Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called up “The Odyssey” director Christopher Nolan this week to congratulate him on the success of his blockbuster adaptation of Homer’s epic ancient Greek poem.
“During the video call, the Prime Minister congratulated the British filmmaker on bringing the Homeric epic poem to the big screen and thanked him for the film’s contribution to boosting global interest in ancient Greek culture, adding that such productions bridge Greece‘s rich cultural heritage with contemporary creativity,” the prime minister’s office shared in a note Tuesday.
In addition to a written statement, Mitsotakis’ office also shared an image of him speaking on a video call with Nolan. During the call, the prime minister reportedly expressed his happiness with how a “significant portion” of “The Odyssey” was actually filmed in Greece.
Indeed, the $250 million blockbuster production was shot largely in real locations all around the world, including spots in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Iceland, the Western Sahara and Malta. Certain sequences were also filmed on the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles.
The political leader’s praise of the epic came after the feature drew criticism from Greek audiences in the weeks leading up to its premiere. As the New York Times reported at the time of release, many local moviegoers were skeptical of Nolan’s casting of Lupita Nyong’o to play Helen of Troy, and there existed a number of other cultural debates on how Ancient Greek texts should be adapted.
To say that Nolan and Universal’s investment in shooting “The Odyssey” as practically as possible has paid off would be an understatement. On top of prompting a call of congratulations from Greece’s prime minister, Nolan’s film has also received overwhelmingly positive reviews and grossed well over $650 million at the worldwide box office in just its first two weeks in theaters.
“The Odyssey” has, consequently, emerged as one of the biggest financial, technical and critical achievements of Nolan’s career to date, making it a worthy follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2023 epic “Oppenheimer.”
Mitsotakis’ call with Nolan was held Tuesday, just one day after classicist Emily Wilson, whose translation of “The Odyssey” was specifically cited by Nolan as a source of inspiration for his film, penned a scathing review of the blockbuster for the London Review of Books. In her review, Wilson called Nolan’s film “abysmal” and wrote that she would be “ashamed to have written any part of the script.”
Wilson’s review of “The Odyssey” went viral. The translator and classicist has since received fierce pushback online for her review and, in particular, her characterization of the roles portrayed in the film by non-white actors.
This week, Nolan’s film is set to face its first real round of box office competition, with Marvel and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” set to hit theaters this coming Friday.
