Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' Opens Amid Ticket Scalping, Casting Controversy

Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' opened to sold-out 70mm IMAX screenings, with tickets reselling for up to $999 a pair. The film, shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, is available in only 25 U.S. theaters and 41 worldwide in that format. Advance sales vanished within an hour. The movie stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Tom Holland as Telemachus, and Robert Pattinson as Antinous. Lupita Nyong'o plays Helen of Troy, and Elliot Page appears as Sinon, a character from Virgil's 'Aeneid' not Homer's original. Nolan based the script on Emily Wilson's 2017 translation, using contemporary dialogue where Telemachus calls Odysseus 'dad.' The Cyclops was realized via a 60-foot mechanical puppet, inspired by Goya's 'Saturn Devouring His Son,' with Bill Irwin performing. Samantha Morton's portrayal of Circe earned on-set applause, with Nolan calling her character the film's 'fulcrum.' The film explores themes of nostos and moral responsibility, echoing 'Oppenheimer.'