Director Christopher Nolan has revealed that his next big film will take a long time to reach screens for audiences to enjoy, as he is expecting it to be at least three years until he releases the next entry in his film series after his epic adaptation of the Homeric epic ‘The Odyssey’. During a recent interview, Nolan admitted that the production process was so demanding and the magnitude of the project so great that he and his entire creative team were pushed to their limits and required a long period of rest to consider his next big venture.
The filmmaker admitted this when speaking with Today during an interview where he spoke about how difficult it was physically and mentally to make. Nolan was quite open about the difficulties that arose, admitting that the shoot was not a mere unfortunate consequence, but rather part of the package because of the epic nature of the source material. The tallest hurdles blocking their way seemed to be more than a sign of the immense labor required to make a film of ‘The Odyssey’ – the sheer difficulty of the task, the director explained, “I definitely hit the limits of my own stamina and everybody’s stamina, I think. We’re not doing the job right making a film of ‘The Odyssey’ if it doesn’t seem difficult.”
A distinguishing aspect of this production from Nolan’s previous ones was the innovative, technical means he used in the production, which made the project a lot more difficult. The film’s production with large-format cameras was an unprecedented feat in filmmaking, with no other feature film ever shot in its entirety using these cameras. It was a bold statement, although technically impressive, that helped make the production challenging. Nolan remembered how he was driven to achieve this technical success before production and how he had always wanted to do so. If ever we were to make this whole idea of shooting the whole movie like this work, this is it, this is ‘The Odyssey’, he said of the timeless epic of Homer.
This has always been an hallmark of his work as a director and ‘The Odyssey’ seems to be his most technically ambitious work to date. Shooting with large format cameras at various locations in the country and with the production’s huge visual demands and high performance expectations meant the director and his cast and crew were working at full stretch throughout the production. Nolan’s quote of hitting the “limits” of his “stamina” provides a rare insight into the physical demands of high-stakes filmmaking, even for a director known for his non-nonsense style of work.
In an interview with the New York Times, Nolan shared more of his thoughts on the art of film and the way the entertainment industry makes blockbuster films today. The director expressed his worries about the growing conservative nature of studios, saying that when it comes down to money the studios may become too conservative, and creative innovation may take a back seat. His point of view goes against the grain of the industry which is more concerned with formula than original storytelling and more concerned with the known than the unknown. The history of cinema has clearly shown that if you are going to be successful in mainstream cinema then you need to be ready to take risks and go into new creative waters, Nolan argued. If you’re really into movies and the history of movies the one thing that you see all the time is that you have to take chances in order to be successful. The biggest chance you can take, and the one that is not successful, is to play it safe, which is what’s consistently not successful in mainstream movies. The audience wants something new,” Nolan said, and that has been his long-held goal in filmmaking to push himself and the audience.
Along with its scope, “The Odyssey” also features a stellar cast of actors, such as some of the most acclaimed in the film’s modern era. Matt Damon takes on the role of Odysseus, the legendary warrior who embarked on the epic voyage home from the Trojan War and spent ten years wandering through the Mediterranean, its islands, and the depths of the sea. Other stars in the cast include Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron, who all have strong characters in this production. Considering how much this cast had to undertake and how it was also absorbed into the requirements of adapting a literary masterpiece, it’s no wonder that Nolan’s production challenged everyone in the cast to their limits.
The story of ‘The Odyssey’ is itself a challenge to any director because of its episodic nature, the myths, and the overall thematic content. Homer’s epic is about perseverance, loyalty, temptation and homesickness, all of which have fascinated viewers for thousands of years. Nolan’s adaptation is sure to evoke these timeless qualities through his signature style of visual intrigue and story complexity, but having come from such a challenging realisation, this project must surely have left a strain on the director and his crew.
Nolan’s retirement of three years is quite intriguing, and it raises questions about the direction of his career, and the direction of mainstream filmmaking. The director has consistently kept a steady output of films since his early days and is consistently making them in a very predictable fashion. The extended break marks a departure from his norm, and indicates that ‘The Odyssey’ really has pushed him to his creative and physical limits. The hiatus also provides an opportunity to reconsider the industry’s attitude to the boldest cinema making, with a particular focus on the attitude towards the creative people involved and what expectations the demands of giant production put on them.
