Hoffman no Focker?

There’s drama on the set of LITTLE FOCKERS, and it may result in Gaylord Focker being fatherless. EW is reporting that Dustin Hoffman may not be back to reprise his role as Stiller’s free lovin’ dad, Bernie. What’s the issue?

“There has been strife between Hoffman and the studio over the size of the part, the scheduling of the days on set and other difficulties. Hoffman had tentatively agreed to appear in what was to be a very funny cameo at the end of the film. That seems to have now fallen apart, due to either salary issues or scheduling problems, or both. The studio, Universal, declined to comment. At this point, we do know that Streisand still has a prominent role in the movie as Ben Stiller’s mother but alas, Papa Focker’s role is looking much more unstable.”

I mean, yeah it’s too bad, but with the addition of Laura Dern, Jessica Alba and Harvey Keitel to the cast, Hoffman’s departure may not really be that big of a deal. They’ll just say Bernie is at a conference somewhere, and we’ll promptly forget about him for the duration of the film as soon as Alba pops up onscreen.