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Usenet Posted 19 years ago
Screenwriting
Big Fat Greek Lawsuit
http://tinyurl.com/36y9vk
Tom & Rita's Big Fat Greek Lawsuit
by Natalie Finn
The little film that could may have resulted in the paycheck that never was.
Tom Hanks, wife Rita Wilson and Nia Vardalos have sued one of their fellow producers on the 2002 sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, claiming that they have yet to receive an unspecified share of the film's net profits.
According to the complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by E! News, Gold Circle Films still owes the plaintiffs a percentage of the movie's theatrical, pay television, cable and home video grosses, which the defendant maintains amounted to $287 million. The film only cost about $5 million to make. (View the lawsuit.)
Industry tracker Box Office Mojo lists My Big Fat Greek Wedding's take at theaters worldwide as $369 million, however. The culture-clash comedy stars Vardalos?who was more or less discovered by Hanks and Wilson when they caught the one-woman play the film is based on?as spinster-turned-swan Toula, who gets engaged to a decidedly non-Greek English professor, played by John Corbett. Family-friendly mayhem ensues. Vardalos, who starred in the short-lived spinoff series My Big Fat Greek Life, also penned the screenplay and earned an Oscar nomination for her efforts.
The companies that filed suit on behalf of Hanks, Wilson, Vardalos and producer Gary Goetzman state that Gold Circle "has acted willfully, maliciously and in wanton disregard of plaintiffs' rights under the agreements."
In response, Gold Circle VP Scott Niemeyer said in a statement that the suit "lacks any merit."
"Gold Circle has fully complied with its contractual obligations and has already paid plaintiffs a combined total of over $44 million in profits," he said. "Gold Circle has never thwarted the producers' audit rights."
"Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." ? Mel Brooks
Tom & Rita's Big Fat Greek Lawsuit
by Natalie Finn
The little film that could may have resulted in the paycheck that never was.
Tom Hanks, wife Rita Wilson and Nia Vardalos have sued one of their fellow producers on the 2002 sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, claiming that they have yet to receive an unspecified share of the film's net profits.
According to the complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by E! News, Gold Circle Films still owes the plaintiffs a percentage of the movie's theatrical, pay television, cable and home video grosses, which the defendant maintains amounted to $287 million. The film only cost about $5 million to make. (View the lawsuit.)
Industry tracker Box Office Mojo lists My Big Fat Greek Wedding's take at theaters worldwide as $369 million, however. The culture-clash comedy stars Vardalos?who was more or less discovered by Hanks and Wilson when they caught the one-woman play the film is based on?as spinster-turned-swan Toula, who gets engaged to a decidedly non-Greek English professor, played by John Corbett. Family-friendly mayhem ensues. Vardalos, who starred in the short-lived spinoff series My Big Fat Greek Life, also penned the screenplay and earned an Oscar nomination for her efforts.
The companies that filed suit on behalf of Hanks, Wilson, Vardalos and producer Gary Goetzman state that Gold Circle "has acted willfully, maliciously and in wanton disregard of plaintiffs' rights under the agreements."
In response, Gold Circle VP Scott Niemeyer said in a statement that the suit "lacks any merit."
"Gold Circle has fully complied with its contractual obligations and has already paid plaintiffs a combined total of over $44 million in profits," he said. "Gold Circle has never thwarted the producers' audit rights."
"Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." ? Mel Brooks
Top answer
[/nq] The success of that movie still eludes me. Maybe people *do* want to see happy stories without conflict or complications. Little Red Riding hood went o visit grandma, and they had tea and cookies.
- [/nq] The success of that movie still eludes me.
- Maybe people *do* want to see happy stories without conflict or complications.
- Little Red Riding hood went o visit grandma, and they had tea and cookies.
- The three little pigs built their houses and danced and played until dawn.
- Cinderella lived in a sumptuous palace until she meant a prince and they married.
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5 Answers
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@reader2.panix.com:
[nq:1] Tom & Rita's Big Fat Greek Lawsuit by Natalie Finn The little film that could may have resulted in the paycheck that never was.[/nq]
The success of that movie still eludes me. Maybe people *do* want to see happy stories without conflict or complications.
Little Red Riding hood went o visit grandma, and they had tea and cookies.
The three little pigs buil
[nq:1] Tom & Rita's Big Fat Greek Lawsuit by Natalie Finn The little film that could may have resulted in the paycheck that never was.[/nq]
The success of that movie still eludes me. Maybe people *do* want to see happy stories without conflict or complications.
Little Red Riding hood went o visit grandma, and they had tea and cookies.
The three little pigs buil
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[nq:1]@reader2.panix.com:[/nq]
[nq:2] Tom & Rita's Big Fat Greek Lawsuit by Natalie Finn The little film that could may have resulted in the paycheck that never was.[/nq]
[nq:1]The success of that movie still eludes me. Maybe people *do* want to see happy stories without conflict or complications. ... hit it off right away, family doesn't really object, they get hitched. Go figure. Screen
[nq:2] Tom & Rita's Big Fat Greek Lawsuit by Natalie Finn The little film that could may have resulted in the paycheck that never was.[/nq]
[nq:1]The success of that movie still eludes me. Maybe people *do* want to see happy stories without conflict or complications. ... hit it off right away, family doesn't really object, they get hitched. Go figure. Screen
00
[nq:2]The success of that movie still eludes me. Maybe people *do* want to see happy stories without conflict or complications.[/nq]
[nq:1]It's all in the execution. I saw her one-woman show and completely understand what drew Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to it. Vardalos was engaging, funny, three-dimensional and witty. And it all translated to the screen very well.[/nq]
Well I didn't see her
[nq:1]It's all in the execution. I saw her one-woman show and completely understand what drew Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to it. Vardalos was engaging, funny, three-dimensional and witty. And it all translated to the screen very well.[/nq]
Well I didn't see her
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[nq:1]I understand the TV version was **** on wheels, however mainly because she turned into the proma donna from ****, and no one could stand up to her. They just cancelled her *** instead.[/nq]
Interesting bit of trivia if it's true, though. I just thought the writing sucked ***. Which would make sense, considering the writing in the movie.
jaybee
Interesting bit of trivia if it's true, though. I just thought the writing sucked ***. Which would make sense, considering the writing in the movie.
jaybee
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[nq:2]Greek girl meets non-Greek guy, they hit it off right ... get hitched. Go figure. Screenwriters, take note. Conflict is out.[/nq]
Subtlety is lost on the subtless.
The fact that the family could have objected more
strenuously, and the amount that they did, was enough conflict to make it interesting. But not enough to make it upsetting. An underserved audience of people who wanted
Subtlety is lost on the subtless.
The fact that the family could have objected more
strenuously, and the amount that they did, was enough conflict to make it interesting. But not enough to make it upsetting. An underserved audience of people who wanted
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