by Gregg Kilday
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Cue composer Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now," the theme from Rocky.
That tune might sound odd when played on the bouzouki. But as the breakout indie hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding continues its triumphant boxoffice march -- this weekend, it could hit the $200 million domestic mark -- the next question to ask is: Can it go the distance -- all the way to the Academy Awards?
Flushed by their success, the movie's creators are approaching their next moves cautiously.
"Clearly, the movie has become very high-profile both within the industry and outside," said Paul Brooks, president of Gold Circle Films, which produced Greek Wedding along with Playtone Prods. "But I would never be so presumptuous as to second-guess Academy members. It's not typically the sort of movie that gets awards. The view from Playtone and Gold Circle is that we'd be grateful for any recognition, but we're not expecting anything."
Rita Wilson -- who, after witnessing the movie's star, Nia Vardalos, perform her one-woman show, became the catalyst who brought the project to husband Tom Hanks' Playtone and then became one of the film's producers -- added: "By any stretch of the imagination, we never thought when we were making the film that it could get to that point. People must be enjoying it and celebrating the fact it is so much of a Cinderella story."
The question of Greek Wedding's Oscar worthiness might have seemed preposterous when IFC Films opened it April 19 in just eight markets. But as the movie's reputation has steadily built, its upward trajectory has reminded more than a few observers of another underdog movie written by a then-unknown actor who was propelled to stardom when his movie beat the odds -- both commercially and at the Academy Awards.
That movie was 1976's Rocky, which garnered 10 nominations and a best picture win.
"Rocky had the same kind of release as Greek Wedding," recalled Rocky producer Irwin Winkler. "We opened in just two theaters, and we were lucky to get two theaters. When we opened, business was OK, but we got great reviews and great word-of-mouth. We added nine more cities over the following week or two. Every week, business would increase, and it just kept growing and growing." Ultimately, Rocky grossed $225 million worldwide.
Wedding is enjoying a similarly meteoric rise. Currently the fifth highest-grossing film of the year, it's on track to surpass fourth-place Austin Powers in Goldmember ($213 million).
Of course, grosses alone don't a major Academy Award contender make. The year's top movies to date, Spider-Man and Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones, will probably have to settle for technical nominations.
But adult-oriented popular hits -- as opposed to summer action flicks -- often fare well with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Last year's best picture, A Beautiful Mind, with $171 million, was the 11th highest-grossing film of the year. 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral and 1997's The Full Monty -- both best picture nominees -- did solid indie business stateside and blockbuster business overseas.
"Yeah, but Weddings and Monty were both British pictures," one naysayer said. "Academy voters always give the edge to British pictures."
Still, there's no ignoring the fact that Wedding has been as popular on Los Angeles' Westside -- the home of lots of Academy voters -- as anywhere else. It premiered at Paciffic Theatres' Arclight Cinemas and, with only a hiatus to make way for the AFI Fest, has been playing there ever since. And it's also been ensconced at the new Grove Stadium, which entertains a heavy following of industry types.
"I liked it very much," said Christina Kounelias, New Line Cinema exec vp publicity, promotion. "As a Greek American, I actually related to quite a bit of it."
If Wedding is to translate the good will it has earned into actual nominations, Vardalos is probably the key. Her tale of writing her way to success and refusing to sell out along the way is one of the year's most compelling offscreen sagas.
"I can totally appreciate what she did, and I applaud her," actor- director Bill Paxton said. Unprodded, he continued: "It makes me think of Sylvester Stallone when he did Rocky. Everyone wanted his script, but they didn't want him. He held out. I think that's what this town is all about. Very few people are discovered. Most people have to discover themselves."
Winkler concurred. "The story of Stallone creating a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for himself, making good on a script that nobody wanted, is very similar to the Wedding story," he said.
It bodes well that Vardalos' story has special resonance for actors, as actors make up the largest branch of the Academy in addition to voting for their own awards through SAG.
"I cannot remember ever seeing a quicker rise to stardom," Wilson said of Vardalos' current standing in Hollywood. "But the thing I love about Nia and find so rewarding is that she's the same person who first wrote her one-woman show. She hasn't changed."
To be sure, Greek Wedding still faces a few obstacles. Its director, Joel Zwick, is known primarily as a TV director, which puts him outside the circle favored by the Academy's exclusive directors branch. Academy voters also tend to give comedies short shrift, and there are a lot of serious, heavyweight dramas that could elbow it aside before year's end.
The Greek Wedding makers would be wise not to break out the ouzo just yet, but it probably wouldn't hurt to lay in a reserve.
Zorianna Kit contributed to this report.
© 2002 The Hollywood Reporter