'It was a no-brainer': Christopher Nolan breaks silence on 'The Odyssey' modern English controversy
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Christopher Nolan has broken his silence over the controversy surrounding 'The Odyssey', after critics questioned the use of contemporary English in a film based on Homer's ancient Greek epic.
The filmmaker spoke out after several trailers for the upcoming movie showed characters speaking contemporary English, largely in American accents. The epic action film, starring Zendaya, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson, is set to release on July 17.
Christopher Nolan defends modern English in 'The Odyssey'
Just days before the film's release, Nolan, who also wrote the screenplay, told the Los Angeles Times that he wanted to give value to “language that has emotional not intellectual meaning to people”.
The 55-year-old further noted that he “was maybe being naïve, it might bite me on the a**, but I wanted an earthy narrative. To me it was a no-brainer.”
Why Christopher Nolan cast Hollywood stars
Nolan also defended his casting choices, which include several major Hollywood stars. He said his characters “are mythological figures, iconic in some ways,” so “I wanted to cast it big, get the finest bunch of actors”.
His comments come two months after the British-American filmmaker faced scrutiny over casting Scott as a bard and criticism of the armor worn by the film's warriors.
He told Time in May, “I cast him because I wanted to nod towards the idea that this story has been handed down as oral poetry, which is analogous to rap.”
Christopher Nolan compares 'The Odyssey' to 'Interstellar'
Addressing the criticism of the armor, which many online fans said resembled the Batsuit, Nolan stated, “There are Mycenaean daggers that are blackened bronze. The theory is they probably could have blackened bronze in those days. You take bronze, you add more gold and silver to it and then use sulfur.”
“With Agamemnon, Ellen [Mirojnick], our costume designer, is trying to communicate how elevated he is relative to everyone else. You do that through materials that would be very expensive,” he added.
During the same interview, Nolan also referenced his earlier film, 'Interstellar,' which he said did not satisfy “a lot of scientists”.
“For Interstellar, you’re looking at, ‘What is the best speculation of the future?’ When you’re looking at the ancient past, it’s actually the same thing. ‘What is the best speculation and how can I use that to create a world?’” he explained.
At the time, Nolan said he hoped people would “enjoy the film, even if they don’t agree with everything.”
