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Father of the Bride’s George Newbern Says There Is a Third Movie Script (Exclusive)

But will they still order the chipper chicken? It’s been rumored for years that the Banks family would return for a third Father of the Bride movie — and now it’s been confirmed that a script actually exists.

“[Director] Charles Shyer wrote a script. I know there’s a script out there. And there’s talk,” George Newbern exclusively tells Us Weekly. “I don’t know how far it got but I’m sure most of the cast would be into it if the script was right. So maybe that’s just a question of that happening.”

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George Newbern, Kimberly Williams, Father of the Bride
Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

He adds: “I have heard some [concepts] and they are pretty far out there. From what I heard it was pretty good and different and newsworthy.”

The Scandal star, 52, played Bryan MacKenzie in the beloved franchise, which included Father of the Bride (1991) and its 1995 sequel. Bryan found the one in Annie Banks (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), but soon realized just how reluctant her dad, George Banks (Steve Martin), was to let her go. The comedy also starred Diane Keaton (Nina Banks), Kieran Culkin (Matty Banks) and Martin Short, who played the eccentric and overly perky wedding planner Franck Eggelhoffer. (“Every party has a pooper that’s why we invited you!”)

“I love it — independent communications consultant. It was hilarious,” Newbern tells Us of Bryan’s profession. “I think Bryan MacKenzie would probably be a grandfather now. They had a kid so he’s probably got a grandkid at this point, I think. Or at least close to it. Or his daughter would be getting married. He’s probably invested in a startup in the Silicon Valley because they are on the West Coast. And they probably live up in the Bay area. They got four kids. They need to shoot a third one. We need to do a third one. That would be great.”

steve Martin Martin Short Father of the Bride
Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

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Although Newbern looks to the future, he does walk down memory lane from time to time. In real life, he and his family actually drop by the 1920s Colonial home in Alhambra, California, that was used as the Banks’ home in the film.

“We used to drive by it all the time,” he tells Us. “My family likes to go to a [certain] library, which is right down the street from it. We would always cut through the neighborhood and look at it. We saw some people stopping and gawking a little. It’s a great memory and what’s really cool is that I can look back at my career and say that I did the nicest guy possible in Father of the Bride and then the worst guy in Scandal and they were both memorable. It’s good to be seen in two complete ways.”

For more, read the rest of his Q&A in our Now and Then series:

US: Who are you still the closest to?

GN: I see Kim probably two, three times a year. She and Brad [Paisley] have a place out near Santa Barbara and so do I so we go out and sometimes I see her up there. I used to have some business in Nashville so I would see her in Nashville. I keep in touch with her the most out of everybody.

US: Did you test with Kim at your audition?

GN: I did not test with Kim. Kim and I were testing on the same day. There were two other girls and I think two other guys with me. We were on the set that they had built. It wasn’t with Steve or Diane. I just remember being really stressed out. Super stressful but it was great.

US: What memorabilia did you take home?

GN: I got a couple of gifts from Steve and I think I may have a suit that I kept from it — like super late ‘80s and early ‘90s. I should have stolen something. Here’s the thing, when you’re doing a movie you don’t know if it’s going to be a big hit. It always comes on during Christmas and Thanksgiving. I’m just so shocked that it’s a perennial for people and they still recognize me from it because it’s been so long. It’s great to be a part of a movie that has such stain power because most of them don’t.

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Kimberly Williams, George Newbern, Steve Martin, Diane Keaton Father of the Bride
Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

US: What was your favorite moment with Steve on set?

GN: I remember the first day on set I got something in my eye and I kept rubbing my eye and I kept saying, ‘Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed. My eye is so bloodshot.’ And Steve saw me freaking out and right before we shot the scene he said, ‘OK, George, whatever you do, don’t think about it.’ And, of course, when someone says that all you can do is think about it. He was constantly doing stuff like that. I’m also a little bit of a hypochondriac and I always feel like I’m coming down with something and I realized that Steve is exactly the same way. So any time I would clear my throat he would be like, ‘Are you coming down with something?’ That’s one thing that we had in common. I don’t know if he remembers that but I certainly do.

US: What was your favorite scene with him?

GN: I really liked my stuff with him at the bar. The night before I got married I’m sort of teary and he’s trying to tell me to calm down. I love that scene. I thought that was a really nice scene.

US: Important question: where would Franck be today?

GN: Franck would probably be a congressman or a senator with Al Franken in Minnesota.

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