This seems to be a timeless sort of movie. Was that intentional?

Well I hope that’s what I’ve done. I hope it stands the test of time. There aren’t any lines in there like, “Well, with the economy doing what it is today.” That’s not in there so hopefully it won’t be dated in three years when we’re all fine again, fingers crossed. I think that’s a lucky accident, or shall I say unlucky accident? The world is going through what it’s going through so we need this kind of a story just so we can feel good for a few hours among everything going on in the country and in the world.

What grabbed you about this project?

When I look at stories, I look for the character and what they’re going through and what I think will be relatable to audiences. For whatever reason, ever since I directed “Mystic Pizza,” female characters have been very attractive to me. I guess I’m a feminist at heart or whatever. In “Miss Congeniality,” Sandra Bullock’s character has subjugated her femininity in order to be a FBI agent and it’s about how she deals with getting it back. With “My Life in Ruins,” I was thinking that so many people find themselves at some point in their lives where they’ve just lost their joie de vivre. They’re 40 and don’t feel they’ve got as far as they wanted to, success-wise or love-wise. They’ve just lost their lease on life or, in this case, their ‘kefi’, their spirit. And in this film it’s about the journey of finding it again or getting it back, helped by this odd lot of tourists centered around Richard Dreyfuss’s character Irv. That was the story for me.

Do you think Europeans will view this film differently from Americans?

The original script was a group of Americans and Nia. We changed that because in being on tour in Greece, looking around, it’s truly international. So this way I could feel I was insulting everyone equally, at least in the groups that we could deal with (laughs). I couldn’t get every nationality on the bus but obviously we have the uptight Brits, the Australians you can’t understand and many other stereotypes. And yet, we were trying to make it so that the stereotypes are how Georgia [Vardalos] sees these people. She has lumped them into these groups and once she gets past that and sees these people as people, she gets to loosen up and see that she’s the one who has been making her own life miserable.

Can you talk a little about Nia Vardalos?

Here’s a woman of a certain age in Hollywood that does what Nike says:
Just Do It.” She doesn’t wait for an offer or a script to come to her. She goes out and gets it done. If it doesn’t exist, she’ll write it. I’m so impressed with Nia and how she does that. She had one of the hugest hits on the planet with “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

You had permission to shoot on these incredibly famous ancient sites in Greece. How do you broach the subject of caution with your crew?

We had production meetings in advance to let everyone know what we could and couldn’t do. All the equipment we brought in was selected for its light weight. That’s not to say we didn’t bring cranes into Olympia – we did – but we worked out everything in advance so we had permission. The only surprise we had was losing half a day at Delphi because it was pouring with rain. We had permits for two days and they were only for those two days. You’re not going to go, “Oh, it’s raining, we’re going to stay over another day.” It doesn’t work like that.

Since you weren’t allowed to close any sites to tourists, how did you ensure they didn’t ruin your shots?

I’ve always felt what goes around comes around so if you go in there and start yelling at the tourists, you’re going to get attitude back. I told everyone to treat the tourists like their long-lost friends or relatives. I told everyone, “Even if you’re busy, try to answer their questions. Try to make us as much fun as seeing the ruins.” Honestly, I’ve had more trouble with tourists in New York. In Greece, they’re there to see the ruins. Their thinking is, “I’m here to see the Temple of Zeus so I’m going to see it.”

Another key to the film’s success is its great supporting cast. Is it fair to say they were handpicked?

I hired them based on the fact that they could all improvise and bring something much more than we could fit in the script. The difficulty was for the poor sound guy because I insisted everyone wore a microphone. That was important. Nia would say something and everyone would answer at the same time. I was able to go in close and say, “Let’s cherry pick the best.”

This is an unashamedly sentimental film. Do you have any rules for keeping it the right side of cloying?

What I go for is what feels real and true. Yes, you can manipulate something. You can squeeze tears or whatever. But I find that audiences are very sophisticated these days. They know when they’re being manipulated and they don’t like it. Even though we are in the business of putting together stories which will evoke an emotional response, I try to stay very true to the characters. I’m not trying to force feelings, indeed I’m usually going against it, especially in a comedy. I won’t let the violins wail but I might make comic music to take the edge off.

You know leading ladies, having worked with Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock and Kate Hudson. Do the great ones have something in common?

I think greatness is where the unexpected comes out. There’s also serendipity but that’s just kind of the luck. If 10 actresses are going to say the same line from a script, when Julia Roberts says it, it’s going to be different. I think it’s the unpredictability. There’s just something about these actresses who come at everyday life just slightly differently. And so because of that, their originality just pops out at you. That’s why there are so many who don’t have it. It’s rare to find that unpredictability in a person.

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