Dinner for Schmucks Director Jay Roach on Franchise Burnout, French Farce, and Austin Powers 4

How does it feel to have handed off the Meet the Parents series? I feel like we're living in a world where directors commit to doing trilogies of virtually every franchise around--

And I did that on Austin, and I wanted to do that this time around, too. I worked on the script -- myself and my writing partner Larry Stuckey wrote the first draft -- and I was set to do it, and then I got on [Schmucks] and that got extended and the shoot schedules lined up and I just couldn't do it. So I talked Paul Weitz into doing it, and I was glad to hear he was going to. I suppose in a certain way, I was excited to see someone else take a shot at it... I had to console myself with that, since I wasn't going to be around. They got a great script, John Hamburg came back in to rewrite it, and Owen is back for a much bigger turn, which I love. It was painful, but ultimately I'm kind of zen about it because he has to sweat how to pull it off this time, and I don't.

Did it ever get at all frustrating to get locked into so many franchises?

I suppose it did when I was just doing sequel after sequel, but I loved what Mike [Myers] was doing with the Austin films. And then, when I got Dustin [Hoffman] and Barbra [Streisand] to be part of Meet the Fockers, I just couldn't let them go off without me. When I stopped, I'll tell you that the one thing I realized was that [non-franchise] films don't just "come together." I did Recount years ago for HBO, but it's been a long time since I've done another feature. I pay a lot more attention to the packaging and setting-up of projects to make sure they stick together.

So if Dessert for Schmucks comes together, you'd be ready for that, too?

[Laughs] You know, it's funny. I never thought of this as a franchise, but then, I never thought Meet the Parents was something you could do twice, let alone three times. I suppose anything's possible.

Between this and the Meet the Parents movies, would you say that you have a thing for putting a nice guy in a perfectly excruciating situation?

I like comedy that comes from that, that comes from French farce, I suppose. Also, I grew up on Woody Allen films, and that dinner scene in Annie Hall with the outsiders being judged, I think that comedy loves that kind of pain. I think I've gotten addicted to dinner table scenes because you can really lock people into these situations that they can't really escape that easily. The tension of that is enjoyable to me.

But aren't they a bear to shoot because of all the coverage and sight lines you have to shoot?

They are a bear to shoot, but now I've shot enough to know a little bit more how to do them. I know to book a lot of time and get a lot of film. [Laughs]

What is the status of a fourth Austin Powers movie? Do you get any warning on those from Mike?

It's up to Mike. As you know, I don't drive the beginnings of those movies. I talk to Mike and I hear rumors from time to time that it's happening, but it isn't.

So they'll be rumors to you, too, even though you're a key part of the franchise?

Sometimes he'll be busy and I'll be swamped, and I'll read, "Oh, Austin Powers is going. I'll check up." And then they say it's just a rumor. It's nice that there are rumors because it means that people are interested, and I know that Mike's thought about it a lot, but he thought about the first two sequels a lot, and they didn't just happen. It has to be something where he just wakes up with the dream of what it would be and he calls me. I would always be open to it, especially if he goes more into the Dr. Evil world, which I've always felt was ripe for more exploration.

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