It's surprising the motion picture ratings board didn't make the studio change the movie's title. With all the hoopla over what's offensive, "Meet the Fockers" slipped by without too much of a tussle. But the stars and guests at the Premiere of "Meet the Fockers" weren't about to let it go without making a few jokes at the Fockers expense. When Dustin Hoffman was asked about working with Barbra Streisand, Hoffman kept with the spirit of the film and said it was "focking delirious." As for Streisand, all bundled up and holding tight to husband James Brolin, Streisand simply admitted she was happy to be acting again.
Grabbing a few minutes with "Meet the Fockers" director Jay Roach and producer Jane Rosenthal, I got the chance to find out how they coaxed Streisand out of retirement and how Roach approached directing so many big-name stars:
INTERVIEW WITH JAY ROACH:
How were you able to talk Barbra Streisand out of retirement?
You know, she was pretty reluctant. She has a good life, a great husband. James Brolin’s such a cool guy and she has this beautiful house – and she loves working on her house. That was actually the hard part. I had to compete with the houseplants.
What did it take?
It took a year of phone calls and drafts of scripts. We finally came up with this one scene she really loved where she got to throw Robert DeNiro down on a massage table and jump on top of him and rub oil all over him. Once we got that, that was it. Strangely, that’s how you get Barbra Streisand.
All these actors have very different styles. How difficult was that as a director?
Yeah, they all actually do all come at it very differently. Most of the time it’s okay because they kind of, as an ensemble sitting around the dinner table especially when there’s all six of them, they start to pick up on the flow and the energy level. They’re like great theater actors. I mean, we did some takes that were eight minute long scenes and they were amazing. When they work individually, then I really have to adjust how I direct them and how they work in the scene and as the character. They are very different. I wish I could be more articulate about it.
How do they differ?
Ben Stiller knows every line and has got it all down. He knows the structure of the scene and then he riffs off of that. Dustin Hoffman will come in and he’s in a play mode from the get-go, so the lines are already different and completely malleable. The other actors have to keep up with him because he’s on the scene, but he might not be on the same lines as everybody else. But that’s a great magic because accidents happen, really great, hilarious accidents. A lot of what’s great about the film actually is Dustin just going off in some weird direction.
INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER JANE ROSENTHAL:
How hard was it to recapture the spirit of the first movie in the sequel?
All we had to do was just get everybody together and it felt like we were home. It’s like when you go home and it feels like you never left.
Was it kind of daunting to put together a cast of actors of this stature?
It was never really a concern. I think we were just all absolutely in awe of what we were putting together.
When the sequel idea came up, was Barbra Streisand one of the first names mentioned?
It’s a dream to work with her, so it was [a dream] in the beginning. But then as the script and the character evolved, there was only one person to play Ben [Stiller’s] mother. And Ben really wanted her. He called her and he pursued her. He called her and said, “I want you to play my mother.” And he was amazing.
Are you still involved in the casting of “Rent” the movie?
Yes. It’s going great.
Will the original Broadway cast be involved?
Yes, pretty much so.
What do you think about the fact the actors are a little older now?
I think that they know the experience and they sort of know where it sprang from, particularly where it sprang from with Jonathan Larson. And that’s really important, particularly to Jonathan’s legacy.
Will it stay close to the stage production?
Very dedicated to that.
