Studio Behind The Odyssey Addresses ‘Misunderstanding’ About Damage To Replica Ship

Posted on 24/07/2026 by Boris Clair

The production company behind The Odyssey has responded to claims that the film’s crew damaged a replica of a Viking boat during filming, without paying for the damage.

Earlier this week, the chair of the Vikingaleden association in western Sweden told The Guardian the organisation had given permission for one of its boats to be used during the making of Christopher Nolan’s film.

A year later, they have said they invoiced Universal for $6000 (around £4500) for repairs after it was damaged during the infamously-gruelling shoot, but have still not received a payment.

“We are only charging for the material cost, not the labour. Of course Universal can afford this $6,000. We feel forgotten,” they said, adding: “The agreement was that we would fix it and get financially reimbursed.”

A Universal spokesperson said in response: “Our records show that all invoices relating to the Glad av Gillberga were paid in full, including repairs. The studio and the production have contacted the association to clear up any misunderstanding.”

The boat in question was used in several sequences in The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer’s Ancient Greek tome.

While promoting the film, director Christopher Nolan has opened up on numerous occasions about his preference for on-location shooting and practical effects, rather than green-screen technology and CGI, as much as possible.

He told Empire magazine last year: “By embracing the physicality of the real world in the making of the film, you do inform the telling of the story in interesting ways. Because you’re confronted on a daily basis by the world pushing back at you.”

More recently, Nolan has spoken candidly about the “terrifying” feat of bringing the film’s cyclops character to life without relying on computer wizardry, while the cast have voiced their own disbelief over one particular sequence that they were shocked to learn doesn’t feature any CGI.

The Odyssey is now in cinemas.

Bad News For Anyone Hoping To Find Out What A Christopher Nolan Rom-Com Would Look Like

Posted on 24/07/2026 by Boris Clair

Still, the director has insisted that he’s more in his comfort zone doing something as strenuous as his latest big-screen epic than he would be something seemingly more straightforward, like a traditional romantic comedy.

During a new interview on The Tonight Show about just how much his latest film put him through his paces, host Jimmy Fallon joked to Nolan: “Did you ever think to yourself, ‘man, next movie I want to do an easy one?’. How about a Christopher Nolan rom-com?”

“I think doing a rom-com would be incredibly difficult,” the Oscar winner responded. “I love watching those movies, but I think comedy, people who direct comedy, people who do comedy, I think that’s one of the hardest things in the world – to make people laugh that way.”

He explained: “You know, if I show [one of my films] to people and maybe they don’t respond to bits of it, I’m like, ‘ah, they don’t get it’. There’s no hiding behind that when you do comedy.”

“I would be terrified of doing anything like that,” he insisted.

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Over the years, Nolan has tried his hand at a range of genres, including the sci-fi offering Interstellar, his superhero Dark Knight trilogy, the war movie Dunkirk and the psychological thrillers Memento, Insomnia and The Prestige.

In 2023, he unveiled the historical biopic Oppenheimer, which was lauded by critics, made almost a billion dollars at the box office and picked up a string of prizes at the Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and acting prizes for cast members Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.

His latest offering is similarly star-studded, led by Matt Damon alongside the likes of Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya and Lupita Nyong’o.

The Odyssey is in cinemas now.

Whoopi Goldberg Jumps To The Odyssey’s Defence After Right-Wing Backlash

Posted on 23/07/2026 by Boris Clair

Whoopi Goldberg had a message for the so-called “conservative” voices who have recently taken aim at Christopher Nolan’s new film The Odyssey.

During a recent instalment of The View, on which the Oscar winner is a moderator, she brought up the right-wing backlash that has dogged the movie in the lead-up to its release, most notably due to the casting of Lupita Nyong’o and Elliot Page as Helen Of Troy and Sinon, respectively.

“Apparently, conservative critics are losing their minds over the cast of the Christopher Nolan epic The Odyssey,” Whoopi told viewers.

“They were doing that even before it came out, but now that it’s number one at the box office, some of them are still trashing the movie.”

She continued: “Listen, a lot of conservatives who see this are going to feel the same way. That’s OK.

“But I don’t understand – if you feel like that, why go see the movie? If you don’t want to see it, then don’t go see it. Why do you care who’s cast in it? I don’t understand this idea that ‘if we hate it, everyone must hate it, because we hate it for this reason’. You don’t like Elliot Page? Don’t go see the damn movie! Don’t do it. We will be OK, if you don’t go see it.”

After a discussion with her fellow panellists, Whoopi reiterated: “I don’t understand it, I don’t get why you have to poop on everything you don’t get.”

“We don’t care what you think about the movies,” she concluded. “They’re not real – movies are not real. We are real. So please, get it together.”

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Although Nolan has chosen not to speak about the right-wing backlash directly, he did tell The Telegraph in the lead-up to The Odyssey’s release: “These conversations that happen before people see the film – they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.”

He also defended Lupita’s casting, telling Elle earlier this year: “The strength and the poise were so important to the character of Helen. And Lupita makes it look effortless. I’m sure there’s a tremendous amount of discipline and training that goes into projecting that kind of poise and feeling the emotion bubbling beneath the character, the layers of the character right there underneath.

“She’s just an incredible person to work with, and I was absolutely desperate for her to do the part.”

The Odyssey is in cinemas now.

Tom Holland Thanks Odyssey Co-Star For Helping Him Land Spider-Man Role

Posted on 22/07/2026 by Boris Clair

Tom Holland has claimed that one of his co-stars in The Odyssey helped him land the role that made him an international household name.

In Christopher Nolan’s new cinematic epic, Tom stars as Odysseus’ son Telemachus, acting alongside Jon Bernthal in scenes where his character travels to Sparta.

Marvel fans will know that the two actors have shared the screen the past in past MCU projects, in which Tom plays Spider-Man and Jon has appeared as The Punisher.

However, what you might not realise is that they actually go back even further, with the two having previously met on the set of the medieval movie Pilgrimage back in 2017.

During a recent interview with MTV UK, Tom was asked if it was true that he and Jon helped one another with their self-taped audition reels for Marvel bosses, which he confirmed to be the case.

He then shared: “The thing that I am so grateful for to Jon, he’s truly one of my best pals, is that he encouraged me to show off.

“You know, I’ve been a gymnast and a dancer all my life, and when I did my audition I did a very generic reading of the text, and he encouraged me to add backflips and sideflips and we did a whole little fight scene moment. And I really think that he helped me have a bit of a competitive edge in that race.”

“Love Jon Bernthal!” he then enthused.

Jon is due to reprise his role as The Punisher in the new Spider-Man movie Brand New Day, which is due to hit cinemas later this week.

As ever, the superhero outing will also feature another member of The Odyssey’s cast, Tom’s wife Zendaya, as Spider-Man’s love interest MJ.

The Odyssey is in cinemas now, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day is released on Friday 31 July.

Christopher Nolan Opens Up About Ending The Odyssey Shoot Early: ‘People Were Exhausted’

Posted on 14/07/2026 by Boris Clair

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan has claimed that the cast and crew of The Odyssey had “been through it” when the decision was made to stop filming ahead of schedule.

Earlier this week, the Oscar winner paid a visit to The Daily Show to discuss his new movie, where host Jon Stewart asked if it was true that the film was completed “ahead of schedule” and “under budget”.

“Yes,” the filmmaker confirmed, pointing out that this “never happens” in Hollywood. “The reality is, we [scheduled for] 100 days. And by day 91, we couldn’t have taken another step. So we finished.”

“We finished at the right time,” he claimed, pointing out that “everybody was done”.

“I mean, people were just exhausted,” Nolan continued. “They’d been through it. So, it took the right time to make the film. We had enough time to make it.”

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Nolan has made no secret of the fact that The Odyssey made for an especially tough shoot, elaborating further on this during a new interview with The Telegraph in which he complimented the crew for being so “game for it”.

Meanwhile, cast members Matt Damon and Robert Pattinson have both shared their experiences of their gruelling time on set.

Last month, Matt told GQ: “The joke on the crew was we didn’t have a single easy location. Every time we’d go somewhere, we’d be like, ‘Well, Iceland will be easier’. And then it’s raining sideways and it’s fucking freezing. Iceland was like, ‘Yeah, easy? Hey, hold my beer’.”

He also admitted that even when the shoot moved from perilous locations to a soundstage in Los Angeles, this came with its own problems.

“Sure enough, we showed up [to the set in LA] and Chris has two jet engines blowing so much water at us,” he explained. “So it was kind of a fitting end. Even the controlled environment was cold, wet, and a little bit miserable.”

Robert then agreed that he had “never seen people look so exhausted” before beginning his work on The Odyssey.

The Odyssey will be released in cinemas worldwide on Friday 17 July.

If you weren’t already hyped for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming adaptation of The Odyssey, you definitely will be when you listen to the cast talking about how epic it is.

With not long left to go until the much-hyped film hits cinemas, Nolan’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer is already one of the most talked-about new releases of 2026.

The film adapts Homer’s epic Greek poem and follows the King of Ithaca, Odysseus, on his 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. On his mammoth journey, he encounters mythical monsters and violent enemies, using his wit to defeat suitors plotting to take his thrones.
In a new video featurette to promote the film, Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, hyped up the scale of the mythological epic.

“This is definitely the biggest movie I’ve ever done in my career, in terms of its scale,” the actor, who also appeared in Oppenheimer, teased, before adding: “[It’s] definitely the biggest movie I have done in terms of its ambition.”

Zendaya, who plays Athena, also praised Nolan’s ability to “do scope and action and fantasy, but also heart and humanity and depth and rawness”.

Her co-star, and real-life husband, Tom Holland, who plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus, also explained how it felt that this was Nolan’s best work to date.

“I feel like this particular picture is an accumulation of all of his skills and all of his experiences and him at his best, going for it,” he enthused.

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Tag Archives: The Odyssey

Studio Behind The Odyssey Addresses ‘Misunderstanding’ About Damage To Replica Ship

Bad News For Anyone Hoping To Find Out What A Christopher Nolan Rom-Com Would Look Like

Whoopi Goldberg Jumps To The Odyssey’s Defence After Right-Wing Backlash

Tom Holland Thanks Odyssey Co-Star For Helping Him Land Spider-Man Role

Christopher Nolan Opens Up About Ending The Odyssey Shoot Early: ‘People Were Exhausted’

Christopher Nolan Defends Controversial Language Choice In New Film The Odyssey

Matt Damon Says The Odyssey Is ‘Definitely The Biggest’ Film He’s ‘Ever Done’

Christopher Nolan Defends The Odyssey After Historical Accuracy Concerns

9 Things To Spot In The New Trailer For Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

1. The new trailer for The Odyssey gives us a proper look at the dynamic between Tom Holland’s Telemachus and Robert Pattinson’s Antinous

2. Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway’s Penelope gives some serious attitude that we’re definitely here for

3. We also get a look at Odysseus and Penelope’s relationship in their younger years

4. There’s also a first glimpse of Charlize Theron’s character and a truly unrecognisable John Leguiziamo

5. As was always to be expected, we have some truly epic sequences to look forward to

6. The Odyssey trailer also includes a snippet of Christopher Nolan’s take on the Trojan War

7. Odysseus has plenty to contend with on his way back to Ithaca – with the new clip teasing the giant cyclops Polyphemus

8. There’s a very cute puppy in The Odyssey

9. Excitingly, there’s still plenty more being kept under wraps, too