'Stepford Wives' director nixed cameos

LOS ANGELES, June 9 (UPI) -- "Stepford Wives" director Frank Oz said cameos by the stars of the original movie would have taken away from the credibility of his remake.

Oz said he's glad he never asked Katharine Ross or Paula Prentiss, stars of the 1975 "Stepford Wives," to do guest spots on his film because he needed the audience to focus on Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick, the film's new stars, World Entertainment News Network reported Wednesday.

"I'll tell you what cameos do. As opposed to strictly comedic high-comedy movies -- where they can work -- ... with a movie like this you're invested in Matthew and Nic, and there's an emotional core," Oz said.

"Any cameo is just going to take you out of the movie. You'll be saying, 'Hey, that's such and such,' when I'm going for the honesty of this relationship. And so that's the reason I didn't do any," he said.

The film opens Friday in U.S. theaters.