Posted: Aug. 23, 2002

Even though it had a big fat box office opening on the East Coast in April, not even "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" star and screenwriter Nia Vardalos thought she'd be celebrating the movie's honeymoon far into August.

But because of an inspired campaign based almost entirely on the audiences' word-of-mouth, the wonderfully ethnic-flavored romantic comedy-fable is celebrating with more and more "Wedding" guests every week. Shot for just under $5 million, the film has earned over $55 million so far and is showing no signs of tossing in the bouquet anytime soon.

And while it's easily the most profitable movie in theaters this summer, profit is the last thing on Vardalos' mind. Just as charming and enthusiastic as she was when I talked with her and co-star John Corbett in May, Vardalos reaffirmed for me in a new @ The Movies interview this week that she no doubt made this movie as a labor of love, and the money that it's making is merely icing on the cake.

"I'm so glad you say that -- so many people are asking me how much money I'm making," Vardalos said. "I don't even pay attention to the box office figures. I just love it when a woman comes up to me on the street, and says 'I am you' -- that to me, equals success, not dollars. I don't care about the dollars. The fact that it's a success is just gravy. If it would have gone straight to video and just been shown in church basements for the next 10 years, I would have been happy with that. But this? I feel like I'm making it up."

The great thing is, the story not only speaks to individuals who come up to her on the street, it speaks to entire families.

In the case of the movie, it's her character, Toula Portokalos, who must do the speaking -- as she tries to convince her Greek family to break with tradition and let her marry Ian Miller (John Corbett), a non-Greek man.

But as Vardalos learned almost immediately after early screenings, it was more than just "Greek" audience members who were interested in her "Wedding."

"From Chinese to Irish to African-American to Italian families, everybody is coming up to me and saying, 'That's my family.' It's just hilarious to me," Vardalos said. "My favorite instance was with this Chinese-American family was sitting at the foot of my table in Montreal, talking with French-Canadian accents saying 'That's our family.' It doesn't get any better than that."

A True Family Affair

Not only did Vardalos get to work with Corbett and veterans like Lainie Kazan and Michael Constantine on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," she starred alongside real-life husband Ian Gomez -- who plays Miller's best friend, Mike.

Playing Corbett's confidant in the movie, Gomez unusually found himself, essentially, watching another man romance his wife.

"He thought it was hilarious when we told him that big, tall white-bread John Corbett was playing Ian Miller. He laughed his ass off," Vardalos enthused. "Nobody is more secure than my Ian, which is great. But, we were also sensitive to our marriage when in that Ian was nowhere to be found on the set when I had to do those kissing scenes with Corbett. We would send him to the mall."

Of course, romantic leads have been known to fall for each other in real life, not that I was suggesting that to Vardalos.

"You're the only gentleman that I've been interviewed by who didn't suggest we were having an affair," Vardalos exclaimed. "People have looked us right in the eyes and asked, 'Were you two sleeping together during the shooting of the movie?,' because we had so much chemistry between us on screen."

The two were no doubt close, but in a different sort of way.

"What people didn't know was that we were like brother and sister," Vardalos said. "When they yelled 'cut,' we would both go, 'Get off me!' And then we would join hands and run to the food trailer and eat something. There was never a hint of an affair. Plus, I'm a nice Greek girl. We don't have affairs."

Courting New Offers

While Vardalos is happy in her marriage, the success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" has resulted in a lot more film studios looking to her for a business commitment. It's a blessing and a curse, considering that with a shift to the mainstream movie world she's bound to get more opportunities -- but with the opportunities come compromises she wouldn't have made as an independent filmmaker.

"I had such of a creative and joyous experience with Playtone (producer Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson's production company) because we didn't ever have an overbearing studio to answer to," Vardalos recalled. "I think the movie might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and experience, and I'm not going try not to be naive with my next one and think that I'm going to have so much say. I'm hoping (studios) will trust me the same way Playtone trusted me, or, I'm hoping to work with Playtone again. Why break up a beautiful marriage?"

That opportunity might come sooner than Vardalos thinks. She confirmed for me rumors about there being a "Big Fat Greek" sequel, or possibly a television series that would be a mid-season replacement. And while there has been talk, Vardalos said it's just that.

"We have been talked to about a sequel, a TV show, a Broadway musical, a board game and the joke is, action figures," Vardalos mused. "It's hilarious how many offers we've had because we have not made one definite plan because we're in the midst of promoting this movie. We're trying to get to England and Australia to open it and have opened in a lot of Europe. This phenomenon is a full-time job."