‘Not afraid to do it the old-fashioned way’: Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey set to see off YouTube upstarts
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- Christopher Nolan is releasing his $250 million adaptation of Homer's 'The Odyssey' this summer, his most expensive film to date and his follow-up to the Oscar-winning 'Oppenheimer.'
- The Odyssey was filmed entirely on IMAX using 2 million feet of film, with Nolan building authentic physical props — including the Trojan horse and Odysseus's ship — rather than relying on green screen VFX.
- The ensemble cast combines Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway with Zendaya, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong'o, Mia Goth, Samantha Morton, and fellow director Benny Safdie.
- Opening weekend projections place the film's North American debut at $80 million to $100 million, with Screen International's Wendy Mitchell arguing Nolan 'is the guy not afraid to do it the old-fashioned way.'
- Elon Musk and his followers accused Nolan of wanting to 'destroy western civilisation' after Nyong'o was cast as Helen of Troy, while Guardian writer Chris Cotonou separately asked whether the absence of Greek actors makes audiences 'unworthy of our myths.'
- Mary Beard, Cambridge professor emerita of classics, defended Nolan's use of Emily Wilson's modern translation, pointing to Wilson's shift from 'serving girls' to 'slaves' as a more accurate rendering of Homer's slave-owning society.
Why it matters: For theatrical exhibition, Nolan's $250M bet on practical-effects IMAX filmmaking lands in a year when superhero tentpoles are losing steam and cheaper, internet-originated films like 'Backrooms' and 'Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie' are gathering audiences and plaudits. A $80M-$100M opening would revalidate the costly, physical-model approach that Mitchell says separates Nolan from the wave of YouTube-veteran filmmakers entering theaters.
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