CHICAGO SCENE: 'Focker' family may be Chicago-bound for new film

Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro are reteaming for the third film in the "Fockers" franchise and exteriors may be shot here this fall.

"Meet the Little Fockers" will deal with the efforts of hapless nurse Gaylord Focker (Stiller) and wife Chicago teacher Pamela Focker (Teri Polo) to raise their kids. De Niro will return as Pam's upright, retired-spy father and Owen Wilson as Pam's perfect ex-beau.

Word is that Blythe Danner, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand are in negotiations to reprise their roles as Pam's mother and Gaylord's eccentric parents.

Look, up in the sky

The lakefront will be abuzz this weekend with fighter jets, speedboats and Apache helicopters.

The free Chicago Air and Water Show returns Saturday and Sunday to North Avenue Beach. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Stake out a good viewing spot at North Avenue Beach, Oak Street Beach or in a friend's Lincoln Park high-rise.

The usual daredevils are back in the lineup: The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds; The U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights; and the U.S. Navy Parachute Team Leap Frogs. Last year comic Bill Murray took a dive with the Knights, playing air guitar as he hurtled toward earth. Making a tandem jump this year is Army vet Melissa Stockwell, who underwent an above-the-knee amputation after she was wounded in Iraq in 2004. The Bronze Star medalist, taking the plunge at 12,500 feet, has completed several triathlons and is training for the 2012 Summer Paralympics. She is jumping on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project, an alliance for severely injured service members.

The 51st sea and sky show, the oldest and largest of its kind, draws 2 million people to the lakefront annually.

A-one, and a-two ...

Actor Jeremy Piven ("Entourage) leads the seventh-inning stretch today at Wrigley Field. Fellow actor/Cubs nut John Cusack does the honors Saturday and Ernie Banks follows Sunday.

Freebie of the week

Step right up for Cirque Shanghai at Navy Pier. The first five callers who reach Chicago Scene between 10 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. today will each receive four main-floor tickets to the exotic summer circus. The "Bright Path" edition stars world-class acrobats performing jaw-dropping acts such as "The Roman Wheel" and "Russian Barre." Tickets are good for any performance except 8 p.m shows Wednesdays and Saturdays through the first week of September. Call (219) 852-4329 during the 10-minute window only; voicemails don't count. Thanks go to Cirque Shanghai for the tickets.

And the word ...

from "Wizard World' last weekend in Rosemont: "Star Wars" icon Billy Dee Williams (Lando in "The Empire Strikes Back") was too busy with his iTouch to greet fans unless they shelled out $40 for his autograph. Meanwhile, the gregarious Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) often waived his $5 charge more than once for admirers. For the record, Sarah Palin get-ups outnumbered Princess Leia harem ensembles at the pop culture geekfest.

Grapevine

Spotted: Edward James Olmos dining at Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse in Rosemont ... White Sox-turned Astros slugger Carlos Lee supped with his family at Lawry's The Prime Rib ... Ex-Solas accordionist John Williams jammed with friends over the weekend at Tommy Nevin's Pub in Evanston.

The opinions expressed are solely the writer's. Reach her at molly.woulfe@nwi.com or 219.852.4329