Christopher Nolan has said the success of Oppenheimer helped him secure the opportunity to make his upcoming epic film The Odyssey, which required a massive budget and a large cast.
According to Deadline, Nolan discussed the challenges of adapting the ancient Greek epic during an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. When Stewart asked why he chose to tackle a poem written around the 8th century BCE that remains one of Western civilisation’s foundational texts, Nolan said the success of his previous film gave him the chance to take on a project of that scale.
“Coming out of my last film, Oppenheimer had way more success than I think we had any right to expect,” Nolan said. “And that gives you an opportunity to get something made that you might not otherwise be able to get made.”
Stewart expressed surprise that Nolan, who directed major films including The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar, Inception and Memento, still needed to prove himself to studios.
Nolan replied that the success of Oppenheimer helped him present The Odyssey to the studio, along with the recognition from the Oscars.
“I think the Oscar thing helped. I think it all helped to go to the studio and say — because being The Odyssey, it needs a massive budget. It needs a massive cast. It needs a lot,” he said.
Nolan described the production as a difficult undertaking but said the challenges were appropriate for a project based on The Odyssey.
“It was a very hard movie, but hard for all the right reasons. It’s The Odyssey. It should be hard. It shows up on screen,” he said.
The filmmaker also revealed that the production finished ahead of schedule and within budget. Responding to Stewart’s question about his record of completing films on time, Nolan said the team planned for a 100-day shoot but completed filming after 91 days.
“We couldn’t have taken another step. So we finished — we finished at the right time,” Nolan said, adding that the cast and crew had reached exhaustion after the demanding production.
“Everybody was done. I mean, people were just exhausted. They’d been through it. So it took the right time to make the film. We had enough time to make it,” he added.
