Latest news with #Stiller
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ben Stiller Says Ariana Grande's Role in ‘Meet the Parents 4' Is ‘the Whole Engine' of Film
Ben Stiller has officially confirmed what pretty much everyone has known: Ariana Grande will indeed be part of the fourth installment of the Meet the Parents franchise next year. 'I can't really talk too much, I guess, at this point about the movie,' Stiller told The Today Show during a 25th anniversary reunion of the cast of the first film. 'But the character she's playing is — she's going to be really, really funny and kind of the whole engine of the new movie. So it's exciting.' More from Rolling Stone 'Wicked: For Good' Trailer Sees Glinda and Elphaba's Friendship Tested Ariana Grande, Pedro Pascal, Sabrina Carpenter Sign Letter for LGBTQ+ Suicide Prevention Funds Eminem, Post Malone Make Cameos in Adam Sandler's 'Happy Gilmore 2' Trailer 'Half the things — the scenes that I have with her will be singing scenes,' co-star Robert De Niro joked on The Today Show. In May, Grande, coming off a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Wicked, let the news out when she posted on social media: 'Very thrilled to be joining (meeting) the family !!!!!!!' The same month, the Hollywood Reporter divulged that Grande's character will likely be a 'ball-busting woman' engaged to the son of the couple played by Stiller and Teri Polo. Along with De Niro and Blythe Danner, Polo will be returning to the new film. The next Meet the Parents, the first addition to the franchise in 15 years, will continue to follow the foibles of Stiller's character Greg Focker and his wife Pam (Polo), their parents, and now their children. The original film was followed by Meet the Parents, which featured Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman, and 2010's Little Fockers. The latest installment will be directed by John Hamburg, who has had a hand in the screenplay of all four films. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ben Stiller Teases ‘Severance' Season 3, Ariana Grande's Role in ‘Meet the Parents 4'
Ben Stiller sat down with Zane Lowe for an in-depth chat about his upcoming projects, which include Season Three of his hit Apple TV show Severance and the fourth installment of the Meet the Parents franchise, which has added Ariana Grande to the cast. While Severance's second season just wrapped, Stiller revealed to Lowe that he and the team behind the show are already thinking about where to take the series for its third season. 'Probably the most challenging thing making stuff these days is there's so much out there: video games, phones, movies, TV, everything,' he said. 'To have something that there's going to be an audience waiting for it and they're going to be critical and they're going to be really ready for it and asking questions and you need to make sure it's good, but they're there.' More from Rolling Stone 'Echo Valley' Is the Trashiest A-List Lifetime Movie You've Ever Seen Apple WWDC 2025: A Fresh Faced Design and New Smart Features Ben Stiller Says Ariana Grande's Role in 'Meet the Parents 4' Is 'the Whole Engine' of Film He added that as he's considering the next batch of episodes, he is asking the same questions he asked while making the first season. '[All of us who are making the show are] going back to that instinct inside. What do we want to see? What interests us? What do we think will be surprising? What do we think will be true to the show? It is a question on a show like this, what is the heart of the show? Is it the relationships? Is it the mystery? Is it what is Lumon up to?' Stiller keeps any potential plot points close to the chest but added that 'human connection' is a big part of what drives the show. 'To me, anything that I ever watch, it's always on an emotional level, when something hits me on an emotional level, moves me, makes me feel connected to the world or to other people in some way, that's what it's all about,' he continued. 'That's always been what the point of the show is.' Another big project Stiller recently announced is Meet the Parents 4, which puts the director and famed comedic actor back in front of the camera. Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner, and Teri Polo are confirmed to reprise their roles in the blockbuster franchise, which will hit theaters in 2026. Ariana Grande will join the cast this time. 'She's amazing,' Stiller said, praising her role in Wicked. 'I can't really say too much about it, but she's going to be so great in this movie, and it's going to be really fun to play with her because it's a very specific character that she's playing. I think these movies are all about the family interactions. Everybody wants to get along with everybody, but we all have our baggage.' Stiller previously commented on the role during a cast reunion on The Today Show, stating that she will be the 'whole engine' of the next installment. Later, The Hollywood Reporter divulged that Grande would play the 'ball-busting' fiancée to Stiller and Polo's son in the film. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ben Stiller Jokes About Fans Yelling ‘Focker' at Him in Public
Ben Stiller has starred in some of the most memorable movies of the last 25 years, yet Meet the Parents will always remain a fan favorite for many. Not surprisingly, the fans of the popular movie starring Robert De Niro and Teri Polo will also never forget Stiller's name in the film. While it's been 25 years since Meet the Parents premiered, Stiller admitted that fans still associate him with his character, Greg Focker. So much so that Stiller explained he comes across plenty of people who still shout "Focker" at him in public, and the 59-year-old actor offered a great response to it during an interview with Variety. "When someone yells 'Focker!' on the street, it doesn't necessarily feel respectful,' Stiller said with a laugh. 'Whenever I'm treated by a male nurse,' he added, 'I feel a connection.' Stiller's character was, of course, a male nurse in the film. While Stiller has put together an incredible resume since the release of Meet the Parents, it's hard to deny how iconic and memorable that specific role was. However, as even he forgot, the role of Greg Focker was almost played by Jim Carrey when Steven Spielberg was in talks to direct it, as Variety pointed out. '[Jim Carrey] was going to be me?' Stiller said. 'S***. I totally forgot that part.' Stiller reprised the role alongside De Niro and Polo in the 2004 sequel, Meet the Fockers, and returned for a third movie, Little Fockers, in 2010. As Variety reported, a fourth addition to the Meet the Parents series is in the works, featuring Ariana Grande among the new Stiller Jokes About Fans Yelling 'Focker' at Him in Public first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 8, 2025
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro reunite, tease ‘Meet the Parents 4'
Wanna feel old, Focker? Meet the Parents is turning 25 this October, and to mark the occasion, the cast — including Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, and Teri Polo — and director Jay Roach reunited at the Tribeca Film Festival over the weekend for a Q&A after an anniversary screening of the comedy. And while the original movie was the night's main topic, the recently announced fourth movie in the series seemed to be on everyone's mind. Last month, it was announced that Academy Award nominee Ariana Grande would be joining the cast. More from GoldDerby Critics hail Celine Song's 'Materialists' as an 'exquisitely made' modern love story - not a 'glossy romantic comedy' 'Heartwarming' yet 'bloated': Film critics are mixed on 'How to Train Your Dragon' live-action remake 'She's got tunnel vision': Wendi McLendon-Covey reveals what she loves most about her character Joyce on 'St. Denis Medical' "I can't really talk too much, I guess, at this point about the movie," Stiller. "But the character [Grande is] playing is — she's going to be really, really funny and kind of the whole engine of the new movie. So it's exciting." "The script is really fun," De Niro said. "I'm looking forward to it." "I fell in love with that script, the first film script … because imagining what it's like when you care so much about winning the approval of someone, and you're right away going to start screwing it up, and the harder you try the worse you're going to make it," said Roach, who is returning to produce the fourth movie. "And I think that's what [writer John Hamburg] has come up with again, and that's what you always need. That predicament is everything in a story. And I think in this one, John found a really great new predicament. I think everybody's going to love squirming through it, just like this." The film will be the first entry in the series since 2010's Little Fockers, which saw Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand returning as the parents of Stiller's Greg Focker. That film went on to gross $310 million at the worldwide box office, but that total marked a low-point for the series and didn't help with the less-than-enthusiastic reviews. But at Tribeca, the original Meet the Parents received a warm reception, something that Stiller called out during the talk afterward. "It's so much fun to hear laughter in a theater with comedy that's 25 years old," he said. "It still works." The film's lasting legacy has had some downside, however. "When someone yells 'Focker!' on the street, it doesn't necessarily feel respectful," Stiller said. Best of GoldDerby Stephen King movies: 14 greatest films ranked worst to best 'The Life of Chuck' cast reveal their favorite Stephen King works, including Mark Hamill's love of the 'terrifying' 'Pet Sematary' From 'Hot Rod' to 'Eastbound' to 'Gemstones,' Danny McBride breaks down his most righteous roles: 'It's been an absolute blast' Click here to read the full article.
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Ben Stiller on fans addressing him by his 'Meet the Parents' character name: "It doesn't necessarily feel respectful"
Actors Ben Stiller , Robert De Niro , Teri Polo and director Jay Roach gathered for the 25th anniversary of 'Meet the Parents' on Saturday. At the 25 year anniversary, Stiller revealed that the fans of the film still continue to associate him with his character name-- Greg Focker--from the movie. He joked that he doesn't always love it when people in the wild address him by his character's name, reported Variety. During Q&A after the screening of the film, the actor said, "It's so much fun to hear laughter in a theatre with comedy that's 25 years old. It still works. When someone yells 'Focker!' on the street, it doesn't necessarily feel respectful," Stiller said with a laugh, as quoted by Variety. As per the outlet, Roach reminded Stiller that he was almost never in the movie. Steven Spielberg was in talks to direct the film, with Jim Carrey as the lead. When the duo chose to depart the project, Roach was hired as the filmmaker and Stiller as the star. "[Jim Carrey] was going to be me?" Stiller said. "I totally forgot that part," reported Variety. 'Meet The Parents' is about a male nurse, Greg Focker (Stiller), who endures a lot of painfully awkward hijinks while visiting his girlfriend's parents for the first time, reported Variety. Actor De Niro played Polo's character's father, Greg Byrnes, a cat-loving retired CIA agent. As per the outlet, 'Meet the Parents' was a commercial hit, grossing more than 330 million USD worldwide against a 55 million USD budget. The foursome returned for 2004's sequel 'Meet the Fockers,' which introduced Greg's parents (Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman). A third movie, 2010's 'Little Fockers,' was critically panned but managed to earn 310 million USD at the box office. Now, the 'Meet the Parents' universe is expanding again. A fourth movie is developing with Ariana Grande among the new cast members. Stiller teased the fourquel, saying they needed an "organic reason" to revisit these characters, reported Variety. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
