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Tesla founder and X owner Elon Musk criticized filmmaker Christopher Nolan on Tuesday after the director confirmed different casting choices in his take on the Greek mythology epic “The Odyssey.”
Nolan, who is famous for films like “Interstellar,” “The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Oppenheimer,” and many other blockbusters, has caused an internet backlash for his upcoming “The Odyssey.” Although the title is about ancient western civilization, some critics say that Nolan’s upcoming interpretation seems too modern, from the informal American English speech to the various acting choices.
Although there have been many unconfirmed rumors in recent weeks, the controversial choice Nolan in an interview with Time Magazine on Tuesday is that the Kenyan and Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o, famous for her roles in “Black Panther” and “12 Years a Slave” will play the role of Helen of Troy, known in mythology as the most beautiful woman in the world that was started by Home Wars which was started by Epic. Nyong’o will also play Helen’s sister, Clytemnestra in the same film.
A user at X noted that the Academy Awards now have broader diversity requirements. Musk agreed, writing that Nolan “wanted awards.” Musk previously criticized the firing of Helen of Troy earlier this January, saying that “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity.”
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Elon Musk has called out Christopher Nolan for casting his upcoming film “The Odyssey,” saying he’s trying to navigate awards. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images/Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
Musk agreed with one dissenting commentator who suggested that Nolan would be called racist if he gave the role to a White woman.
The Hollywood Reporter was surprised by the American accents used in the trailer, writing, “Everyone sounds like they’re from Ohio.”
Nolan also revealed to Time that rapper Travis Scott will be playing the Greek villain. Nolan defended the choice as an acknowledgment of poetic tradition.
“I cast him because I wanted to give a nod to the idea of the story being delivered as spoken word poetry, like rap,” Nolan told Time magazine.
“When I go into a place I’m afraid it might cause me bitterness, he steps back, says, ‘That’s enough,’ and seriously considers production decisions that have launched thousands of Reddit posts,” said a Time reporter during an interview with Nolan.
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“The Odyssey arguably the greatest film of Nolan’s career,” said Time. “It could also be the summer blockbuster the struggling entertainment industry needs right now.”
“But the film also feels like a climax,” commented the interviewer. “Nolan knows he makes a lot of movies about smart men trying to get home to their families. When I ask if he’s worried about fan reaction to repeating certain tropes, he pauses and sighs.”
“Despite the fact that he does not carry a smartphone, the Internet has found him,” said the interviewer, recalling that Nolan said about the response of the Internet so far: “‘You have to be comfortable with repetition, if it is good for a project. If you pay too much attention to what people say about your work, you will be paralyzed.”
In the footage released so far, Nolan’s adapted characters can be seen using modern American English words such as “Let’s go” and “Daddy.” The latest promo for the movie features NBA player LeBron James and his son, as well as Odysseus and his son Telemachus, where LeBron plays basketball and talks about scenes from the movie.
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Rapper Travis Scott will play the villain in “The Odyssey,” in what Christopher Nolan argues will be rap’s homage to bardic poetry. (Chris Pizzello/AP)
Some progressives took notice and attacked the general criticism of the film before its release. Writer Variety mocked “book purists” as opposed to non-White actors in traditionally White roles.
In a segment on “The View” Thursday about the controversy, Whoopi Goldberg suggested that those who have a problem with acting should not watch the movie. He also noted that Musk was “right about apartheid” growing up in South Africa before quickly saying he didn’t know if he was “a racist apologist” and “I take that back.”
Managing partner Sunny Hostin said that “prejudice rears its head” more often in the US and added that historians have explored how Greek mythology was influenced by ancient Egypt and North Africa.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Nyong’o and Nolan but did not immediately receive a response.
