From Greek princess to drag queen
'Big Fat Greek Wedding' star returns to the big screen
By Stephanie Snipes
CNN
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- After the success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Nia Vardalos probably could have had her choice of projects.
After all, that little movie that could earned more than $200 million on an indie-film budget, and nothing says success in Hollywood like $200 million at the box office and an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.
But when it came time to return to the silver screen, Vardalos decided to trade in her "Big Fat Greek Wedding" dress for fishnet hose, sexy black eyeliner and show tunes. It was all part of the transformation to play a drag lounge singer in the new romantic comedy "Connie and Carla."
"Connie and Carla," which Vardalos also wrote, tells the story of two mediocre singers who witness a mob killing. In an attempt to hide from the killers they flee to Los Angeles and join a drag cabaret to make ends meet. Vardalos plays Connie, and Academy Award nominee Toni Collette ("The Sixth Sense") plays Carla.
Rounding out the cast is former "X-Files" actor David Duchovny, as Connie's love interest, and screen legend Debbie Reynolds in a special guest appearance.
Vardalos sat down with CNN to discuss the film.
CNN: Was it hard to transition from Winnipeg [Vardalos' hometown] to Hollywood?
NIA VARDALOS: I was pretty tough when I got to L.A., and it was still shocking [to hear] the things people said to me like, "You're not ethnic enough. You're not fat enough. You're not thin enough. You're not blond enough. You're not dark enough. You're not young enough. You're not old enough."
One agent said, "Look, if you get a nose job and a boob job and dye your hair blond, maybe I could get you something, 'cause I think you're funny."
CNN: Was that hard for you?
VARDALOS: I know this sounds hokey but ... it didn't plunge me into the depths of despair. I really just thought, "How ridiculous." I laughed through it.
 Vardalos (right) plays a drag queen on the lam with Toni Collette in "Connie and Carla." |  |
That was really when I thought, "I can't wait for the phone to ring. I have to call myself, I've just got to create my own thing." I'd never even written a screenplay before but the less you know, I think, about how daunting or hard something's supposed to be, the better.
CNN: What helps you stay grounded?
VARDALOS: The one thing that has kept me sane through everything is my friends are the same since from my time in Winnipeg, in Toronto ... and Chicago. They're all in L.A. So, when I was going through the one-woman show [of "Greek Wedding"] into the movie, into it all, they were handing out flyers for me, running the box office for me or in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
CNN: After your previous success, were you nervous to try writing again?
VARDALOS: Luckily, I wrote "Connie and Carla" before "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" got made so I didn't really know what I was doing again. Unluckily, I did the rewrites and the polishes after "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was out in theaters.
I didn't read the reviews because I thought, "I don't want to read something like "Vardalos' whimsical characters, or ... Vardalos' real characters" ... I've got to just keep writing from my own emotions and my own life.
CNN: How do you approach your writing?
VARDALOS: I have no technique. I have no process other than I'm just trying to tell nice stories where people can escape for an hour and a half.
CNN: Are there parallels in the two films?
VARDALOS: The message is the same in both movies: "Oh, for Christ's sakes, stop obsessing about your thighs. If you're slim, great, if you're rounder, great." I tell my girlfriends, "If we are going to spend 25 minutes talking about our thighs we must spend an equal 25 minutes talking about world peace or we are vapid."
CNN: What was the atmosphere on the set?
VARDALOS: We just laughed so hard. There's a take in there where we are laughing. It's a mistake take. ... We're really laughing and [director] Michael [Lembeck] put it in because genuine moments like that, where you're not acting, are so rare.
But there's tons of them in this movie. I wish we could have used how many times Toni Collette and I fell off those drag heels.
|  "Connie and Carla" is full of show tunes and goofy dance routines. |
CNN: How was your Academy Award experience?
VARDALOS: It was really, really nice. I called it my debutante ball. [The people] who ... reached a hand out to me was so interesting to me. ... Actresses like Salma Hayek and Diane Lane were like, "Hey, welcome."
CNN: Did it seem surreal?
VARDALOS: Very much so. But you know what I realized? Very few people are born famous so we're all new at this business. And being a working actor is all we ever wanted.
In the Screen Actors Guild I think one-tenth are actually working actors, so we know we're lucky.
