So who's profiting from this on- and offscreen Cinderella story? It's not who you might think. Executive producer Paul Brooks secured financing from Gold Circle Films, a two-and-a-half-year-old production firm that he now heads. In order to avoid being left at the altar, he crafted an unusual deal that turned out to be highly lucrative: Gold Circle would split production costs with HBO (a division of EW parent AOL Time Warner), with the latter claiming domestic video and TV rights. After original distributor Lions Gate passed, the film was shopped around Hollywood with no takers -- until IFC Films stepped forward. Gold Circle picked up the marketing tab, while IFC initially received just a flat distribution fee of about $200,000 and no chance at a piece of the profits. A source familiar with negotiations says IFC has renegotiated its take at least three times since. Ultimately, though, the bulk of the film's earnings are being shared by Gold Circle, HBO, and Playtone.
''This is the best deal any producer has made in the history of movies,'' says an awestruck Tom Bernard, copresident of Sony Pictures Classics. ''Never do they separate rights the way they did on this film. The nature of the deal is what prevented most people from picking up the movie.'' That includes his studio. Bernard's partner, Michael Barker, says flatly, ''Companies like us are not interested in buying movies when we're only offered [theatrical] distribution rights.''
For IFC, the film has provided mostly bragging rights as it challenges indie stalwarts like Miramax and Lions Gate for market share. (This year, the distributor also scored with foreign-language hits ''Y Tu Mamá También'' and ''Monsoon Wedding.'') ''It's been a huge boon for us,'' says Sehring. ''Financially, we're doing just fine.''
The slow-burning hit has also lifted the veil on writer-star Vardalos. The comedian, 39, just signed a seven-figure deal with Disney-based Spyglass Entertainment to star in ''Connie and Carla Do L.A.,'' a female road-trip comedy she wrote. ''I have a lot of sisters and female cousins,'' says Vardalos, ''but I don't like chick flicks. I wanted to do something that men could also sit through without squirming.'' In addition, she's slated to star in ''Wedding'''s small-screen spin-off, a midseason possibility for CBS (the pilot was shot last March).
And brace yourself for a host of imitators grappling for a box office bouquet. ''Most of them will be misses,'' predicts Berney. ''There will be attempts, though -- a lot of ethnic wedding and PG-rated comedies.'' ''My Big Fat Sri Lankan Commitment Ceremony,'' anyone?
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