Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY reaches theaters this week. His inexplicable choices in casting, source material, and historical anachronisms, have sparked outrage and ridicule that threaten the film’s success. The studio’s damage-control efforts have been heavy-handed and panicked. Even if THE ODYSSEY prevails at the box office, has Nolan forever tarnished his reputation?
There’s an old adage in politics: ‘If you’re explaining, you’re losing.’ Candidates from Gary Hart to Graham Platner have learned this lesson the hard way. Now Universal Studios is getting schooled. Instead of generating excitement for Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY (‘NO,’) its marketing efforts are reacting to widespread criticism and ridicule of the film’s casting choices, historical flubs, dark, brooding palette, and more.
Christopher Nolan is a Hollywood stud. The films he writes, directs, and produces consistently rake in huge box offices, earning praise for their sweeping arcs and stunning visuals. Fans cheered and investors salivated when they heard Nolan was working on an adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. Then word spread of controversial casting choices: Lupita Ngong’o as Helen of Troy, Elleniot Page as Achilles.
“The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”
With the launch of the marketing campaign, the casting rumors were confirmed. Ngong’o plays both Helen and her half-sister (!), Clytemnestra, with Page not as Achilles but rather Cinon, a character found only in Virgil’s Aeneid. John Leguizamo and some Patel guy as Mycenaeans. Blacks as suitors. A Korean in Odysseus’ crew. BRF-afflicted Zendaya as Athena. Rapper Travis Scott stands in as ‘The Bard.’ It’s hard to imagine that Nolan inadvertently walked into the culture war crossfire.
The trailers failed to do their one job: entice movie-goers. Instead, they only sparked additional controversies about the film’s anachronistic armor & modern dialogue, as well as its dull visual palette & brooding tone. On Youtube, the trailers got badly ‘ratio’d’ — downvotes outnumber upvotes by 10 to 1.
And then came along Helen of Detroit.
AI parodies of NO explosively multiplied. In addition to mocking a black Helen, clips ridiculed Page first as Achilles, then as the Terminator, Indiana Jones, Rocky, Claude Van Damme. Brad Pitt in character as Achilles visits Nolan’s set to harangue him. An entire sub-genre has sprung up featuring Samuel L. Jackson (PULP FICTION edition) as Helen. If Universal’s marketing department didn’t see this coming, then they weren’t paying enough attention to Spencer Pratt’s guerrilla mayoral campaign. Efforts now pivoted from promotion to damage control.
“Four out of five experts agree.”
Ridicule is difficult to combat. But with $400 million to recoup, Universal had to try. What’s ensued has been an agitprop/psyop increasingly common in politics, but never before employed for a film release.
An official NO account was launched on X.com — with comments turned off. Simultaneously, Universal enlisted an armada of influencers and access journalists (i.e., shills) to sing orgiastic praises of the film, while also sending this message: if you don’t love this film, you are a bad person. Pro bono work by legacy media described any & all critics as ‘conservatives’ or ‘MAGA.’
When complaints shifted from the race-swapping to NO’s anachronisms, counter experts were hired. In a chummy chit-chat with actor Tom Holland (Telemachus), History-Lite author Tom Holland discussed discredited ‘Sea Peoples’ theories. Emily Wilson, author of the postmodernist translation of The Odyssey on which Nolan based his screenplay, assured us it was perfectly fine for Nolan to use the modern colloquial language found in her postmodernist translation. “There’s nothing to be accurate to,” scoffed ‘rock star scholar,’ [sic] Daniel Mendelsohn. “Classic scholars know that both the Iliad and the Odyssey are a mishmash of different kinds of armor, clothing, speech, and different eras.” Mendelsohn urged the public to confirm this by purchasing his newly published translation of The Odyssey.
“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise.”
Softball interviews with director and cast are an integral part of pre-release marketing for any film, to tout a film’s star appeal. For NO, they’ve perforce had to instead address all the controversies. That has not gone well for Nolan and his troupe.
When asked what she’d say to Homer were he with us, Lupita Ngoy’o sneered: “I’d be like, so Homer, how do you feel about the screen time being given to these women, considering how little you spent with them? Hmm? Remember us?” Ngong’o elaborated: “When you read The Iliad and The Odyssey, very little time is spent in the perspective of the women, Right? It’s told from a very masculine side of things.” Lupita Stupida forgot she’d previously announced that she’d never read Homer, neither at Wakanda High nor at Yale. In truth, female characters play such prominent roles in The Odyssey, some scholars have suggested the author may have been a woman.
Tom Holland’s deeply profound rationale for his Telemachus saying ‘my dad’: “I wouldn’t have even said ‘father’ back in the day, would I?” It would’ve been in Greek.” NB: Homer has Telemachus say πατρός / πατέρας (‘father,’) never μπαμπάς (‘papa.’)
Samantha Morton (Circe) raved about how, until Nolan came along to liberate them, women throughout history had been vilified “whether you’re a midwife, whether you’re a herbalist, a healer, whether you’re just in tune with the Moon.” This bodes ill for how Nolan frames the “wicked witchcraft” Circe uses to turn Odysseus’ men into swine.
When asked about his controversial decisions, Nolan responded with pablum.
Why the race swapping? “For this film, I needed great actors.”
Is yours a faithful adaptation of Homer? “You honor the original … by making it your own.” And, “I want to make it feel very fresh for modern audiences.”
Your response to the criticism? “They’re always irrelevant, because no one … knows what the film actually is yet.” (Isn’t that what trailers are for?)
By sticking to standard anecdotes about his time on set, Matt Damon was the only one who came out of these interviews not sounding like either a fool or a fraud.
“O, wad some Power the giftie gie us, to see oursels as others see us!”
A series of private screenings across the globe (notably skipping Greece, where the film was mostly shot) generated both positive and negative publicity. In Paris, Zendaya posed wearing something covering her head & face meant to echo the Eiffel Tower behind her, but more resembled a funnel cake. Looking like a child wearing her daddy’s old suit for Halloween, 5’1” Elleniot Page signed autographs accompanied by her 6’7” bodyguard.
In the final week before the premiere, Nolan’s use of IMAX was hyped. Both to imply that only 70mm can do justice to Nolan’s stunning visuals, and to boost the opening weekend box office with $40 ticket advance sales. A passé novelty, IMAX is rarely used outside of short documentaries. Employing it exclusively for a 172-minute, live action feature is a production nightmare. Considering only about three dozen theaters in the world can screen what was shot, it benefited only Nolan’s pretensions.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.”
Reports conflict over whether IMAX tickets are sold out, or mostly still available. Opening weekend box office is now cautiously estimated to be $85 – $100 million. For Universal to just break even, eventual total gross will need to top $800 million. OPPENHEIMER managed that, but cost much less to make and didn’t kick the culture war hornet’s nest.
Like a gambling addict, Hollywood keeps betting on, and losing on, stud writer/director/producers producing blockbusters. JJ Abrams, James Gunn, Rian Johnson, Taika Waititi, et al., have crashed & burned recently, often taking established, pre-sold franchises down with them. Nolan is the last stud standing, though perhaps not for long. His awe-inducing visuals (and Hans Zimmer soundtracks) have always deflected scrutiny of his incoherent plots, soporific pacing, and two-dimensional characters. His reputation as a stickler for accuracy, whether historical or scientific, is a charade. Black Helen opened Pandora’s jar, giving critics the courage to actually criticize the many flaws of Hollywood’s demigod.
“It’s a bold strategy, Cotton.”
Why, Christopher, Why? With five minutes on screen, Ngong’o was not essential to telling the story. Elleniot Page was not “perfect for the part,” as Nolan claims. Rather, he transplanted a character into Homer solely for her benefit.
Perhaps sparking controversy was deliberate. With restive financiers pressuring Hollywood execs to stop losing their money on woke bombs, is NO one last attempt to show that woke can be profitable? Nolan chosen for the mission, because Nolan never fails to knock it out of the park? If true, it confirms Hollywood’s transformation from entertainment industry into propaganda ministry. It also underscores how out-of-touch are the Hollywood elite with hoi polloi.
Or, perhaps Nolan simply sought to please those elites, his tribe, and figured he could get away with pissing off — and pissing on — a large segment of his audience. As Ciarán Hinds’ Julius Caesar in Rome said, “it’s only hubris if we fail.” Let’s see if it works out for him.
Either way, it’s a damned shame. Summer blockbusters such as JAWS, ALIEN, SPLASH, GHOSTBUSTERS, STAR WARS, used to entertain and connect Americans of all political persuasions. Hollywood should’ve remained neutral in the culture war. It’s paying a heavy price for choosing a side.
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Posted by Matt 
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