve been a better idea. I don’t know. Whenever we’re developing these projects, we’re thinking who is the audience? Sometimes, we say the audience is us and let’s see who joins the parade and other times, you want to engineer it specifically for old, young, male, female, or whatever. But that’s one of the cool things about a movie like ‘Nutcrackers’ is everyone’s invited. I wanted to make a movie that wasn’t necessarily engineered for kids, but I think kids are going to see a lot of themselves in it, crack themselves up and mom and dad are going to enjoy it just as much. ‘Your Highness’, in a weird way, I think one of our mistakes was making it R-rated because it was such silly obnoxiousness that I think if you would’ve been able to have nine-year-old’s go see that movie when it came out, and that might’ve triggered our own juvenile instincts a little differently.
The cast and crew of ‘Nutcrackers’ which premieres on Hulu November 29th. Photo: Hulu.
MF: Finally, David, what did you learn from making this movie and do you think it will change the way you make movies in the future?
DGG: What it did is it reinstated the confidence I have in my crew, the same crew that made ‘Nutcrackers’ made the ‘Halloween’ movies and the ‘Exorcist’ movie, and so we all needed a palate cleanser after having the experience of the pressure of a franchise on your shoulders. I have to say it’s nice to be making a movie in the shadows that I think people are going to love and I’m not worried about that. I also just love that we’re creating something new from the ground up that also has a nostalgic vibe to it, that feels familiar in a lot of ways to the movies I grew up on in the 80s. Everything I make triggers a lot of the child in me, and so whether that’s the allure of a Michael Myers or the silliness of a ‘Nutcrackers’, I just want to respond to my own inner 11-year-old. Whatever that kid in me is still saying with the possibilities of this industry is where I lean for the next film.
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What is the plot of ‘Nutcrackers’?
A workaholic, Mike (Ben Stiller) must travel to rural Ohio to look after his recently orphaned nephews.
Ben Stiller in ‘Zoolander’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Preview:
Ben Stiller is back for ‘Happy Gilmore 2.’
Adam Sandler co-wrote and is returning to star in the comedy sequel.
Travis Kelce and more are aboard the movie, which is shooting now.
After years of speculation, Adam Sandler is making good on his promise to return to the world of unexpected golf prodigy Happy Gilmore, as ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ has been shooting in New Jersey for a few weeks now.
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And fans of the 1996 classic sports comedy will be happy to hear that one of the original players is coming back to –– if we had to guess, though no information has emerged beyond him being spotted on set –– cause trouble for our hero.
Ben Stiller, who played a nursing home orderly named Hal who exaggerates to Happy about the way his grandmother is treated at the facility (more on the plot below) where she’s forced to move, is returning for the new film.
Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Happy Gilmore (Sandler) has long aspired to be a hockey player. Despite a powerful slapshot, Happy’s inability to skate and his volatile behavior excludes him from being accepted by any hockey team. Furthermore, Happy’s grandma is being evicted from her home after failing to pay her taxes.
After playing with some golf clubs and learning he can shoot golf balls far distances, he decides to join the PGA Tour in an effort to win money to buy back his grandmother’s home. Happy’s bad-boy image attracts a loyal following, but also attracts the attention of Shooter McGavin, the favorite to win the PGA Tour who is worried that Happy’s rise to stardom will undermine his shot to win.
(L to R) Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Photo: Travis Kelce’s Instagram Account.
Alongside Stiller, some of the cast of the first movie are returning for this one, including Christopher McDonald as Shooter and Julie Bowen as Sandler’s character’s romantic interest, Virginia Venit.
Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Kyle Newacheck is directing the sequel from a script by Sandler and his frequent collaborator Tim Herlihy.
Not much has been released about the story, but Sandler went on Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ podcast and revealed the following:
“The movie itself picks up from an older guy who played golf a long time. Some stuff goes on in his life, and he’s different. He’s a bit of a mess. And then we try to get his life cooking again.”
When will ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ be on screens?
Netflix is backing the new movie but has yet to announce a release date.
(L to R) Carl Weathers and Adam Sandler in ‘Happy Gilmore.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Severance’ is about a biotechnology corporation called Lumon Industries, which uses a mindwipe medical procedure called “severance” to separate the consciousness of their employees between their lives at work and outside of it. One severed employee, Mark (Adam Scott), gradually uncovers a web of conspiracy. Arquette portrays Harmony Cobel, Mark’s “unsevered” boss, who outside of work goes undercover as Mrs. Selvig, Mark’s next-door neighbor.
How many 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations did ‘Severance’ receive?
‘Severance’ was nominated for two SAG Awards including Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for Adam Scott, and the entire cast was nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Patricia Arquette about her work on ‘Severance,’ playing two characters, the success of the series, and the show’s Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations.
Patricia Arquette stars in ‘Severance,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview with Patricia Arquette about ‘Severance.’
Moviefone: To begin with, what does it mean to you to have the cast nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series by your peers at the Screen Actors Guild?
Patricia Arquette: It’s so exciting. I mean, everyone here worked really hard and in weird circumstances. But we have seasoned actors who’ve been around a long time that came in to play in this as ensemble and then we have younger actors who came out of theater and have given so much to this show. So we’re all super excited and grateful. There’s nothing like being nominated by your peers and we’re just honored.
MF: You’ve worked with Ben Stiller before, both as an actor on ‘Flirting with Disaster’ and as a director on ‘Escape at Dannemora.’ So what was it like reuniting with him on this series?
PA: It was great. We worked together in ‘Escape at Dannemora,’ I was the actor and he was the director. But this has such a different tone, again, I’m blown away by Ben and his talent. I mean, the way that he sets up shots, the way he works with our cinematographer, Jessica Lee Gagné, the composition of things, and the tone, which we never could really understand as actors. Should we go funnier? Should we go darker? He had us kind of hovering somewhere in between, which gives the show a very unique kind of tension. I love working with Ben. I think he’s one of the greatest directors we have in America.
(L to R) Patricia Arquette and Tramell Tillman in ‘Severance,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
MF: You play two roles in the series, Harmony Cobel and Mrs. Selvig. Can you talk about the challenges of making them different, even though they are really the same character?
PA: Well, one of them is this woman who works in this corporation and she’s worked her way up to this upper management position. She speaks in a way that she thinks sounds like leadership, authority and success. She’s desperate to hold onto her position in this corporation. While at the same time she wants more glory for this company. She’s doing something that’s a little bit on the sidelines and she’s trying to insinuate herself into this employee’s life.
Now she has a lot of knowledge about this employee. So she knows the easiest way to get into his life is to play on his mommy issues, be the fumbling aunt next door who needs help. So she’s putting on a character, using the knowledge she has of his emotional story, his emotional flaws, his emotional vulnerabilities. But while she’s doing that, she actually realizes oh, we’re laughing at the same time. Are we becoming friends? So she’s kind of trying on these human feelings, and freedom. She has more emotional freedom as Ms. Selvig than she does as Ms. Cobel.
It’s weird and interesting, and it’s part of the conversation I think that you have with your director. Like, “I want to try this. Is that too far?” At first, they just gave me the pilot, so I didn’t even really know where it was going at all. But to build these characters, to find that sound, I was listening to Mid-Atlantic movies like the sound in the 40’s in Hollywood, and then also ‘Maude,’ her (Bea Arthur) sound. Then looking at images like ‘Rhoda’, the TV show, for Ms. Selvig’s wardrobe, taking inspiration from that and working with our wardrobe department to design that. It’s all really fun, honestly.
MF: Finally, are you surprised by the show’s success and why do you think its resonated with audiences?
PA: I think people do feel like their work life consumes them. I don’t know if people feel that satisfied with their everyday work life. Yet, in that work environment, we see these characters really trying to connect and forging these little kind of family pod groups. Then also on the outside, we see Mark’s life. There’s a lot of pain in the real world. There’s a lot of pain outside and things that we want to run away from. I think as we get older, life isn’t necessarily what we thought it would be like when we were teenagers.
(L to R) Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Tramell Tillman and Zach Cherry in ‘Severance,’ now streaming on Apple TV+.
It’s been 15 years since “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” hit theaters are proved that you really can make an underdog sports movie about any sport. Get back in fighting shape (and avoid those wrenches) by learning more about the making of “Dodgeball” and that sequel we may or may not ever see.
2. While most of the wrenches in the iconic wrench-throwing sequence were made of rubber, one of them was actually real. Long was injured when it hit him in the eyebrow.
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3. The filming process was hard on the equipment as well as the actors. Stiller reportedly broke three different cameras filming a single scene.
4.Patton Oswalt provided voiceover work for the film, dubbing over Ben Stiller in one particularly risque scene and voicing the video store clerk at the beginning of the film.
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5. The movie apparently takes place in 1993. This is revealed thanks to White’s before and after video, which dates his “six years and six hundred pounds ago…” photo as 1987.
6. “Dodgeball” delivers a subtle homage to the G.I. Joe franchise via the team names of the rival gyms, “The Average Joes” and “The Purple Cobras.”
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7. The “Dodgeball Unrated” DVD contains a bizarre director’s commentary featuring Stiller arguing with his fellow actors for roughly 40 minutes, after which the track is replaced by the commentary to “There’s Something About Mary.”
8. ESPN paid homage to “Dodgeball’ in 2017 by airing a one-day “ESPN 8: The Ocho” marathon covering unusual, off-kilter sporting events.
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9. 20th Century Fox announced a sequel to “Dodgeball” in 2013, though no further updates have been made. However, the cast did reunite in 2017 for a YouTube campaign geared toward a charity dodgeball tournament.
“Reality Bites” debuted in 1994, coming along at the perfect time to serve as one of the quintessential movies about the Generation X experience. And now that the movie is 25 years old, those same Gen-X’ers are probably feeling very old right about now. Ease that sting by reading some fun facts about this cult classic romantic drama.
1.Ben Stiller was approached by the film’s producers on the strength of the pilot episode for “The Ben Stiller Show.” Originally Stiller signed on only to direct, but he eventually took on the role of Michael Grates as well.
2. The film was originally titled “The Real World,” but had to be changed after MTV debuted the reality TV series of the same name.
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3. While the movie is set in Houston, most of the interior shots were filmed in Los Angeles instead.
4.Winona Ryder was so adamant that co-star Ethan Hawke be included that she made his casting a stipulation of her contract.
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5. Ryder also campaigned for Janeane Garafalo after Garafalo was temporarily fired during production over disagreements with Stiller.
6.Quentin Tarantino attempted to include The Knack’s “My Sharona” in the soundtrack to “Pulp Fiction,” only to discover “Reality Bites” had beaten him to the punch.
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7. As for Lisa Loeb’s “Stay,” that song was added to the soundtrack at the express request of Hawke.
8. Writer Helen Childress was a 19-year-old college freshman when she penned the screenplay.
9. “Reality Bites” originally featured a subplot about Leilana’s sister struggling with rehab for alcoholism, but these scenes were cut from the final film.
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10. Both Stiller’s mother, Anne Meara, and sister Amy have small roles in the film. The former plays the woman who requests a definition for irony and the latter plays the telephone psychic.
11. A man named Troy Dyer sued Childress, Stiller and producer Danny DeVito in 2005, complaining the film’s DVD commentary track caused people to associate him with Ethan Hawke’s character. The suit was eventually settled when Childress provided Dyer with written confirmation that he had no connection to the film.
John Mulaney hosted “Saturday Night Live” on April 14, but he wasn’t in the brilliant cold open. Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro stole the opener by re-enacting the lie detector scene from “Meet the Parents” — with a Trump administration twist. Stiller played President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, with De Niro as Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Mueller’s interrogation led to some crossover laughs, including a redux of the “You can milk anything with nipples” joke.
Check out the “SNL” clip, and some clips from the original movie:“You broke the law. Now we’re gonna catch all of you ‘Little Fockers,’ you got that?”
Nice. Hopefully both Stiller and De Niro can return for more Cohen and Mueller sketches, if the news offers those opportunities.
“Saturday Night Live” will welcome Donald Glover as both host and musical guest on May 5, just in time to promote “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” Watch more clips from Mulaney’s SNL gig.
Another Adam Sandler movie is debuting on Netflix, but this one … well, looks promising.
That’s because “The Meyerowitz Stories” comes from writer/director Noah Baumbach (“Frances Ha,” “The Squid and the Whale”). And like many of his other movies, this one is a family dramedy with nuanced, complicated relationships at the core.
The movie follows three siblings — played by Sandler, Ben Stiller, and Elizabeth Marvel — and their cantankerous artist father (Dustin Hoffman). The teaser doesn’t reveal much about the movie’s plot, but shows some interesting dynamics, whether it’s Stiller slapping Sandler or the three siblings singing at a piano together.
The movie was well-received when it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, and Sandler himself got some of the best reviews of his career.
“The Meyerowitz Stories” opens in select theaters and begins streaming on Netflix on October 13.
Amazon Studios released the trailer for “Brad’s Status,” which stars Ben Stiller as the titular, melancholy character, who is touring colleges with his teen son (Austin Abrams). Being around the youth, and listening to his son’s hopes and dreams, triggers something of a mid-life crisis.
Brad, who works for a non-profit, can’t help comparing how his unspectacular life turned out to his own college friends, who are working for the White House, running hedge funds, and retired from selling their tech companies.
The movie, which comes from writer/director Mike White, seems to be a heartwarming (but not treacly) buddy story about Brad and his son, one wrestling with the journey he’s taken and the other just starting on his own. And it’s good to see Stiller flexing his dramatic muscles again.
“Brad’s Status” also stars Jenna Fischer, Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson, and Jemaine Clement, and opens in theaters September 15.
Compare this little focker to the original scene.
Another 
Meet sad dad Brad.