“Jason and the Argonauts”
From the regal bearing of the gods to the eloquent dialogue, “Jason and the Argonauts” is a Greek god movie that gives as much weight to the words spoken as it does to the battles fought. A true classic, the story brings you swiftly into the realm of men and gods as Jason goes on a quest for the golden fleece, an item that will ensure his rise to power.

“Clash of the Titans”
With its glorious 1980′s effects, you will love “Clash of the Titans” with the same childlike glee you feel for grape Cool-Aid and Saturday morning cartoons. A classic rerun, “Clash of the Titans” is almost omnipresent on network television. The hellishly frightening Medusa’s fight with Perseus is flat-out great, from the stop motion effects down to the detail of the sound effects used for her scaly tail. A remake was produced yet again in 2010 proving that Hollywood just can’t get enough of the Greek gods.

“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”
If there’s something worse than an absentee dad, it’s an absentee dad who happens to be a god. Percy, the son of Poseidon, gets to live a normal life until Zeus decides that Percy was the kleptomaniac who stole his lightning bolt. You’d think that most gods would be immune to simple mortal foibles like losing your car keys or misplacing your lightning bolt, but you’d be wrong. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is a fun movie that keeps the mythology of the Greek gods alive and captivating. As Percy and friends encounter Medusa at a greenhouse/garden, the scene includes a dose of fright coupled with the idea that there is no better place for a monster to turn her enemies to stone than a garden center where statues are expected.

“300″
A comic book brought to life, “300” is a movie that gives audiences that same sense of childlike wonder one gets when reading a new comic up in a tree fort. The action sweeps you up as violence and swordplay are abundant and unrepentant in their glorious bloodletting. “300″ is one small step for man and one giant leap for fight scene sequences and slow motion graphic effects. There is some anti-hunchback propaganda but you’ll be able to separate that fiction from your real life, unless of course you had a bad experience with carnival folk. This film will have you calling out ” THIS… IS… SPARTA!” months after.

“Ulysses”
Kurt Douglas plays the cursed hero in “Ulysses”, and does it with an eagerness that translates well on the silver screen. A battle-worn hero, all Ulysses wants is to return home but, alas, his path is marred by vengeful enemies and supernatural terrors. The dangers extend to his beloved wife and son as they have their own monsters to deal with, since suitors for the presumed widow have piled up at home. Ulysses’ battle of wits with the Cyclops is a scene that pulsates with burgeoning threat and menace, and shows off the ingenuity present in film at a time when CGI wasn’t around to help. Much like “Immortals,” “Ulysses” is a Greek god movie that proves divine intervention can be as much a bane as a boon.

“Immortals”

Slave-hero Theseus is on a quest to avenge the slaying of his mother by the evil King Hyperion, played by actor Mickey Rourke, who is killing off innocent people in search of the Bow of Epirus, a magical object that will make him unstoppable. Brought to you by the filmmakers behind “300″, the film’s graphic fight sequences are manipulated by jaw-dropping slow motion technique that revel in both the beauty and gore of the action on-screen. Each scene is like that of a painting, with a twist of modern decor to the environments of the ancient realm. Frustration builds as Zeus, Athena and Poseidon, perched in the clouds, await for Theseus to save the day, as they cannot interfere with the human world.

Ed O'Ross portrays Van Vlahakis (right) in Paramyth's "A Green Story"

Van Vlahakis left Greece five decades ago with 22 dollars in his pocket. He arrived in the US hoping for a better future for him and his family. Eftehios – as is his Greek name-  not only managed to live the American dream for himself, but also created Earth Friendly Products, a US giant for environmentally friendly cleaning products. His story, which is not just about transforming his life but also the lives of the ones around him as the owner and CEO of Earth Friendly Products, is becoming a motion picture titled “A Green Story.” The movie is set to hit the big screens in 2012.

For the production of the film Earth Friendly Products, a leader in manufacturing award-winning, eco-friendly cleaning products, formed Paramyth Films, a development and production company that will create full-length motion pictures for theatrical release, starting with “A Green Story.” The announcement was made by Van Vlahakis himself, also a Co-founder of Paramyth Films.“My partners and I are very excited to announce the creation of our new venture that will develop motion pictures primarily for theater, but also for television and DVDs,” exclaimed Vlahakis. “We have one project already underway and are looking for other scripts that we can develop and bring to screens in the U.S. and abroad.” Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, Paramyth Films Co-founder and the Vice President of Earth Friendly Products said, “Motion pictures have contributed to our knowledge, created public opinion and attitudes, and have had a profound impact on human behavior and culture. Our mission is to create films that will inspire and illuminate, as well as foster greater understanding among people through the most influential medium of our time.”

“Paramyth means ‘story teller’ (in Greek) and all great motion pictures tell stories that shed light on human behavior, what motivates people to act as they do, and why we make certain choices in our lives. We are delighted that our first film is going to be an inspirational one, but we will be looking to develop scripts and concepts like our first one that will be competitive entertainment properties in all genres” added David Agiashvili, the new film company’s head of development.

Located in Beverly Hills, Paramyth Films is a fully financed development and production company that produces story driven content for theatrical release and straight-to-DVD markets with budgets of $2M to $3M.

A Green Story
Paramyth’s first property is a story about the American dream. “It’s the tale of a young immigrant’s vision for a brighter future, the struggle to create an entity that placed people ahead of greed, and threatened billions of dollars in corporations’ profits,” explained Nika Agiashvili, President of Production. “This first film is based entirely on a true story.”

Written and directed by Paramyth’s Nika Agiashvili, “A Green Story” chronicles the life of Greek immigrant Van Vlahakis, who arrived in America with only $22 in his pocket and eventually founded the Earth Friendly Products company.

The movie stars, Ed O’Ross, Malcolm McDowell, Billy Zane, Louis Mandylor, Debbie Matenopoulos, Shannon Elizabeth, Annabella Sciorra, George Finn, Alessandra Toressani, Alexis, Georgoulis, Julianna Guill, Michalis Giannatos and Roger Bart. (View stills from the movie below)

Agiashvili said, “We felt that if we were going to tell the story of Van Vlahakis, we needed to tell it in the most authentic way possible. When we started pre-production, we were committed to not only shooting in Greece, but also casting Greek actors. To be able to shoot in such a historic location like Greece is a dream for me as a filmmaker and will allow audiences to have an accurate account of what took place early in Mr. Vlahakis’s life.”

The movie centers on the modern day Vlahakis (O’Ross), who is misdiagnosed with cancer and given only few months to live. During this time, he reflects on his early life as an immigrant (Finn) during the 1950’s and ultimately decides to push himself to the limit by closing one final business deal that will concretize his company’s success, even if he is not around to see it.”

Van Vlahakis talking about his life stated “I am from Chania, Crete. I stayed there until I was 18 and then I came to the United States to study medicine and I ended up studying chemistry which was a very smart idea. Chemistry was very interesting. At the time I had no idea of business; my first job was working as a chemist. By 1967, I was already a chemist for ten years working in research and development. I lost my job and that is when I started my business right outside of Chicago.”

Alexis Georgoulis, one of Greece’s most famous and acclaimed actors plays George, the general manager of Vlahakis’ company. The Greek actor stated that “I am very grateful that I participated in a production that tells such an interesting and meaningful story of another fellow Greek.”

“I feel very lucky that I learned Van’s story first hand and I am very proud that I am helping make the story known through my participation in the film. Vlahakis’ story also has a meaning for all the Greeks around the world and crisis-hit Greece. When Greeks set their mind to do something nothing will stop them. It is a very valuable and contemporary message. We need to learn not to give up even under harsh circumstances and that’s what this story is all about,” Georgoulis added.

A Green Story began production on November 4th in Chicago and Los Angeles. Filming was completed in Vlahakis’ native Crete, the largest island of Greece.

“I have to say how impressed I was with my crew in Athens, adds Nika Aghiasvili. Our production coordinator there was Dimitri Birbilis who did an amazing job of setting everything up for us. The Greek crew was one of the most professional crews I have worked with. We were really happy with all their hard work and dedication.”

Nika Agiashvili produced the pic alongside John Edward Lee, Chadwick Struck and Deanna Plascencia. Zac Reeder and Glen Reynolds from Circus Road Films will represent the movie worldwide.

This marks the second feature for Agiashvili, who wrote and directed the feature film, 5 Nights in Hollywood, which he also produced alongside John Edward Lee and EP Jim Regan. 5 Nights In Hollywood was released nationwide in Wal-Mart, Blockbuster and Amazon on November 1st.

After “A Green story” Paramyth is in talks about doing a co-production with Greece, Georgia and the US to produce a film based on the story of Greek mythology Jason and the Argonauts.

About Earth Friendly Products
Earth Friendly Products is the leader in the development and production of environmentally friendly cleaning supplies for household and commercial use with over 150 products manufactured, distributed, and sold in the USA, Canada, Europe, South America, and Asia. All Earth Friendly Products are created with only replenishable and sustainable plant-based ingredients that are safe for people, pets, and the planet. The company proudly adheres to its strict “Freedom Code”, a list of harmful and toxic ingredients that are not found in any of its products. Earth Friendly Products has proudly received the 2010 GEELA Award, 2009 Green PatriotTM Green 100TM Designation and the Champion level recognition from the US EPA through the Design for the Environment (DfE) Program’s Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative.

Two co-stars of the successful TV show “The Shield” are set to star in a new crime feature film titled “Pawn”. Greek-American Michael Chiklis is teaming with Forest Whitaker for “Pawn,” a movie centered around a hostage situation that has gone terribly wrong.

As Deadline.com reports also starring in the film will be Common (Hell On Wheels), and Ray Liotta. The film marks David A. Armstrong’s directorial debut, and the feature debut for Chiklis’ production company Extravaganza Films. Chiklis will also be a co-producer in the movie.

Jay Anthony White wrote the script, in which an ex-con becomes entangled in a manipulative chess game between the Feds, local police and the mob.  Pawn starts production December 1.

Michael Chiklis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts.  He is the son of Charlie Chiklis, a second generation Greek American who runs a hair and beauty salon. Chiklis is also a voice actor, an occasional director and television producer.  He won an Emmy for his role as Detective Vic Mackey in the Los Angeles police show The Shield.

Watch a Greek Reporter interview with Michael Chiklis below:

The long awaited “Immortals” movie, written by Greek-American brothers Vlass and Charles Parlapanides is finally here. The film’s star-studded world premiere and red carpet took place at the Nokia Theater in Downtown Los Angeles on Monday November 7th. The movie is a result of the collaboration of the producers of “300″ with “Greek Gods” of screenwriting, Vlas and Charlie Parlapanides. “Immortals” may be the biggest Greek mythology-themed blockbuster of the year and is set for release on November 11th.

Director Tarsem Singh on the Red Carpet

Eons after the Gods won their mythic struggle against the Titans, a new evil threatens the land. Mad with power, King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) has declared war against humanity. Only he who possesses this bow can unleash the Titans, who have been imprisoned deep within the walls of Mount Tartaros since the dawn of time and thirst for revenge…until a peasant named Theseus (Henry Cavill) comes forth as their only hope.excellent cast and crew to shoot the most expected movie with a mythological subject of the year, the Immortals.

The cast includes Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, Luke Evans, Isabel Lucas, Kellan Lutz, Joseph Morgan, Freida Pinto, John Hurt and Mickey Rourke. The movie is directed by Tarsem Singh.

“50/50″ is a comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Levine, written by Will Reiser, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. The film is loosely based on the life of screenwriter Will Reiser.

In the film, also stars Marie Avgeropoulos, a Greek-Canadian rising star who seems to have come to Hollywood to stay.

Inspired by a true story, the comedy is centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease. Avgeropouls plays the role of Alison in the film.

The Greek-Canadian actress was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Marie – as her official imdb page states- “grew up fishing, hunting and camping.”

It was there, in shadow of “The Sleeping Giant ” and on the shores of Lake Superior, where she would learn the survival skills needed for making her dream of becoming an action heroine (something she often fantasized about as a young girl) possible.

Her first break in the entertainment industry came when she was 21 as a result of her favorite hobby, playing drums. While studying broadcast journalism in Ontario, a friend alerted her to a casting call in Vancouver for a clothing commercial which was looking for drummers.

After leaving her small town, the opportunity landed her an agent and after appearing in various national commercials she caught the eye of director Chris Columbus (Harry Potter, Rent) who hired the budding actor in her first feature role for “I Love You, Beth Cooper”.

Although her thriving career has garnered her a lot of attention as of late, Marie continues to prove that she hasn’t forgotten her small town roots, often riding her motorcycle and playing with her 100lb bull-mastiff in the rugged west coast wilderness when she’s not on set. Marie splits her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Tell us about the new movie “The Maladjusted” that you are preparing as a director.

“The Maladjusted” is a comedy I co-wrote with a friend, Elias Dancey.  It’s based on my experiences here in Alexandria, Va with my high school friends.  The premise for the story revolves around 3 guys that have hit their 30′s, but continue to live their lives as if they were still 20 years old. The main character, Robbie Petras, is struggling to find himself and to fulfill his aspirations of becoming a writer.  I guess you could say it’s a dramatic comedy with an emphasis on the comedy.

One of the messages of the movie if I am not mistaken is about the changes we go through and the feeling of growing old. What is your theory on this?

You are right, it is very much about the changes everyone feels they should make at a certain point in life. For some it happens very early and for others it comes much later and much harder.  It’s a time in a person’s life that big decisions are made like, should I get married? Should I give up the childish dreams and go get an office job? What the hell is a 401K?  I think if I had been making this movie back when I was actually going through this change, it would probably be much darker and not a comedy at all.  In retrospect, I can look back on it and laugh.

One of the actors that you will be working with him on the movie is George Katt who is also of Greek Descent. How is it working together with him so far?

I’m very happy to be working with George Katt. We met a few months ago during casting and I immediately cast him in the lead as Robbie.  I felt very much that there wasn’t a lot of explaining I needed to do regarding the character (Robbie is a Greek-American guy like us).  George just understood it. I’m very eager to get on set with him and the rest of the cast. We also cast Tiffany Shepis, who is Greek-American and a superb talent!

What is your relationship with Greece? When was the last time you went for a visit? (and if you have what are the things you like most about Greece)

Both my parents are Greek and we would spend almost every summer in Greece when I was growing up. At 13 we moved to Greece where I spent 1 year in Athens and attended the infamous Varibobi High. Then about 2 years in Ioaninna.  I love going to Greece to see my friends and family, spending the entire day on the beach (psarontoufeko!) and of course the food.  Last time I was there was in 2008 with my wife and child visiting Lefkada, where she is from.

Tell us about the experience you had filming Zombthology, a film that won also an award at Louisville Fright Night Film Fest.

ZOMBthology was a fantastic and fun experience. I got to work with some great filmmakers and actors. This shoot is also where I met my co-producer, Josh Davidson, for The Maladjusted. As sick and twisted as that movie is, it was a great learning experience in the world of feature films and festivals.  I can say that I am done with zombie movies, but I am not done with horror.

How did you decide to become a director?

I can’t really say for sure. I remember as a kid I wanted to be a writer or somehow tell good stories.  I think when I first saw “Stand By Me” in the theater when I was about 10 or 11, it grabbed me in a way that turned me on to movies. I was always into movies, but that one for many reasons, got me thinking about movies and writing in a different way.  Later, when I was 19, I took a summer filmmaking course at NYU where I learned the basics of filmmaking and the intense involvement a director has in the story telling.  The core of it is, I just like telling stories.

Tell us about your hobbies and things you like doing at your free time.

Where do I start? I have more hobbies and interests than I have the time to appease. I’ve had more jobs based on my interests than I care to admit.  However, my favorite thing to do is to hit the mountains, find a nice stream and spend the entire day fly-fishing.

What are your future plans?

I don’t have anything set in stone, but if all goes well with The Maladjusted, I want to jump straight into my next project which is heavily based on Greek characters and culture. The script has been in the works for a while and still has a ways to go. In the meantime I’d like to keep producing some smaller projects and maybe doing a bit more acting.

 Tell us about the experience you had in the States and also how was it studying at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio.

During my visit in LA I had been actively pursuing the path to establishing a career as an actress by studying at a local school. I remember the first day I arrived in LA I met an actor who had landed roles in the movie “Fame” (2009) and in Law and Order. He suggested I should definitely take acting classes at the Ivana Chubbuck Studio. So I contacted the studio and they placed me at the advanced level. It was such an exciting and life-changing experience! Having studied in London, LA was a totally different story! I literally loved everything about  la-la land, the people, the lifestyle, the aura and I know it sounds weird, but LA felt like home…I familiarized myself with the LA area, as I was lucky to make many good friends and meet people from the showbiz industry. I also had a number of job offers, but unfortunately at that time I had to return to London to complete my bachelor degree, hoping to return back one day.

 How did you decide to get involved with acting?

Acting is all about going from “me, me, me to you, you, you”! Its about dealing with people’s psyches, examining in depth human nature and life, in other words it’s all about stepping into the unknown. That is the main reason why I got involved with acting. What’s more exciting than that? An actor can be whatever he or she wants!

Tell us about the collaboration you had with Dimitris Vorris and about your role in his movie.

Dimitri Vorris is a very talented screenwriter-producer. When I met him he was looking for the narrator of the movie “December Riots”, he auditioned me, and decided I was perfect for this role. Working with Dimitri was fun, as he is extremely professional and a very nice person, thus I believe that the end result was exceptional. The role of the narrator required a soft-spoken and melancholic spirit, as the narrator had to portray the cold-blooded execution of the 15 year old student Alexander Gregoropoulos. As the narrator of this movie, I highly believe that December Riots’ greatly honors Alexander’s memory and I do hope filmgoers around the world are going to see through the film a new perspective on the systemic corruption and the looting of Greece.

 Tell us about your hobbies.

My greatest passion, other than acting, is composing music. I have been playing the piano since I was 5. Composing is much like my art. I do it whenever my mind strikes. Melodies just pop into my brain, so composing music feels like finding the answer to life problems, while travelling to a different dimension.

I also enjoy going to the beach, as I love the sea and when the wind is good I enjoy wind-surfing. I also love to dance, but I mostly do modern dancing, and will be soon enrolling in tango classes!

What are your future plans?

Well, I am currently working on a Russian Play, “He who gets slapped”, by Leonid Andreyev, and will be playing Consuelo, “the equestrian tango queen”. Other than that, I will be working again with Dimitri Vorris on his  projects, “The Land of the Angels” and “The Carnage of the Zombies”

…I feel very excited about portraying accessible and highly entertaining characters in feature films as well as stage dramas that explore complex social issues and I feel very lucky that my life has come by a purposeful meaning through these acting opportunities in Los Angeles and in Athens.

He is the guy who made the “Raiders of the Lost Arc” adaptation. Together with his friends Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb, in 1982, one year after the movie was screened in the theaters, three kids at the age of 12, decided to make the remake of the original Indiana Jones movie. After a few years, when they had finished shooting the movie with their friends, they never imagined the impact that the movie would have.

The movie was first screened in an auditorium at a local Coca-Cola plant in 1989. Tucking the film away for almost 15 years,  a VHS tape of the movie fell into the hands of Ain’t It Cool News guru, Harry Knowles, who played it at his Butt-numb-a-thon festival. That’s when it all started. Strompolos, Zala and Lamb’s phones began to ring.

Spielberg congratulated the young filmmaker and was greatly honored by the movie. “Raiders of the Lost Arc Adaptation” continues with the screenings today in several film festivals around the world while the profits are donated to charity because of legal issues. We had the pleasure speaking with Chris Strompolos, the Greek creator and protagonist of the remake who is currently developing news projects after having created a film company together with his friend Eric Zala.

Tell us about what you are working on this period.

The current project we are both working on with my partner Eric under our production company Rolling Bolder Films, is a gothic  action movie, set in a southern city. We are trying to brand ourselves to the place we grew up and show what we know. It’s a classic mythological movie cycle of a son trying to find his father and the troubles at the Mississippi river through a banch of adventures. We are working on financing on that and also there’s another project that we are still working on. Unfortunately I can’t get into much detail yet.

Is it an original screenplay?

It’s an original play. Basically when our Raiders movie got discovered, we were really trusted in the spotlight and then did a lot of meetings travelling around the world. At that time, Eric and I were working normal jobs. I came to Erik with an idea saying to him: “let’s quit our normal jobs, form a production company and make movies again for real!”. So we thought about it and that’s what we did.

How have the things been rolling since then?

Well, it has been changeling. I mean this was a number of years ago. Basically our film got discovered in 2003. And so from 2003 to 2009 Erik and I we are allegedly trying to do travelling, speaking, writing and doing researching and development on this project and then the economy really took a tank and then we were both pretty financially stretched because we hadn’t got to the financially place we thought we were going to get to with our project. So, we both had to go back to our traditional work. From 2009 until now, we have been working for the paycheck. Eric is the executive director at an arts center on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

How is it working together with Eric so many years since the making of the Raiders movie?

We’ve been known each other for many years. He is in Mississippi. I am in Los Angeles. Currently I am working at Sony Pictures and again I am just trying to pull a paycheck. But again we are still training our project along, talking to people, trying to put together the business documents to start, bringing the money in the project and wait to see what happens. But yes. It’s very exciting to working together again and focusing on these projects.

Any other projects that you are into?

We are working on a book with a writer who is based in Los Angeles and his name is Alan Eisenstock. Alan has written 12 books and he was executive producer and writer on a bunch of classical 70s and 80s TV Shows. Everything from “Welcome Back Kotter” to “Sanford and Son”, “Mork & Mindy” and all those classic sort of TV shows. He did that for years and then went off to become a writer. We met him through a book agent in New York and we teamed up with him and he is now writing the book about our Raider story. The book now is sold to Saint Martin’s Press in New York and is set for publication next year in 2012. When the book is published, we will start to go on tour and creating the movie.

Any recent updates regarding the course of the Indiana Jones Adaptation movie?

To bringing you up to speed there is nothing explosively new. We continue to screen our film and we continue to raise money for charity with our film. We just screened at The Seattle International Film Festival, we screened in Tupelo Mississippi and we are planning to do a small tour in NY, in New Jersey later in the year. So, we continue to screen and speak. The film about us that was set from Paramount has sort of cooled off. But we are considering the possibility of that with the new book that is going to be published next year, turning our story into an actual feature film. So, that’s exciting.

Do you continue to do a lot of screenings?

Not exactly. We book very selectively. We do a couple of screenings here, wait two months do a couple of screenings there and it goes on like that.

Any thoughts showing the film in Europe?

There has been a lot of discussion to screen our film in Europe. We did a successful tour in Australia. That was really fun. We had also a smashing premiere in London and in Germany.

How has the people reacted so far?

Amazing. It struck everybody in the same way.

Did you feel any disconnection from the movie at some point?

I did. I think in the beginning when it was rediscovered I felt a disconnection from it because I didn’t think it was that a big deal. I didn’t think that anybody would care. Eric and I spent our entire childhood remaking “Raiders of the Lost Arc”. And I just thought that who would be interested in seeing kids play Indiana Jones? But it turns out, it really struck forward people and it made people incredibly inspired, nostalgic and I think that was when I started to kind of open my eyes after our screenings in Austin when we had like 3-4 nights of screenings  in a row in staffed houses. It was very exciting and over the next 6 years when we started touring I felt really connecting and I felt revisiting the thoughts and memories of my childhood all over again in a positive way. So, that was exciting. To be able to see basically my whole childhood on screen through the eyes of other people. So that was pretty exciting. So, now we are synonymous with our little Raiders movie and now people even call us the “Raiders Gods”!  It’s funny.

Tell us about your relationship with Greece.

Both my parents are Greek and both their parents are Greek and on and on and on. Unfortunately I never learned the language because my parents never taught it to me which is a shame. When I was in Greece I had more than one person kind of shake their finger on me saying to me “Shame on you Christos! Shame on you. You never learned Greek!”

Do you understand when people speak Greek or know any words?

It’s so limited. I can understand though when people ask me “Hey can you speak Greek?”. And I can say some of the basic words like thank you- efharisto- and others. It’s like it’s in me but I just have to go back and learn it! (laughs) My mother is fluent. My dad not so much. He never bothered to learn it.

When was the last time you were in Greece?

Last time I was in Greece was in 1994. When I was there, I spent around 3-4 months going to the islands and visiting the villages where my family was from.

Do you have any Greek relatives?

I do. Though I don’t have a strong connection with them. My father and the other parts of my family have a strong connection with them. But I have a strong family. I have some relatives in the islands and if I remember correctly to a village called Ziropigado in the coast of Peloponesus. It’s a coastal area and my Grandmother is from Dervena. My father’s mother. My mother’s father is from Patmos.  I visited all those places. Patmos, Zinopigado and even Dervena. Although I didn’t find anyone there probably because it was off season, they had all gone to the beach or something like that.

What were your first impressions?

Being Greek in the States might be overstating.  It’s still kind of exotic though. And the Greek culture is something exciting. So, I always knew myself as a Greek person to my family and to the other people I knew. It was so excited to go to Greece and literally I just felt like “Oh! So this is where I am from..”. I just remembered looking to everybody’s eyes and seeing my family. It was this resident quality. Looking all these people and feeling a kind of a connectivity. Like, oh OK. This is where the culture comes from. This is why I do this. There was a cultural connection for me. It was frustrating to not knowing the language and I was frustrated with myself.

What have you heard so far about the economic situation in Greece?

I think the collapse has definitely cooled off. I am sure it’s an ongoing problem. The last thing I heard from the news was that Greece was undergoing economic collapse in regards to credit, mortgages and debt and that Greeks were pretty mad about it and that they hit the streets and started rioting. That there was a feeling of anger. Anger at the government and anger at the banks.

What are your hobbies?

I am married. I have been married for ten years. I have a daughter who is going to be turning four in July. Her name is Diana and then with working and my projects, being a husband and a father.. (laughs) I watch as many movies as I can. I love movies and I watch as many movies as I can of any type. I love watching any kind of movie I can get my hand on.

Do you have any projects set in Greece?

Actually I wrote one that is based in Greece and it’s about my grandfather. My grandfather’s name was Kostas. But I call the script Gus. It’s about his immigrant journey. Growing up in Greece extremely poor, working hard traveling from Greece to the US and actually starting the restaurant and night club culture in Mississippi. He was the first person to start a night club on the Golf coast of Mississippi. He became very successful and very well known. He has passed away now but he became very famous in the Mississippi for starting one of the largest night clubs in the South. And it was a classic nightclub in the 50′s and 60’s where world class entertainers used to come through. It had a lot of gambling and drinking. He was an uneducated man who never went to school. He just basically relied on himself and he became sort of a king in Greek. So, that’s the story. It has flashbacks, filtered with some part of Greek mythology and becomes metaphysical in some aspects. This is a project I would really like to do.

Eva Mendes

The story of Maria Callas, renowned Greek opera singer and Aristotle Onassis, the richest man of his time will be brought to life on screen in 2011. The film is based on the book, Greek Fire by Nicholas Gage, a Greek author who’s family comes from Epirus. The script has been developed by Jullian Fellowes, and will star Eva Mendez as Maria Callas.

Mendes in a recent interview revealed: “Julian Fellowes wrote a script for me based on the relationship between Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis, and as Julian Fellowes wrote it for me I couldn’t say no to it.”

The book, and soon to be film, unveils the scandalous love affair of Callas and Onassis and the significance the relationship plays on their lives. Gage is credited as one of the first investigative reporters and was the first to work on the Watergate scandal. He also reported for the NY Times. Through Gage’s expert eye, and extensive research we discover shocking information about Callas and Aristotle’s story. Now, to be translated onto film. Watch Nick Gage talking about “Greek Fire” below:

Gaumont, France’s leading film production and distribution company has paired up with producer, Nick Wechsler behind the movie. Gage will also be co-producing.

Mendes is perhaps best known for starring in such films as: Training Day (2001); 2 Fast 2 Furious, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Stuck on You (all 2003); Hitch (2005); Ghost Rider and We Own the Night (both 2007); The Spirit (2008); Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009); The Other Guys and Last Night (both 2010).

The story is about love, death, obsession and family ties that motivate the characters in this offbeat drama. Marina (Ariane Labed) is an eccentric woman in her early 20s who has few friends and is physically repulsed by men, though she isn’t satisfied by sex with women. One of the few things that bring Marina happiness is a high-rise block of flats in the industrial town where she was born; while the building is plain and unexceptional, there’s something about the place (built to house the workers at an aluminum processing facility) that fascinates her.

The cast includes, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou among others.