'Due Date' director helps father go further

Fans of "Old School" and "The Hangover" may recognize the name of writer-director Todd Phillips. They may also know his face: Phillips likes to show up in his movies, usually dressed weirdly and saying something like, "I'm, uh, here for the gang bang."

Raised in Dix Hills but now based in Los Angeles, Phillips, 39, recently spoke by phone about his new road-trip comedy, "Due Date," which stars Robert Downey Jr. as an uptight architect and Zach Galifianakis as a socially inept actor. Phillips also talked about the upcoming "The Hangover 2," which would have featured Mel Gibson in a cameo if others on the set - including, some reports speculated, Galifianakis - had not protested. Here are excerpts from the conversation.

In your own words, describe "Due Date."

It's about fatherhood, in a strange way. It's about Zach's character, Ethan, who's dealing with the loss of his father, and Downey's character, who's about to become a dad. It's kind of how these two guys meet and, in an odd way, need each other.

You've said you grew up lacking a father figure. Did you draw on that when writing the screenplay?

Probably. Maybe. Just subconsciously, a little bit.

Zach's character changes his last name to "Tremblay" to sound more actorly. Why did you change your last name from Bunzl to Phillips?

To sound more like a director! No, no, that was something I did when I was 16 years old, and that was a private family thing. There was no Hollywood reason for it.

People often credit Judd Apatow with establishing the overgrown adolescent comedy genre, but you did "Old School" back in 2003.

I love him and he's a friend of mine, but Judd himself always gives a lot of credit to "Old School" for this thing that we both love - guys who can't seem to let go, or who are stuck in that arrested development. For me, the movies are ultimately about the awkwardness of male relationships. You go to shake your buddy's hand and he goes to hug you - that awkwardness is always funny to me.

Was there a specific disagreement between you and Zach on the set of "The Hangover 2"?

Not at all. It's so been blown out of proportion, this two-minute cameo. Some of the crew and the cast had concerns about it. Ultimately, you're a family when you make a movie. . . . You live together and you go all over the world together. You don't want to fracture that over a two-minute appearance in the movie.

Usually you show up in your movies wearing a track suit and a curly black wig. In "Due Date" you're wearing a bathrobe and cuddling with Juliette Lewis.

It's the same guy in all the movies: His name is Barry, or Mr. Creepy. In "Old School" he shows up for the gang bang, and the girl's name was Heidi. Here Juliette Lewis is Heidi! It could be that they've just had a relationship for the last eight years.