Close to 3000 people filled Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on a chilly night in late September for the world premiere of Wog Boys Forever, the latest film from comedian Nick Giannopoulos.
As soon as Giannopoulos hits the stage in his signature black leather jacket, the crowd erupts.
The film is a resounding success, with the audience focused and bursting out into fits of uncontrollable laughter.
I have never laughed so hard at a movie premiere, and in a world of oversaturated and original comedy, Nick’s raw and honest take on life in Wog Boys Forever is refreshing.
The last few years haven’t been easy for Nick, with the Covid lockdowns hitting the Entertainment industry hard, yet he made the best of the situation and its paid off big time!
“I made a decision as soon as the lockdowns started in Melbourne to not just sit around doing nothing but to be productive and finish off the script for the third wog boy film.”
I sat down with Mr Giannopoulos to discuss all things life and comedy.
How are you Nick?
Hi I’m great. Thanks for asking. Very much looking forward to the release of the new wog boy movie. Life is very exciting right now.
Congratulations on the premier of Wog Boys Forever that’s coming out on the 22nd, how do you feel?
It was a wonderful experience making Wog Boys Forever. I felt very lucky to be able to revisit a character that has become so iconic in Aussie film history.
The best part was being able to pop back into Steve’s life 12 years since the last time we saw him. We soon see that he still has elements of the old Steve but there is also so much that has changed about him. He has had to learn some very valuable life lessons along the way.
This film finds Steve in his mid life years, still single and working as a Taxi driver. Its quite a departure since the last time we saw him in Mykonos , dancing the Zorba, smashing plates and very much in love with a beautiful Greek girl, Zoe.
But when we first see Steve in the film that all seems to be a long time ago. He is lonely and has pretty much lost his ‘wogboy’ mojo until one day an old flame from his past, Cleo jumps into is cab. Steve quickly realises that he made a huge mistake with Cleo and she could very well be the one that got away. He realises that the only way to get what her back and to deal with his new found enemies, who want to destroy him, is to somehow find that old Steve mojo again and get back his ‘wogboy’ superpowers.
How did the pandemic affect your career?
I made a decision as soon as the lockdowns started in Melbourne to not just sit around doing noting but to be productive and finish off the script for the third wog boy film.
It was the best thing I could’ve done because it kept me in a positive state of mind and gave me something to look forward to when it was all over.
I’m very sorry on the passing of your dad, may he Rest In Peace. What was it like filming the movie at that time in your life?
My father passed away after I had finished the script and before we started shooting. I used to talk to him about the new film and what it was going to be about. Every time he laughed at something it gave me a lot of confidence. He has been to all of my movie premieres and it it certainly won’t feel the same without him there by my side at this pne. But I know he will be looking on from above and that he always walks beside me.
You have some fantastic fans over in Greece and they’re wondering if you’ll ever film another Wog boys movie over in the homeland?
I love Greece very much and have been a regular visitor for a very long time. It was an absolute dream come true to get to make The Kings Of Mykonos as an Aussie movie in Greece with both Australian and Greek actors. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I know that the film has been very popular in Greece – they still show it on the main TV stations every 6 months or so – which is truly amazing. The thing is though that because of the euro it is very expensive to shoot a film in Europe but hey you never know. If I can find the money and support I would love to go back there one day and shoot another film.
What was it like shooting with Sooshi Mango?
I first saw the guys on the internet in 2016 and called them up to have a coffee with them as I was really impressed by their raw talent at that stage. So I asked them to be in a stage show with me ‘Wogs At Work ‘in 2017.
It was very successful and they learnt an enormus amount as they had never been on a stage before in front of a live audience. We did a second stage show together called ’StarWogs’ in 2018 with Mary Coustas in the cast as well.
By that time their confidence had come a long way and I think that was the show whereby they realised that the could go on a have a successful career all by themselves. Which they have.
It was wonderful to work with them in the movie . They are very funny in it and I think audiences will love them.
Where do you see yourself in five years Nick? Can you share any upcoming projects with us?
Five years! Wow! Well let’s see hopefully living in a nice simple house on a Greek Island near a beach, surrounded by all the people that I love, living a simple life the Greek way. Opa!
The time has come once again for Steve to show the whole world that,
“Where there’s a wog, there’s always a way.”
YouTube full trailer: https://youtu.be/dA8kVEiEpe4
Get your tickets here: https://www.hoyts.com.au/movies/wog-boys-forever
