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N E W S
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Most Profitable Independent Film in History, With Over $600 Million Worldwide Receipts, Supposedly Loses Over $20 Million
In a lawsuit filed today in Los
Angeles Superior Court by MPH Entertainment, Inc. ("MPH") against Nia
Vardalos, My Penzatta, Inc., Home Box Office, Inc., Gold Circle Films, LLC,
the Playtone Company and Big Wedding, LLC, Plaintiff MPH, a profit participant
in the Picture, has revealed that distributors of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
claim to have lost $20,644,187.
In the lawsuit, filed by Henry Gradstein and
Bruce Van Dalsem of L.A. based Gradstein, Luskin & Van Dalsem, Plaintiff MPH,
whose principals Jim Milio, Mark Hufnail and Melissa Jo Peltier were Co-
Executive Producers of the Picture, claim to have been wrongfully excluded
from the profits and credit of the most successful independent film of all
time.
As alleged in the lawsuit, MPH is an award winning boutique production
company which, along with its founders and principals, Jim Milio, Melissa Jo
Peltier and Mark Hufnail, has a long history of quality film and television
credits. In 1997, MPH produced, and Jim Milio directed, a picture entitled,
"Men Seeking Women," in which Defendant Nia Vardalos had a small acting role.
At the time, Vardalos also had a script entitled "My Big Fat Greek
Wedding," which she urged the principals of MPH to read.
The principals of
MPH did so and were the first to see the potential of producing a motion
picture based on the Script.
MPH obtained an option to purchase the Script and exercised that option,
purchasing the Script for $60,000 and agreeing that Defendant Vardalos would
star in the Picture and that Milio would direct.
Thereafter, interest in the Script grew and others became involved,
including Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and Defendants Playtone, HBO, Gold Circle
Films and Big Wedding, LLC.
MPH agreed to dilute its participation in the
Picture to 3% of the actual profits and appropriate credit, with MPH's profits
to be calculated using the same definition of profits as that given to "the
active producer or production entity of the Picture," i.e., the same
definition of profits given Defendant Playtone.
The lawsuit alleges that Defendants breached both obligations.
Plaintiff
has received neither its entitlement to profits, nor the agreed upon credit.
In fact, according to the most recent "Consolidated (HBO/Gold Circle)
Accounting Statement," the Picture, which cost only $5 Million to make and
grossed in excess of $600 Million, has supposedly lost over $20,644,187.
In its lawsuit, MPH seeks an honest accounting, its rightful share of the
profits and damages for the failure to accord it proper credit.
According to
attorney Henry Gradstein, "My clients gave up practically everything to help
the picture get made -- their ownership of the script and their right to
produce and direct -- and all they asked for in return was a small share of
the real profits and proper credit. What they received was a Big Fat Greek
Tragedy."
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