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Grab your oar and prepare to set sail! Join us as we break down everything you need to know before Christopher Nolan's epic adaptation hits theaters! From Matt Damon's grueling physical transformation and Tom Holland pausing Spider-Man, to record-breaking IMAX technology and a $250 million budget, this legendary voyage is shaping up to be unmissable!
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00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're telling you 10 things you should know ahead of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
00:19The scope stays true to the journey home.
00:30When adapting a text as dense as Homer's epic, it can be tempting to include the whole backstory.
00:36However, Nolan smartly avoids getting bogged down in prequel territory or rehashing the infamous Trojan War.
00:43Instead, the narrative thrust plunges audiences straight into the meat of the poem, the harrowing, decade-long voyage back to
00:49the shores of Ithaca.
00:50The film tightly focuses on Odysseus' most iconic trials.
01:00From outsmarting the brutal Cyclops Polyphemus to resisting the enchanting sirens and escaping the nymph Calypso.
01:06It also perfectly balances this high seas adventure with the tension back home,
01:10chronicling Queen Penelope's desperate political maneuvering as she tries to fend off a castle full of violent suitors vying for
01:16the throne.
01:17This is a household waiting for master.
01:23I want you to choose me.
01:25The production was physically punishing.
01:27No experience will be as challenging as making this movie.
01:31So getting through it in the way that you did and moving forward and, you know,
01:35not complaining when you're cold or uncomfortable or on the side of a mountain.
01:40If you thought navigating the ancient world was tough, try shooting it.
01:44Matt Damon hasn't shied away from detailing just how grueling this production actually was.
01:48To capture the gritty realism of Odysseus' cursed voyage, the elements were essentially weaponized against the cast.
01:55I remember being at the hotel, like, on a day where I wasn't working, and then I would see you
01:59all come back from work, and it would scare me.
02:02We're talking about Damon being relentlessly blasted by high-pressure water hoses and soaked by freezing rain during Iceland's relentless
02:08white nights to simulate the underworld.
02:10Even the supposedly idyllic Moroccan beaches used for Calypso's island were notoriously wind-whipped.
02:16But nobody could complain because Nolan was right there in the trenches.
02:20The director was always just a few feet away, enduring the exact same miserable weather conditions without ever uttering a
02:26single complaint.
02:27I think there was probably a time early in my career when I would have complained about being cold or
02:32wet or any of the, you know, uncomfortable, basically.
02:35I felt so joyful the entire time I was there.
02:38I felt, because I was looking around it at people who had the same priorities as I did, who really
02:44wanted to be there.
02:45A global production footprint.
02:46You just know that the locations when you're telling a story like this are going to be like characters unto
02:50themselves, so they have to be extra special.
02:53And so we found ourselves in these really amazing places.
02:56To authentically capture the Mediterranean world of antiquity without relying on green screens, Nolan took his crew on a globetrotting
03:03adventure across half a dozen countries.
03:06Filming began in Morocco, where the ancient sun-baked clay village of Eit-Ben-Hadu stood in for the besieged
03:12city of Troy.
03:13From there, the production sailed to Greece, shooting the terrifying cyclops sequence in Nestor's cave above the horseshoe-shaped Volokilia
03:20beach.
03:21There are parts of the world that I don't think I would even have ever seen or known about had
03:26it not been for this experience.
03:28As an actress, it's such a luxury to be in such an immersive space.
03:32I don't have to pretend like I'm on a boat. I am on the boat.
03:35The cast also embattled the elements in Italy, utilizing the rugged Egeti and Aeolian islands,
03:40while Tom Holland was spotted fending off enemies at Greece's medieval Mithoni castle.
03:44Additional jaw-dropping practical locations included Scotland, Malta, and even Iceland's volcanic landscapes to represent the desolate underworld.
03:52There's a certain level of information that you learn when something is real.
03:57So when you go to these places, you just feel it, and it just adds another layer to what it
04:02is that you're trying to express.
04:05A wild, drowning Trojan horse.
04:07Well, Odysseus, you found a way to make the sheep invite the wolves to dinner.
04:14Forget the towering wooden statue you've seen in history books and past movie adaptations.
04:19Nolan is known for his grounded, high-stakes twists, and his vision for the Trojan horse is terrifying.
04:25Instead of a majestic wooden monolith parked on the sand, the Greeks' secret weapon is portrayed as a half-submerged
04:31disaster.
04:32Greek soldiers are crammed inside this waterlogged wreckage, banking on the Trojans dragging the debris inside their impenetrable walls.
04:39Interestingly enough, Nolan originally conceptualized this exact visual over two decades ago when he was loosely circling Trojans.
04:46Now, he finally gets to unleash this nightmare sequence on the big screen.
04:54Help me go home.
04:56Matt Damon's intense physical transformation.
04:58Odysseus.
05:04Don't you remember?
05:06To embody the legendary king of Ithaca, Matt Damon had to push his body to its limits.
05:11Nolan had a very specific vision for Odysseus.
05:14He needed to look lean, weathered, and undeniably strong.
05:18The physical manifestation of a veteran warrior battered by a decade of sea travel.
05:22Let's go!
05:33To achieve this, Damon adopted a punishing regimen, completely eliminating gluten and dropping his body weight down to a sinewy
05:41167 pounds.
05:43Furthermore, Nolan has a well-known aversion to fake makeup and prosthetics whenever practical alternatives exist.
05:49As a result, Damon had to grow out an unkempt beard for an entire year to capture the rugged look
05:54of a man who hasn't seen civilization in a decade.
05:57The gods told you.
05:59Then I defied the gods.
06:00Tom Holland paused Spider-Man to sail with Nolan.
06:04What would he do if he came back here and find all these suitors in his house?
06:07It takes a lot of sway to hit the brakes on the MCU.
06:10But then again, this is Christopher Nolan and Tom Holland we're talking about.
06:13In a massive flex, production for Spider-Man Brand New Day was pushed back just so Tom Holland could step
06:19into the sandals of Telemachus.
06:21It was the opportunity of a lifetime for Holland, allowing him to trade spandex for swords and sail to sunny
06:26Greece, all while working under one of cinema's greatest auteurs.
06:30You're pining for a daddy you didn't even know, like some sniffling past him.
06:35But the web-slinger didn't just walk away with great memories.
06:38Holland has eagerly shared in interviews that he absorbed so much regarding story structure and pacing on Nolan's set that
06:45he brought those lessons straight back to Marvel, actively contributing to the script for Brand New Day.
06:50Remember a wife, a son, home.
06:59It's a 20-year passion project for Nolan.
07:02Too late for prayer, priestess.
07:12I almost lost this war because of your little romance.
07:16Rome wasn't built in a day, and apparently neither was this movie.
07:20Nolan has been harboring a deep fascination with ancient Greek epics for a massive chunk of his career.
07:25In fact, he flirted with the idea of directing a Trojan war movie back in his early days,
07:30but he ultimately backed away, humbly admitting that he felt a bit out of his depths.
07:34Listen to me now.
07:36I don't know what you think you saw, but we should discuss this thing, don't you think?
07:43Face to face.
07:43This situation isn't yours to control, Will.
07:46I saw you do it.
07:47Well, that was baby Nolan.
07:49Let's fast forward 20 years.
07:50After mastering the art of the epic blockbuster,
07:53the visionary filmmaker finally felt equipped to tackle Homer's sprawling masterpiece.
07:57This film isn't just another notch on his directorial belt.
08:00It is the culmination of two decades of artistic growth, patience, and unwavering passion.
08:06They're not giving up power to you or Odysseus.
08:11Do you think life goes back to the way it was?
08:16That world is gone.
08:18It was filmed entirely on brand new IMAX technology.
08:22IMAX is a camera that doesn't lie.
08:25This is definitely the format or the window that this story wants to be seen in,
08:30and that has always been our first choice.
08:33You didn't think Nolan would settle for standard widescreen, did you?
08:36Teaming up once again with his genius cinematographer Hoyte von Hoytema,
08:40the duo is pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling to absolute extremes.
08:45The Odyssey is making movie history as the very first feature film to be shot from beginning to end
08:50using IMAX 70mm cameras.
08:52If there's one thing they're going to do, it's innovate and find new ways to create
08:57and do things that quite literally have never been done before.
09:01Because traditional IMAX rigs are notoriously heavy and loud,
09:05the production necessitated the development of brand new technology
09:08specifically engineered for this shoot.
09:10This cutting-edge gear allowed the crew to maintain extreme mobility
09:13on rocky shores and turbulent waters
09:15while still capturing the mythic scale of the epic.
09:18So make sure you book the biggest screen possible.
09:21Every frame was shot in IMAX, and when you're in the theater,
09:24you'll feel the full impact of how it was shot.
09:26So you'll be on the Odyssey with all of us.
09:28Experience the Odyssey in IMAX 70mm.
09:30A record-breaking budget for the director.
09:32I would say this movie is in your lifetime.
09:36If there is one movie that you go to the cinema,
09:39no matter what, this is the movie to do.
09:42Because this is pure cinema.
09:46Bringing gods, monsters, and ancient civilizations to life certainly doesn't come cheap.
09:50And the studio opened its checkbook wide for this endeavor.
09:53Boasting an estimated budget of roughly $250 million,
09:57the Odyssey officially reigns as the most expensive project of Christopher Nolan's entire career.
10:02This is definitely the biggest movie that I've ever done in my career.
10:06It feels like we made six or seven movies.
10:09And in a sense, we did.
10:10To put that staggering figure into perspective,
10:13Interstellar cost nearly $100 million less.
10:16While Nolan is famous for maximizing every single dollar on screen,
10:20recreating the treacherous 10-year voyage across the Mediterranean
10:24naturally demanded a historic level of financial backing.
10:27Clearly, Universal believes this epic is a guaranteed box office titan.
10:32You know, we're shooting in Nestor's cave in Greece.
10:35It's this incredible place.
10:37But nobody's ever tried to shoot a film up there.
10:39And so to see the rigging that they did to basically turn it into a natural sound stage,
10:45I don't know any other director who would try.
10:48Nolan relied on a specific, groundbreaking translation.
10:52So I'm delighted to be here.
10:53And I'm going to talk about my approach to translating the Odyssey.
10:58While Hollywood has been adapting ancient myths for decades,
11:02Nolan anchored his vision to a very specific text.
11:05Although the director poured over multiple variations of Homer's work,
11:09he was ultimately captivated by Emily Wilson's groundbreaking translation from 2017.
11:14Could the Odyssey be the work of a woman?
11:16No, I don't think it could.
11:17But because this is a review of my book,
11:20and because I happen to be a woman,
11:21therefore, that's the title that's given to it.
11:23As the first woman to ever publish an English translation of the Odyssey,
11:27Wilson stripped away layers of antiquated Victorian romanticism
11:31and offered a fresh and accessible perspective.
11:33Indeed, Nolan leaned heavily into her nuanced interpretation to build his protagonist.
11:38Instead of a flawless, muscle-bound action hero,
11:41this version of Odysseus emphasizes his intellect, morals, and strategic mind,
11:46promising audiences a character-driven blockbuster that respects the ancient poetry
11:50while still feeling entirely modern.
11:52I'm happy to think that my translation might be doing something to inspire and open doors
11:56for younger women, maybe also people of color and people of different social identities
12:01in the worlds of classics or poetry or translation or history or the humanities more broadly.
12:07What are you most looking forward to seeing in the movie?
12:09Let us know in the comments.
12:10Let us know in the comments.
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