A sequel to highly successful Australian comedy The Wog Boy goes into production next week in Melbourne. It will be distributed by the Transmission/Paramount joint venture with Arclight Films handling international sales.

Wog Boy 2, The Kings Of Mykonos will again star Nick Giannopoulos and Vince Colosimo (Lantana) as best mates Steve and Frank. The story follows them from the streets of Melbourne’s western suburbs to the villages of sunny Mykonos after Steve discovers he has inherited a beach on the island worth millions, from an uncle he has never met.

A wog is now an affectionate term used for European immigrants in Australia and this film taps into Greek culture for its comedy, just as the last one did. A Valiant car that featured in the last film gets to reprise its role.

The original grossed $9.64m (A$11.45m) when it was released in Australia by Twentieth Century Fox in 2000. The popularity of the film gave birth to a live show.

Giannopoulos and Chris Anastassiades, who wrote the first film, have also written this sequel, but director Peter Andrikidis, who is known as an exemplary director of television drama, has taken over from Aleksi Vellis. Giannopoulos is producing with Emile Sherman of See-Saw Films, which has a joint venture with Transmission. G.O Films is the other production company.

With many Australian films being shown in arthouse cinemas rather than multiplexes, Wog Boy 2, The Kings OfMykonos is an example of the Australian industry trying to reignite commercial hits.

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