According to Greek wedding traditions, after the church vows, there's a big reception feast to celebrate the newlyweds.
At this feast, the speech from "Toula's" dad is the heart and soul of the whole event.
The actor playing Nicole Kidman's Greek father is in his sixties, a real Greek guy who's only done small TV roles before. Luckily, the character isn't too tricky—just needs to come off as loving, a bit goofy, and old-fashioned. For this old-timer, it's pretty much playing himself!
"Hello, everyone, welcome to the Portokalos family dinner!" the dad says in his thick Greek-accented English, cracking everyone up the moment he opens his mouth.
"Uh… uh… and the Miller family dinner too!" His face twists a little as he goes on, "Last night, I was thinking about my new son-in-law, Ian Miller. The name Miller comes from the Greek root 'milo,' which means apple."
He's super proud of being Greek, part of the foundation of Western culture. "A lot of people know my name's Portokalos, from the Greek word 'portokali,' meaning orange. So, there you go—tonight, we've got apples and oranges. We come from different backgrounds, but we share the same roots. We're all fruit!"
It's the warmest scene in the movie. This quirky dad, who always wanted his daughter to marry a Greek, shows so much fatherly love at her wedding.
Then, he pulls out his life savings to buy a house as a wedding gift for his daughter—hands down the film's biggest tearjerker moment.
This is a Greek tradition, something Americans don't usually do. The movie uses this to show it's not mocking Greek culture—it's got respect too.
Filming wraps up smoothly as always. Dunn excitedly announces to everyone, "*My Big Fat Greek Wedding* is officially done!"
"Whoa!"
Dunn's core crew, mostly first-timers in movie-making, are way more pumped than the rest. Glenn Fiero practically leaps at Dunn with open arms. "Oh my God, I actually worked on a movie! Dunn, you big shot, you're basically my hero!"
Dunn shoves him off with a grimace. "Get up! Right now, I'd rather hug a woman!" He laughs and opens his arms toward Nicole Kidman.
No way Nicole's going for that in front of everyone. She shoots him a cold glare and totally ignores him.
In the middle of the laughter, Sofia Coppola steps up confidently and gives Dunn a quick hug. "Congrats, Dunn! Another movie in the bag. I've got a feeling this one's gonna be a hit too."
Dunn grins. "Sofia, I'll take that good luck!"
Then Katherine Heigl sashays over, her pretty face beaming with a flirty smile and a voice so sweet it's almost too much. "Congrats, Dunn! And… thanks for looking out for me all this time."
The crew collectively cringes—everyone's silently screaming "diva" a million times in their heads.
Nicole Kidman and Sofia Coppola, though, aren't fazed. They've seen it all. In Hollywood, tons of gorgeous girls dream of stardom. Without some cunning, how do you make it? Even Nicole hitched her wagon to Tom Cruise, right? No one's got room to judge!
Dunn gives her a tight hug. "Katherine, your acting's still rough around the edges—it needs work. But I believe if you keep at it, in ten years, you could totally lead a movie."
Her heart sinks at first, like she's been dunked in ice water, but his follow-up gives her hope. "Thanks for the advice, Dunn. I'll keep pushing!"
"Mm-hmm."
Dunn nods. With small-timers like her, once the novelty wears off, he loses interest fast. He turns to Sofia. "Crew's breaking up now. Wanna head to your place?"
It's been planned for a while—Dunn's visiting Mr. Francis Coppola.
"Sure," Sofia says. She notices Katherine's disappointed look and pats her back. "Start with TV for now. Where you're at, breaking into movies is tough. Even if Dunn wants to help, you've gotta have the chops to back it up, right?"
Katherine forces a sheepish smile. "Thanks, Sofia. I get it."
…
The Coppola family's a big deal in the U.S. This year's *Time* magazine ranked them fourth in influence nationwide—higher than even legendary families like the Rockefellers.
Francis Coppola's place isn't in flashy Beverly Hills, where new celebs flock to show off. For a family like the Coppolas, they don't need that. His home's in Pasadena, a famous city under L.A.'s umbrella. It's less crowded, backed by mountains—a perfect spot to chill.
Francis Coppola's house is massive—Dunn's jaw practically drops when he sees it.
A huge lawn like a soccer field, quiet little streets with a few golf carts parked around, pavilions, sculptures, fountains, exotic flowers, and trees everywhere—it's unreal.
Liv Tyler once said visiting Dunn's place made her feel like she'd grown up in a slum. Now, at Francis Coppola's, Dunn gets what she meant.
"It's all from decades ago—didn't cost much back then," Sofia says with a shrug. She's clearly not into the family's big shadow, just like her cousin Nicolas Cage.
Through Sofia's introduction, Dunn finally meets the legendary director.
Francis Coppola's a bit stocky, round-faced, with a big beard. He's dressed super casual, like he's just hanging out with old buddies, which makes him feel approachable.
Dunn's got genuine respect for this guy. Forget everything else—just his *Godfather* trilogy alone gets rereleased in theaters every few years. Made in 1972 for $6 million, it's raked in $245 million by now, not to mention its insane impact on global film history.
"Hey, Mr. Coppola, I'm Dunn. Just wrapped a movie and came by to visit—mostly to thank you for helping me out that day."
In front of a legend like this, Dunn doesn't bother hiding anything. No point.
That day, he'd used a flimsy excuse—"Sofia was harassed"—to get Francis Coppola's help. It was obviously just a story. With Francis's smarts, he'd have seen through it in a second. Everyone knows Sofia's his daughter. Forget some Chicago punks—even the Italian mafia wouldn't dare touch her!
Francis points to a chair. "Hollywood's gotta protect its own dignity. It's no big deal."
Dunn can't help but feel awed.
This guy's a true Hollywood filmmaker. His mindset's on a whole different level from the capitalists who've stormed the industry lately!
patreon belamy20