Sarah Jessica Parker on The Family Stone Sequel Without Diane Keaton

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The Family Stone is feeling the weight of their matriarch’s absence.

As a huge fan of ‘The Holiday,’ I was so thrilled to hear they’re making a sequel! But it’s definitely bittersweet. Sarah Jessica Parker, who played Meredith, has been understandably emotional about it, especially after the heartbreaking loss of her co-star, Diane Keaton, just last month.

Sarah Jessica Parker said in a recent Variety interview that while she’s thrilled about the project, it’s tinged with sadness because Diane Keaton won’t be involved. She also described the cast as a truly wonderful group of actors.

Sarah shared that before Diane’s passing at 79 due to pneumonia, the cast – including Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, and Craig T. Nelson – and director Thomas Bezucha discussed a potential sequel. This sequel would have revisited the characters twenty years later.

As everyone knows, losing Diane was incredibly difficult. Before she passed, we’d all been talking about how to honor her and keep her spirit alive. My hope is we can find a way to do that, but honestly, the biggest challenge is just getting everyone’s busy schedules to align. It’s tough when so many people are involved!

Sarah Jessica Parker fondly remembered working with Diane twice, honoring her life and achievements.

She shared on Instagram on October 12th that she felt lucky to have seen Diane Keaton’s incredible talent firsthand while working with her on First Wives Club and The Family Stone. She wrote that she’ll always treasure the memories they made on set, and celebrate Keaton’s wonderful and unique career, which stands as a beautiful tribute to a truly exceptional person. Keaton will be deeply missed.

You know, as the sequel started really taking shape this November, Thomas shared something that struck me. He said Diane’s impact was still so strongly felt, even though her character, Sybil Stone, sadly didn’t survive the ending of the 2005 film. It just goes to show how powerful her performance was – her presence was missed even in her absence!

He told CNN that losing Sybil had deeply affected him for months while he was working on the project, and the recent news felt like a painful reminder of his grief. He explained that he’d been emotionally revisiting the place where he missed her, spending a lot of time dwelling on his loss.

For Thomas, making the follow-up film will allow him to “honor her even more.”

Although no studio has agreed to make the film yet, Thomas stated he won’t proceed with the project unless the original actors are available.

He jokingly said he wouldn’t attend a Brady family reunion unless the original actress who played Jan was there. He also stated his main focus for the film is to deliver a strong performance from the entire cast.

For more secrets from The Family Stone, keep reading…

 

Getting Diane Keaton on board for The Family Stone was key to the film’s success. She was the first actor to commit after reading the script by writer and director Thomas Bezucha, and her involvement helped attract a fantastic cast.

In a 2005 interview with Girl.com.au, the Oscar winner explained that Sarah Jessica Parker was the first to read the script and really liked it. However, for reasons no one could figure out, the project stalled. Once I agreed to star, they quickly assembled the rest of the cast, giving the impression they already had a movie in development, when in reality, they didn’t until I joined.

In 2025, Bezucha told CNN that Keaton “really went for it.” He described the opportunity as incredibly fortunate, saying it felt like being struck by a comet rather than just seeing a shooting star.

And on set, producer Michael London told CNN, “Diane was the mom to everybody.”

Keaton regularly surprised everyone with lottery tickets or bottles of wine, and he once gave the entire cast and crew a stunning wine opener – the best one anyone had ever seen.

Sarah Jessica Parker, best known for her bubbly and inquisitive character Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, took on a very different role when she played Meredith. Meredith is the uptight and demanding girlfriend of Everett Stone, the eldest son, who brings her home for the holidays, and Parker has said it was a deliberate change of pace for her.

The actress described her character as stubborn and unwilling to compromise. When forced to deal with unfamiliar surroundings at the Stone house, she completely falls apart.

But, Parker explained, “I grabbed the opportunity to play Meredith.”

She wasn’t concerned with popular opinion of the character – in fact, it hadn’t been very strong. As she explained to indieLondon in 2005, her main goal was for the audience to see the character as genuine and believable.

However, Parker came to Meredith’s defense in 2018, explaining to Vulture that she didn’t find the character unlikeable. She argued that the expectation for women in romantic comedies to be ‘likable’ and ‘relatable’ unfairly limits the representation of the diverse experiences of women.

Amy Stone, played by Rachel McAdams, is now seen as the most down-to-earth of the three siblings. However, she’s also a bit harsh – a somewhat unfriendly teacher living with her parents while she finishes graduate school.

Rachel McAdams told Variety in 2005 that she first read the script several years prior and vividly remembered the experience. She was deeply moved by it, explaining that the character of Amy felt complex and full of love. Amy is fiercely protective of her family, but struggles with complicated feelings, which McAdams found interesting to portray.

Bezucha told me to go all out, explaining that ‘you can’t be too bad!’

The movie originally had a much harsher title, “Fking Hating Her,” which described Sybil’s strong initial dislike for Meredith. This was later changed to “Hating Her,” and finally became the film we know today as The Family Stone.

Keaton adored Parker, but she gave her good-natured hell during filming.

Keaton shared with Girl.com.au that playfully teasing Parker during the photoshoot was a highlight for him. He explained that he grew up being teased by his own father, and now enjoys continuing that tradition.

Parker understood Keaton wasn’t intentionally being harsh, recognizing that everyone has their own way of doing things. As Parker put it, he wasn’t going to force his methods on her, but he wanted to ensure she felt supported and at ease.

Parker explained that being around a lot of men is something she’s used to, growing up with brothers and being married. She described the playful teasing as a kind of friendly competition – a ‘swordplay’ of sorts – where everyone understands the dynamic and enjoys it.

However, Bezucha shared with SFGate that Sarah Jessica Parker would sometimes, after filming a scene with Diane, say she thought Diane was still acting as her character, even after the cameras stopped rolling.

Luke Wilson broke a tooth and, hoping Keaton could suggest a good dentist, she surprisingly gave him the number for a therapist instead.

As Dermot Mulroney explained to SFGate back in 2005, Diane Keaton was very direct. He recalled that on the first day of rehearsals, she asked him, “Is that really what you’re planning to wear throughout rehearsals?”

According to Keaton, director Bezucha made them practice a lot, which Keaton disliked. “I hate to rehearse,” Keaton said in an interview for the Fox Movie Channel.

Looking back, she realized it was clever of Tom to suggest getting together outside of work, like inviting them to dinner. She thought it was a much more relaxed way to start a film project than the usual awkward questioning of, ‘So, dinner?’

Honestly, seeing them all just be together like that – sharing meals, playing charades, just like in the movie – it was amazing! It really felt…right. Like, that’s the Stones, you know? It was so good to see them connecting on that level, it just felt really good.

The ensemble, Bezucha explained, could then “act without having to perform.”

As a lifestyle expert focused on authentic representation, I was really impressed with the attention to detail on this project. They brought in an ASL instructor to work closely with all the actors who needed to sign – specifically, those interacting with Thad Stone, who was beautifully portrayed by deaf actor Ty Giordano. It ensured the communication felt natural and respectful, and that everyone could truly connect on screen.

Keaton confessed she struggled to learn the process, even describing herself as a “slow learner” in behind-the-scenes footage for FMC.

She admitted to making a serious mistake. She was meant to approve something with a signature, but instead, she accidentally signed something inappropriate.

Keaton recalled a scene where her character, Sybil, firmly responds to Meredith’s insensitive remarks about her son Thad and his partner Patrick. Speaking to SFGate, Keaton—whose children, Dexter and Duke, were 10 and 4 years old at the time—described the moment as one of her proudest in the film. She explained that she was passionately defending her son, whom she deeply loves and supports, and that she felt it showcased her values as a progressive mother.

I was so fascinated to learn that they brought in Chef Valerie Aikman-Smith as a food stylist for the movie! She was responsible for making all the food scenes – especially the Stones’ Christmas Eve feast – look completely real and, most importantly, delicious. It really added to the authenticity, knowing someone with her expertise was making sure everything looked just right.

Although the Stone family’s home is meant to be located in a New England college town, the show was actually filmed in Madison, New Jersey. A blizzard that happened during filming gave the area a beautiful, snowy backdrop.

As a lifestyle expert, I always appreciate clever set design! For a recent project, they actually filmed the outside of the house at a beautiful location in Greenwich, Connecticut. But surprisingly, all the cozy interior scenes? Those were actually created on Hollywood sound stages – talk about bringing the warmth to the set!

Keaton described the Stone house as “fabulous” for filming, but jokingly added that he wouldn’t want to live there, even if someone offered him money.

It wasn’t an accident that Sybil Stone intentionally styled herself after Diane Keaton. The overcoats she wears in the film look so much like Keaton’s classic menswear style that you might mistake them for actual coats, rather than just a comfortable bathrobe.

The bathrobe, by the way, actually belonged to Buster Keaton and was something he personally owned. She paired it with her own pajama pants, socks, and slippers.

When asked about how often she got covered in the breakfast casserole Meredith makes—which usually ends up spilled on the floor after Meredith drops it, and surprisingly helps her connect with Sybil and Amy—Parker simply said, “Many times.”

We explored it extensively because we approached it from many perspectives,” she remembered. “We always had detailed conversations beforehand about how the scenes would play out…But the goal was to make it feel completely chaotic, impulsive, and unscripted.”

Parker ended up completely soaked, and had to remain covered in the substance. It was impossible to clean up because the crew needed to film close-ups, and they couldn’t replicate the original spill. He spent hours and hours stuck in the wet outfit.

Parker shared with Vulture that Meredith’s nervous habit of clearing her throat was part of the script right from the start.

Director Bezucha shared Victorian Christmas cards with costume designer Shay Cunliffe, describing them as having a warm, golden glow. Cunliffe explained in the production notes that Bezucha wanted to carry that warm color scheme into the film’s overall design and specifically avoid any blue shades in the costumes.

Cunliffe thought Wilson’s character, Ben Stone, who had traveled from Berkeley, California for the holidays, really needed to be wearing jeans. However, she ended up using corduroy pants instead, which she felt still suited his laid-back personality as a West Coast film editor who smoked marijuana.

Keaton wore headphones, Parker told Vulture, “basically until they call action.”

She went on to say that it’s a really interesting method for maintaining concentration. She described the environment as wonderfully disorganized.

Parker said the scene where Meredith gets drunk and lets loose was the most challenging she’d ever filmed. She explained that she doesn’t drink and rarely dances in her personal life – she doesn’t go to clubs or parties. Seeing Meredith dance helped reveal a more relatable side to the character, but Parker admitted the performance was quite embarrassing for her.

Meredith finally makes a thoughtful gesture by giving each member of the Stone family a framed black and white photo of Sybil while she was pregnant with Amy.

The photo, which was altered to appear as if Sybil was pregnant, was actually taken by her mother, Dorothy Deanne, when Sybil was 27 years old and part of Keaton’s personal collection.

“That moment really resonated with me more than anything else in the film,” Keaton shared with Girl.com.au. “For me, the movie was fundamentally about my relationship with my mother.”

Looking at that picture—and I really dislike that picture—I suddenly felt like it captured my best acting work ever. It was a portrait my mother took, and the themes of motherhood and honoring your mother really struck me. I think Tom Bezucha beautifully captured a sense of life continuing, and it’s honestly my favorite moment in any film I’ve been a part of – that photograph my mother took of me.

You know, when I think about Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane’s dynamic in ‘The Producers,’ it reminds me of how much fun they had really getting to know each other. As Sarah Jessica Parker shared with CNN, Matthew loved asking incredibly personal questions – everything from finances to hilariously edgy subjects. It was a way for them to connect and build that amazing chemistry, and honestly, a little playful provocation can be a great way to bond!

The actress explained that her appeal stemmed from a genuine curiosity about others. She was fascinated by people – their unique qualities and little-known details – and loved learning what made each person special.

And, Parker noted, Keaton was the first person she ever saw put ice cubes in a glass of Pinot Noir.

The director explained to the Wall Street Journal in 2023 that viewers are entitled to their reactions to The Family Stone, even if they dislike it. While the film has comedic moments, it’s ultimately a very sad story. ‘Everyone interprets it differently,’ the director said. ‘I understand why some people might strongly dislike the movie—not just the characters, but the entire film—and find it unbelievable. But to me, it always felt like a classic Hollywood musical, just without the musical numbers.’

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2026-01-07 18:22