Nia Vardalos Forgets Life
After My Big Fat Greek Wedding hit the $100-million mark, Nia Vardalos went from no-name indie-film actress to full-fledged star. Like another Greek icon, King Midas, she thought everything she touched would turn to gold. This wasn't true of the CBS sitcom version of her film — My Big Fat Greek Life — which was axed last year amid low ratings and rumors of the star's diva-terror behavior. What did she learn from the experience?
At a press conference for her current movie, Connie and Carla, Vardalos was asked that very question. Her answer was vague, yet telling. "That experience was just, um..." she hesitated. "I feel like I've lived a lifetime since it happened, so it's hard for me to kind of put that into words. I loved my cast, and we see each other at lunches and dinner now. And that's the great thing about that."
Sadly, it looks like Vardalos will get more practice sweeping failure under the rug. This past weekend, Connie and Carla flopped, opening outside the box-office top 10 with just $3.3 million. Based on our critic's take on the gender-bending comedy, it's doubtful a Big Fat surprise recovery's in store for her this time. Still, should moviegoers plan to save this one for a Blockbuster night, here's a preview of the DVD...
Director Michael Lembeck plans "no less than four" as-yet-unseen drag-queen dance numbers. Connie cast member Debbie Reynolds also did bits from her own lounge act between takes. "Every time she started to tell a joke, do a dialect or sing a song, I turned on the camera," Lembeck said. "There's a lot of bawdy Debbie. That will be on the DVD."
A risqué moment between Vardalos and co-star Toni Collette also didn't make it. "At one point, Toni and I had to run into a shot," she chuckled, "and I tripped because I always had those big [drag-queen] high heels on. I fell, Toni fell on top of me, she gave me a hand to get up and I accidentally touched her in a private area. And it's all on film!" Hmm... Sounds like maybe the wrong comic material hit the cutting-room floor.
