Joe Cortese (Green Book) and Julia Ormond (Sabrina) join me for this special edition of Deadline’s The Backstory to talk about the origin and production of their new film Here’s Yianni!, the rare motion picture to focus on a marriage not just at its happy beginning but also nearing its end and still as passionate and dedicated as it ever was — especially in the face of a devastating health crisis when one of them is diagnosed with dementia. Director Christina Eliopoulos, who based this story on her own father, and producer Valerie McCaffrey also join in the conversation to tell the tale of how this film starring two veteran actors in the leading roles got made against all odds in Hollywood for stories focused on seniors.
In this true-to-life story, Yianni (Cortese) and Plouisa (Julia Ormond) own a charming Greek diner by the beach where Yianni is a convivial host. One day, his mind and memory fading, Yianni imagines himself as a late-night TV talk-show host. As his illness worsens, their love is tested. With faith, laughter and Plousia’s whimsical inventiveness and a surrounding community that loves Yianni to no end, they live every moment to its fullest. The takeaway is that love is unconditional no matter our scenario, situation or challenges. The music, too, includes the closing song “Remember to Remember” by 17-time Oscar nominated Diane Warren sung by Pat Monahan from Train.
The title of the film refers to an imaginary talk show that Yianni believes he is hosting, something also taken from real life as Eliopoulos describes her inspiration for the script. “The gist of it was that when dad became ill, there weren’t too many places I could kind of put the pain because of the shock of his illness. But what I learned very, very quickly is that dad was giving to me and mom gifts every single day. He was making us laugh, even though he was going through this terrible disease,” she said. ”And I I was inspired to write his story. I made a little short film. I was privileged to work with Joe in that short film. And we pursued the dream, and here we are. I was able to really tell the story of this lifelong devotion between this husband and wife. That’s how it came to be. Daddy indeed thought he was a talk-show host. And when mom would walk into the room, he would stand up and applaud. oftentimes he would interview her in Greek, he would interview me, he would interview himself. My mom was at first was really distressed and of course heartbroken.
“Eventually she learned that it is a bit of a cliché, but it’s true that laughter is the best medicine. And so they helped each other laugh.”
Cortese, a veteran character actor, shares the story of how he got involved, first acting in the short. About eight, nine years ago, Valerie calls and says, ‘I’m sending you a script, I’m recommending you do it.’ I say, ‘Is it film or TV?’ She says, ‘It’s film.’ I said, ‘Great.’ She says, beat, beat, beat, ‘It’s a short film.’ I say ‘A short film?. I’m in the business 40 years. You’re sending me a short movie? Is this your way to impress me?’ She goes, ‘Just read it’. I read it, I fall in love with it,” he said.
“I’m going back to Jersey, my niece’s wedding. I meet Christina, we do the short. I love the story. I love the character. I love what it was about. I just loved it. She said, ’Now I got good news and I got bad news.’ I said, ‘Well, what’s the bad news?’ She said, ‘They’re offering you a hundred dollars a day.’ I said, ‘Well, what’s the good news?’ She said, ‘I think I can get you two.’
For Ormond, who is British, this was quite different from the usual roles she has been doing, and she dove right in. “It was just beautiful because, you know, God bless low budget, Christina was sort of bringing in stuff from home and filling the room with it, things from her mother or things from her family. So it was wonderful to kind of step in something that felt like a very authentic world. And I think the way that Christina had written it with these little vignettes of the downbeats created a fabric that was really kind of just delicious to dive into as an actor. I hope that other people will find it. It was to me very warm. It was very human,” she said.
McCaffrey adds it is very tough to make small movies these days but worth the perseverance. “In the independent world sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns, which Joe has done. And it’s really admirable that he completely is on board in every way,” she said. “You get mixed up with the big-budget movies and we forget why we’re in this business. And that is to tell meaningful, truthful stories, and you know at the end of the day I think those films will be remembered and will do well as long as people are able to see them.”
Watch the full conversation above.
