Aug. 30, 2026

34. Christopher Nolan - The Odyssey Conversation

34. Christopher Nolan - The Odyssey Conversation

Mystery, Magic & Nolan! Amber speaks candidly with Jeff about Christopher Nolan and his recent success at the box office with 2026's The Odyssey; from it's Oscar chances to impressive performances, the question to ask is whether we've seen...

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Season 7
Mystery, Magic & Nolan!

Amber speaks candidly with Jeff about Christopher Nolan and his recent success at the box office with 2026's The Odyssey; from it's Oscar chances to impressive performances, the question to ask is whether we've seen Nolan's masterpiece or if the best is yet to come!

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WEBVTT

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As of this week, the box office has surpassed $ 7 billion. Lewis,

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it is safe to say the theater-going experience is back

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in a big way this year. Yes. Yeah. Let me

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give you the top five films of the year so far.

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I'm thinking you've probably seen most, if not all of them,

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but we're going to find out real quick. So number five,

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the Super Mario Galaxy movie has made $ 1. 01 billion.

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I've not seen that one.

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I like the first one. I haven't seen this one,

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but I love the first one, so I definitely got

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to– I'm going to check this one out. Number four,

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the first biopic ever to do this, and definitely a

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big win for Lionsgate. I'm talking about Michael, the Michael

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Jackson– Yes. $ 1. 02 billion. And I love that movie. That

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movie was fantastic.

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It was so good.

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Yeah, they are in pre-production now on a sequel, and

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I am excited. I cannot wait for that. Number three,

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Toy Story 5 has made $ 1. 12 billion. Did you see

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that one?

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I did not. We were happy with Toy Story 3.

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Thank you. As the period to the end of that sentence.

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And we were not happy with Toy Story 4. It

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was fine, but.

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No, it wasn't fine. You're being too kind.

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I am. I am. But yeah, we had no interest

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in seeing Toy Story 5. So we might watch it

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on Disney Plus at some point.

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No interest for me. I don't plan to watch it.

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It ended with... 4 was terrible. 3 is where... In

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my head, it ends.

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Yeah.

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All right. So the number two most successful movie so

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far at the box office, The Odyssey at $ 1. 37 billion.

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And I know you saw this in the theater. We're

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going to talk about that.

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I did.

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Yeah, we're definitely going to be talking a little bit

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about that one. And then the number one movie of

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the year so far, Not really a surprise as far

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as I'm concerned. Spider-Man Brand New Day has now hit $ 2. 08 billion.

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And I think it's like the number four or number

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three all-time movie in cinema history. I think it's got

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to get past Avatar.

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I was going to say, still Avatar.

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Yeah, well, I mean, listen, let's just be honest. Cameron

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will just keep re-releasing Avatar every time something gets closed. So,

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you know, listeners, be ready for the Avatar anniversary theatrical experience,

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because Spidey's knocking on that door.

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Oh, and it was so good. Shout out to Tom

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Holland and Zendaya having the top two grossing films.

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How about, yeah, how about Tom Holland, Zendaya... My buddy,

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Jon Bernthal.

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Yes!

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I forgot about him. Yeah, I mean, and let's not

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forget Anne Hathaway. They're having, this group of actors and actresses,

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having one hell of a summer.

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Yes.

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We talked about The Odyssey being the number two movie

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so far. Amber, I can't think of anyone better to

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have this conversation with. So let's talk about Christopher Nolan.

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Yes.

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Because I've got some questions for you about his filmography, including...

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his 2026 summer blockbuster, The Odyssey. The Odyssey Hey everybody,

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I'm Jeff Johnson.

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I'm Amber Lewis.

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And this is a Film By podcast. The voice of

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reason is back.

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I've been off for a long time.

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You took a couple weeks off. Hopefully you've been having

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a nice summer vacation.

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Yes.

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We've missed you. And what better time for you to

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make your return. We're about to kick off a month

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of movies that are concerning mystery, Magic and Christopher Nolan.

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And that all starts next Monday. But I think you're

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the biggest Nolan fan I know.

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I am a huge, huge Nolan fan.

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Yeah. I think anytime we've even remotely discussed Nolan.

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Nolan and Guillermo del Toro.

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Yeah.

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They're the two.

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Yeah. I think anytime we've talked about Nolan, it's been either.

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Uh, anger from you. Cause like, I can't believe you

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did that episode without me, you know, and we've only,

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we've only done one, we've only done one Christopher Nolan

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movie and you weren't even, I don't think you were,

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you weren't with, you weren't on the show yet. So

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I mean, I can't be at fault.

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I'm still bitter about it.

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You're still bitter, but, but then like, I know we've,

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we've got, we've got two Christopher Nolan movies coming up next, uh, this, this,

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you know, this month. And, uh, you're like, you better not.

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Right.

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So I know we're going to talk about one of

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your favorites here in a couple of weeks, but, I

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kind of told you, listen, we had a little opening,

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and I thought, why give the listeners a rerun when

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we could just do something fresh? You know, a fun episode,

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an opinion-based episode. We'll talk Christopher Nolan. You were like, absolutely.

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I told you that the outline was going to be

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a little different, right? And yet. Not doing our normal form,

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and yet. And yet. I'm looking here. What was it

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that you said? You said, just read over the outline,

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and I really like it, although you and your five-word

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synopsis can kick rocks. Famously, you are not a fan

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of the five-word synopsis, but our listeners are loving it,

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so it stays. Here's the challenge, though, Amber. How do

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you do a five-word synopsis when we're just talking about

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Christopher Nolan? So I told you, Five words. Let's describe

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Christopher Nolan, whether it's his style, his impact on cinema,

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the man himself. Amber Lewis, tell me about Christopher Nolan

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using exactly five words.

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Mind-bending, non-linear, British visionary.

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I don't know what you and Angela Norris are up

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to lately. If there's... You guys are using a lot

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of my five-word synopsis stuff without knowing it. You said mind-bending.

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I like that.

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You do.

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You got it there. So here's mine. Okay. Oscar-worthy mind-bending stories.

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Fair.

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Yeah. Well, I mean, we're kind of– we're in sync here.

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We're on the same page.

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I just think anytime he does a movie, your mind

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will be blown. You're going to walk away knowing that

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you've got a conversation with him. to have with whether,

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whether you saw it with a group of people, whether

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you saw it with, with some, whether you saw it

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by yourself and you're, you're going to go hang out

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with your buddies and discuss the movie. You're always, if

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it's a Christopher Nolan movie, there's always something to debate, right?

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I don't think he's done a movie yet where you, you,

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there wasn't something that we were like, Oh my God,

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that scene or, okay, let's talk about what this meant. It's,

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it's every time with this guy. And I think that's

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what makes him such a brilliant filmmaker.

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Yeah. I think, you know, for a long time, it,

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we haven't had a filmmaker that is, you have to

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go to the movies. You have to go to the theater.

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It's an appointment kind of thing. And his are just

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that thing. Like you want to be first in line,

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you know, and it, he definitely, uh, Liam and I

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always remind ourselves of the three block rule. You must

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go at least three blocks from the theater before you

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can begin talking about it because you don't want to

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ruin it for anybody else. You don't want to like

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be talking about it as you're walking out or at

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dinner next door or something like that. You want to

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give people space so that they can see it in

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their own time and place and, you know, experience it

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and come up with their own theories.

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So I love the three block rule.

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We got that from Lin-Manuel Miranda. He said that that

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is a hard and fast rule when he goes to

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Broadway shows because you never know who's in the audience.

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The person's mom could be there, you know, and you're

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walking out like trashing it saying that's the worst play

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I ever saw. So you wait three blocks and then

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you start talking. Wow. Okay.

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I like that. I'm going to put that into practice

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because I just think it's respectful.

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Yeah. You don't want to be the guy that's like,

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you know. Oh, Tenet, everything was backwards.

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Okay, so if I could put a spotlight on you,

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you famously, you're not a fan of IMAX, if I

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remember correctly. You're not loving it. But he shoots the

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Odyssey in full. IMAX.

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Well, I hadn't, I don't feel like it's justified in

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all the times that it's in use.

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Okay.

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Um, so I'm not going to spend money to go

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see Spider-Man and IMAX. Like that's to me, that's a

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waste of money. Um, we as a group went to

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see Superman in IMAX, and that was definitely worth it.

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But what I failed to take into consideration before going

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to see The Odyssey was you were driving, so I

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took motion sickness medicine, so I wouldn't get car sick,

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which then covered me for the movie. I drove to

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see The Odyssey, so I had not taken motion sickness medicine,

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and about halfway through, I thought I was going to die. Like,

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I got so sick. And I thought I was going

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to have to leave the theater because it's just, you're

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so surrounded. And we had like the perfect seats right

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in the middle. So that's another issue as well as like,

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is it really worth the money? And am I going

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to get nauseated in the middle of it?

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Okay. So I'm glad to discover that you did watch

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it in the IMAX format.

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Oh, yeah.

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I went and saw it. And my first thought was,

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Amber Lewis is going to absolutely love this film. And

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then I think later that day you were posting about

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you're on your way to see it. And then my

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next thought was, oh, she's not going to see this

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in IMAX. And that's a bummer because she's going to

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miss so much. So I'm happy.

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Because he deliberately shot it that way. He wants you

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to see it that way. So there was no way

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I was going to miss out.

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And I think.

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For the experience, it was definitely worth it. I'm going

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to be fine watching it on my television from now on.

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I saw it. I experienced it. It was great.

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That's the key right there. You experienced it.

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Yes.

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And now, come November, it's dropping on, I think it's

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going to be hitting Blu-ray 4K in November. But you

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can enjoy it.

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Yes.

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On the, on a smaller screen because you've experienced it

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on the biggest screen possible.

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Yes, absolutely. And it was an experience. Like I felt

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like I time traveled. It was amazing.

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Oh, it is. Well, I'll tell you what, let's, let's

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take a quick break because I want to talk a

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little bit about the Odyssey and I'm going to, I

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think I'm going to pull the, the educator, the teacher

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out of you. Cause I got some questions, not, you know,

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Hopefully I don't put you on the spot too much.

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Oh, no. I have a lot to say about it. Okay. Okay.

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Well, she's got a lot to say about The Odyssey.

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So we'll be back right after this. Welcome back. We

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are talking about Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey, still playing in theaters,

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still crushing at the box office, Amber Lewis. there's been

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a lot of debate online though. I mean, first off,

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everyone loves the movie. I don't, I haven't, I don't

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know about you. I have not seen a single person

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give negative feedback about it, but there is something that

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has started emerging and that's, it's this, it's this, uh,

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Homer versus Nolan. Who's, who's Odyssey are we, are we

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seeing on the big screen? So I think it's fair

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to say that Nolan has taken liberties with the source work, uh,

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My question to you, does his interpretation work for a

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modern audience?

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Yeah, it really does. I personally missed the representation of

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the gods and the actual magic and things like that.

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There was a lot that he changed and left out

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that I was like, well, here's the thing. But you

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don't go to see this movie, or at least in

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my opinion, you don't go to see this movie to

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see a you know historian's version of the odyssey you

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go to see this movie to see christopher nolan's adaptation

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and there are so many ways you can tell this

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story and he you know always takes a realistic approach

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when he's adapting things and I think it really, I

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was very moved during the movie and very aware of

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he is speaking to the world we live in right now.

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And I thought that was very, very powerful.

249
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You mentioned that he always takes a very realistic approach

250
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to his projects. I remember when I first read about

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the music and what I'm talking about is Ludwig Gortzen's

252
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just incredible score. It's one of my favorite film scores

253
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i've heard in in years now before i've seen the

254
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movie before i've heard the music i i read that

255
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he has been he is strict no one is strictly

256
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telling this composer you can't you cannot use any instruments

257
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that did not exist in this time frame and i

258
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just and i remember reading that thinking okay look i

259
00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:18.879
love i love your work man but let's be a

260
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little less pretentious like come on right What do you

261
00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:25.539
expect the guy to do and what he did with

262
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the drums and the chance and the, the, the woodwind or,

263
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you know, the piccolo liar, just gorgeous music. And then

264
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I remember like halfway through the movie when the first

265
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time I'm watching it, I'm thinking, man, I'm so glad

266
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that Nolan is such a stickler for the details.

267
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Well, and this blew my mind as well, because Ludwig Gorson,

268
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lest we forget, did the music for the best movie

269
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of 2025, Sinners, and they could not be more different.

270
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Could not be more avant-garde.

271
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You play those scores back-to-back. There's no way you're not

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even thinking that it could possibly be the same composer.

273
00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:14.639
Yeah.

274
00:16:15.259 --> 00:16:17.860
And I love it. I mean, I loved his work

275
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in Sinners. I love what he's doing with The Odyssey.

276
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Talking about this whole concept of Homer versus Nolan, though,

277
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for you, what is one thing that was omitted that

278
00:16:30.210 --> 00:16:33.210
probably should have been explored in Nolan's adaptation?

279
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The section with Polyphemus. It is not as effective as

280
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it could have been because I was so excited to

281
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see how is he going to render a giant cyclops

282
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using practical effects because he famously... You know, uses as

283
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little CGI as possible.

284
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Yeah.

285
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And so I'm like, how is he going to do this?

286
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I heard Bill Irwin was playing Polyphemus and I love him.

287
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So I was so excited to see what was going

288
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to happen. And, you know, they turned Polyphemus into like

289
00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:13.599
more like an animal. Yeah. And less like a sentient being.

290
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And so and they eliminated all interaction between Odysseus and Polyphemus,

291
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which then you lose the version of Odysseus as the trickster. You,

292
00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:31.430
you know, lose the whole analysis of what makes you

293
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a monster versus what makes you a man, because, you know, he,

294
00:17:36.690 --> 00:17:38.799
they stole his sheep, but they were going to pay

295
00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:42.740
him back in wine. But, you know, there's a whole

296
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interaction there and who's really betraying Xenia. And then you

297
00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:51.589
eliminate Poseidon. In addition to that, And that takes away

298
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the curse. And so you don't really get that that's

299
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why they were sailing around for 20 years. And it

300
00:17:57.809 --> 00:17:59.730
took them that long to get home. And then you

301
00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:03.700
reduce Athena's role. So you miss out on the fact

302
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that it's her intervention that gets the gods to let

303
00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:10.859
him go home. And so all of these things just

304
00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:15.900
kind of have a domino effect and it lessens the

305
00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:19.650
character of Odysseus in my mind. Like the opening line is,

306
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let me tell you the story of a complicated man.

307
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And I, I was so disappointed to have that piece

308
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of him as an unreliable narrator taken out.

309
00:18:32.549 --> 00:18:36.650
All the more reason you gotta, if it's been, it's

310
00:18:36.690 --> 00:18:39.680
been a while since high school or you, you, or

311
00:18:39.740 --> 00:18:43.440
maybe you never read it. Gotta pick up a copy of, of, uh,

312
00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:43.980
Oh my gosh.

313
00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:47.579
And listeners like do yourself a favor, go on audible

314
00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:53.589
and get Stephen Fry's, Adaptation. He reads it, he adapted

315
00:18:53.710 --> 00:18:58.740
it and it's, it makes it very user-friendly and it's

316
00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:01.680
a great way to experience the story.

317
00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:05.559
Well, I'm going to agree with you. Um, I think the,

318
00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:08.680
the scene with Polyphemus is it's great in the, in

319
00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:13.309
the aspect, in the regard that it's probably the closest

320
00:19:13.349 --> 00:19:16.869
we've ever had Christopher Nolan do horror.

321
00:19:17.730 --> 00:19:18.250
Yes.

322
00:19:18.329 --> 00:19:23.559
Because it is terrifying. in that moment and I mean

323
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I like it you know so again my original question

324
00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:28.779
like it does it work for the modern audience I

325
00:19:28.819 --> 00:19:32.220
think it does because this movie is three plus hours

326
00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:34.599
and to give us you know like you and I

327
00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:36.740
we want that we know that from the source material

328
00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:39.849
but I think I think it works like you know

329
00:19:39.869 --> 00:19:42.630
I would have wanted more but I'm good with what

330
00:19:42.670 --> 00:19:43.529
we got I guess but I.

331
00:19:43.609 --> 00:19:46.029
Also like I would have been happy with two movies

332
00:19:46.690 --> 00:19:49.750
because he was he put so much of the Iliad

333
00:19:49.769 --> 00:19:53.519
in in yeah yeah that like just make two movies

334
00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:56.539
make the Iliad and the Odyssey.

335
00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:57.940
We got it we got a Batman trilogy we can

336
00:19:57.980 --> 00:20:00.329
have it all yeah have an Odyssey true okay yeah

337
00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:08.109
well let's talk about Odysseus how does Nolan's Odysseus compare

338
00:20:08.130 --> 00:20:10.819
to with some of the other male leads in his film.

339
00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:13.859
So like I'm, I'm talking, you know, because he always

340
00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:20.809
has these complicated characters. They're, they're, they're doing the right thing,

341
00:20:20.829 --> 00:20:24.349
but they're also heavily flawed. So when you think about

342
00:20:24.390 --> 00:20:29.950
someone like, like Cooper from Interstellar, Cobb from Inception, you know,

343
00:20:30.029 --> 00:20:34.190
Bruce Wayne, even, even Robert Oppenheimer is, you know, he,

344
00:20:34.259 --> 00:20:36.319
I mean, that's a, it's a biopic in essence, but

345
00:20:37.259 --> 00:20:40.900
they all have like these, these, these same capabilities. They're

346
00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:44.910
complicated men who are heavily flawed, but they're trying to

347
00:20:44.950 --> 00:20:49.230
do the right thing. How do you feel Matt Damon's

348
00:20:49.269 --> 00:20:52.089
Odysseus ranks among these other guys?

349
00:20:52.970 --> 00:20:56.910
Well, just from a simplistic standpoint, I mean, Cooper and

350
00:20:56.950 --> 00:20:59.630
Cobb are just trying to get home. So they're all

351
00:20:59.670 --> 00:21:03.390
just trying to get home at this point. But I

352
00:21:03.430 --> 00:21:06.690
really feel like, and this goes to my previous point,

353
00:21:07.170 --> 00:21:10.690
He should have been more like Borden from The Prestige.

354
00:21:11.690 --> 00:21:13.730
Ooh. I guess we can talk about that in a

355
00:21:13.750 --> 00:21:14.430
couple weeks, right?

356
00:21:14.630 --> 00:21:15.910
Yeah.

357
00:21:15.990 --> 00:21:19.029
I know you're not missing The Prestige when we talk

358
00:21:19.049 --> 00:21:19.549
about that one.

359
00:21:21.390 --> 00:21:24.099
But I feel like if Odysseus had more of that

360
00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:28.460
kind of personality, those personality traits, he would have been

361
00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:32.420
more interesting to me. But it's okay to have him

362
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.589
be just a straight-up hero, too.

363
00:21:35.700 --> 00:21:41.950
Someone who is always interesting, the very lovely Anne Hathaway. Again,

364
00:21:42.009 --> 00:21:45.769
having one hell of a summer, she is in The Odyssey.

365
00:21:46.329 --> 00:21:49.799
She is in The End of Oak Street. And listeners,

366
00:21:49.890 --> 00:21:53.059
if you have not seen The End of Oak Street,

367
00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:58.680
it's the sleeper hit of the summer movie-going season. It's awesome.

368
00:21:58.740 --> 00:22:01.279
It's the Jurassic Park movie we never got and should have.

369
00:22:02.339 --> 00:22:06.250
And Amber, I'm guessing you haven't seen it yet, I.

370
00:22:06.230 --> 00:22:08.730
Have not, but I heard that Stephen King said that

371
00:22:09.269 --> 00:22:11.069
it was like a banger.

372
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It is.

373
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Telling people to go see it. So I'm like, well,

374
00:22:14.950 --> 00:22:15.490
my goodness.

375
00:22:16.490 --> 00:22:19.670
Can I give you a really good reason? That'll be like, okay,

376
00:22:19.710 --> 00:22:20.809
I'm going to go see it.

377
00:22:21.289 --> 00:22:21.650
Sure.

378
00:22:21.869 --> 00:22:25.529
You know, next weekend. Anne Hathaway. I know the trailer

379
00:22:25.589 --> 00:22:29.849
kind of promotes her as like, she's the mom. And

380
00:22:29.910 --> 00:22:32.829
they're running, you know, they're caught up in this whole thing.

381
00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:36.079
you know, weird situation with dinosaurs and what's going on.

382
00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:41.819
Anne Hathaway is the alpha of the movie. She is

383
00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:47.480
more Sarah Connor than Susie Homemaker. So I absolutely loved

384
00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:51.160
Anne Hathaway in The End of Oak Street. But more

385
00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:56.240
on that another time. Anne Hathaway playing Penelope. My first question,

386
00:22:57.259 --> 00:22:59.920
is this an Oscar-worthy performance?

387
00:23:00.890 --> 00:23:03.349
A thousand times more so than Les Mis.

388
00:23:04.150 --> 00:23:07.529
Okay, yeah. Not going to debate you on that, yeah.

389
00:23:08.269 --> 00:23:12.769
It's so early that I think it's hard to debate

390
00:23:13.309 --> 00:23:18.819
these Oscar questions, but I thought she was at her best.

391
00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:20.140
Yeah.

392
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.440
It was like the best performance I felt like I'd

393
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:22.859
ever seen.

394
00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:24.039
Hard to debate.

395
00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:24.319
From her.

396
00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:28.160
I'm going to make you debate it anyways. Okay, so

397
00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:32.099
I want to briefly... go off course here and talk

398
00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:39.049
about Obsession because Indy Navarrete, who plays Nikki in Obsession,

399
00:23:40.029 --> 00:23:43.450
it is the, without doubt, it is the best performance

400
00:23:43.650 --> 00:23:49.509
I've seen from a female or male performer. I don't

401
00:23:49.549 --> 00:23:52.589
know if the Oscars are going to do the right

402
00:23:52.609 --> 00:23:55.980
thing and give her the nomination and the win. It's

403
00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:59.420
what they should do. Your boy, Christopher Nolan, watched this movie.

404
00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:03.359
And I remember reading this and laughing about it. He

405
00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:09.880
loved it. And talking about Indy Navarrete's performance, he said, listen,

406
00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:12.220
I think Anne needs to just go ahead and back

407
00:24:12.349 --> 00:24:16.049
out of the best actress category and go after the

408
00:24:16.089 --> 00:24:22.230
supporting actress. So when Nolan says something like that, do

409
00:24:22.390 --> 00:24:25.170
you agree with it? Wait, well, I guess I should ask.

410
00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:27.759
Not that it matters, but have you seen Obsession yet?

411
00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:30.740
I have not. That's not really.

412
00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:34.140
You're not known for loving that kind of horror.

413
00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:38.349
Yeah. Liam's really interested to watch it, and I'm like, okay,

414
00:24:38.369 --> 00:24:39.470
we'll get to it eventually.

415
00:24:39.789 --> 00:24:41.950
You'll have a lot to say because it's not what

416
00:24:41.990 --> 00:24:44.130
you think. When you see the movie, you're going to

417
00:24:44.150 --> 00:24:45.630
be like, wait a minute.

418
00:24:46.549 --> 00:24:48.910
It does look very intriguing, I must say.

419
00:24:49.980 --> 00:24:52.799
Is it better to go against stronger performances in Best

420
00:24:52.920 --> 00:24:57.660
Actress or go head-to-head with... possibly with Samantha, Samantha Morton

421
00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:00.960
for best supporting, because you can't deny she is just

422
00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:04.180
absolutely sensational in this movie.

423
00:25:05.059 --> 00:25:08.579
Yeah. I, I don't, I don't know because I am,

424
00:25:09.329 --> 00:25:12.630
was so blown away by John Leguizamo.

425
00:25:12.650 --> 00:25:13.509
Yeah.

426
00:25:13.589 --> 00:25:17.910
And I had wanted, I still want James Ortiz from

427
00:25:17.950 --> 00:25:22.089
project Hail Mary to get a supporting actor nomination. Yeah.

428
00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:25.589
But I really want John Leguizamo to win because he

429
00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:30.130
was so amazing. So I haven't really thought beyond that

430
00:25:30.190 --> 00:25:35.009
for awards for people. But I feel like Samantha Morton

431
00:25:35.049 --> 00:25:40.349
was showier, but I just liked what Anne Hathaway did better.

432
00:25:41.210 --> 00:25:46.390
Okay. Well, you talk about Leguizamo. He's got to get nominated.

433
00:25:46.829 --> 00:25:52.039
And to that point, I'm already wondering, how many Academy

434
00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:54.980
Awards– will the Odyssey get nominated for?

435
00:25:56.039 --> 00:25:59.039
I mean, it's going to be a lot because.

436
00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:00.119
What's your thought? Is it going to break the record?

437
00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:00.660
You think?

438
00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:02.900
No, but I mean, they're going to get like all

439
00:26:02.940 --> 00:26:04.039
the technical awards.

440
00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:04.740
Yeah.

441
00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:10.789
Um, you know, the production design, the costuming, the music,

442
00:26:10.869 --> 00:26:14.130
like all of those technical awards, they're going to get, uh,

443
00:26:14.190 --> 00:26:17.450
nominated for. And I think, or, you know, it's going

444
00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:19.750
to be between this movie and project. He'll marry really.

445
00:26:21.309 --> 00:26:23.759
Which, which, which Oscar will, will this one win? You

446
00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:25.619
said the technical awards, but as like, as far as

447
00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:28.180
like the, the bigger ones, not to take away from

448
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:33.720
the technical awards, but like best picture, best actor, best director,

449
00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:36.079
best actors, best actors.

450
00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:38.400
I don't think Matt Damon is going to get the

451
00:26:39.460 --> 00:26:42.519
best actor that he deserves. Um, I think he's going

452
00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:45.509
to end up being like Harrison Ford and years from

453
00:26:45.549 --> 00:26:48.450
now we'll be like, he never won. What? I just

454
00:26:48.470 --> 00:26:51.769
feel like that's in the cards for him. Unfortunately, because

455
00:26:51.829 --> 00:26:54.410
I think he is amazing in this movie. I think

456
00:26:54.470 --> 00:26:59.089
it's going to win. Of course it's going to win

457
00:26:59.470 --> 00:27:04.430
Best Adapted Screenplay. It has to. But I'm going to

458
00:27:04.470 --> 00:27:07.200
show my hand. I still say Project Hail Mary is

459
00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:10.519
the best movie of the year so far. So I

460
00:27:10.579 --> 00:27:14.259
really want it to win Best Picture. Okay. And Best Director.

461
00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:16.759
So I don't know. All right.

462
00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:19.440
I'm going to call it now. And I'm going to

463
00:27:19.460 --> 00:27:23.619
say The Odyssey. Minimum six Academy Awards.

464
00:27:24.829 --> 00:27:25.480
That's fair.

465
00:27:25.690 --> 00:27:31.609
Yeah. I think best adapted screenplay is a lock. I'm

466
00:27:31.630 --> 00:27:36.910
going to go best score for our boy Ludwig. I

467
00:27:37.980 --> 00:27:41.880
think Morton gets it. I think we might see if

468
00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:46.240
Hathaway goes best supporting actress and then they split the votes,

469
00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:47.740
I think Morton still edges her out.

470
00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:50.650
Yeah. But I think John Leguizamo has definitely got it right.

471
00:27:50.690 --> 00:27:55.940
Leguizamo, definitely. And I'm going to go Best Picture and

472
00:27:55.960 --> 00:28:00.220
Best Director. That's the six I'm saying definitely is going

473
00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:00.529
to get it.

474
00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:02.849
We'll have to do a pool this year.

475
00:28:03.650 --> 00:28:07.750
Okay, we'll get the pool going. Let's take another break,

476
00:28:07.990 --> 00:28:10.250
and then when we come back, Amber Lewis has got

477
00:28:10.289 --> 00:28:16.450
some scenes to tell us about. All right, so... I'm

478
00:28:16.470 --> 00:28:18.329
going to have a little fun here because we're going

479
00:28:18.349 --> 00:28:21.529
to talk– we're talking about the Odyssey. So we'll continue

480
00:28:21.549 --> 00:28:24.730
to talk about the Odyssey. But I'm going to throw

481
00:28:24.750 --> 00:28:29.109
you a curveball afterward. Oh, okay. So let's talk about

482
00:28:29.130 --> 00:28:33.230
the scene in the Odyssey that you feel we have

483
00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:35.970
to discuss. What do you have for us?

484
00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:37.680
Torture for me.

485
00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:38.839
It was– Tough for you, right?

486
00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:41.799
It was among three. Okay. There were three that I

487
00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:43.440
was definitely like.

488
00:28:43.400 --> 00:28:44.799
Give us the nominees. What are the three?

489
00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:50.059
Okay. So– The first thing I thought of was where

490
00:28:50.099 --> 00:28:55.859
they fight the Langstragonians. Because I was like vibrating in

491
00:28:55.900 --> 00:28:59.420
my seat during that sequence. Like that just, I was

492
00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:04.369
like completely in it. And I loved it.

493
00:29:05.069 --> 00:29:05.369
Okay.

494
00:29:05.470 --> 00:29:09.410
So there was that one. The scene, and I feel

495
00:29:09.430 --> 00:29:13.559
like maybe I am putting two scenes together that don't

496
00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:18.740
go together, but There's definitely a scene with Anne Hathaway

497
00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:23.569
and Robert Pattinson where she's weaving the veil and he

498
00:29:23.769 --> 00:29:26.250
is talking to her. And then I think it segues

499
00:29:26.349 --> 00:29:30.950
into her talking to Tom Holland's Telemachus out on the

500
00:29:30.950 --> 00:29:34.240
balcony afterward. Yeah. But I'm not sure about that part.

501
00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:38.839
But anyway, that whole sequence with Anne Hathaway, um but

502
00:29:39.380 --> 00:29:44.900
particularly that that dialogue with robert pattinson i loved okay

503
00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:48.920
i thought that was her most powerful work in the

504
00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:52.140
movie but the one i finally landed on because it's

505
00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:55.940
the one that like sticks with me is the siege of.

506
00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:59.990
Troy you could argue it's a pivotal moment Walk us

507
00:30:00.009 --> 00:30:02.559
through this one. Walk us through the Siege of Troy.

508
00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:07.700
I think it's really the cinematography and the way that

509
00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:13.230
you're following Odysseus through this battle from where they open

510
00:30:13.250 --> 00:30:15.529
the gates. You know, they sneak out of the horse,

511
00:30:15.589 --> 00:30:18.910
of course, and they open the gates. And from that

512
00:30:18.970 --> 00:30:22.430
moment on, like you're in it and you're really kind

513
00:30:22.470 --> 00:30:27.660
of following Odysseus' point of view as this town is

514
00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:33.539
sacked and it's just overwhelming and there's soldiers coming at

515
00:30:33.579 --> 00:30:37.960
you from every direction and fire and people screaming you

516
00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:40.380
know it's a lot of it was one of the

517
00:30:40.460 --> 00:30:44.170
ways that I thought it did show the deception of

518
00:30:44.369 --> 00:30:48.250
Odysseus because a lot of times we praise that sneak

519
00:30:48.289 --> 00:30:54.349
attack but it really is a brutal moment.

520
00:30:54.609 --> 00:30:58.230
I think again you mentioned how no one We'll always

521
00:30:59.130 --> 00:31:03.009
go for the realistic, no matter what the project. War

522
00:31:03.109 --> 00:31:07.710
is not– I know we romanticize it with certain movies

523
00:31:07.789 --> 00:31:11.609
and certain books, but it's– in the heat of that moment,

524
00:31:12.049 --> 00:31:17.940
it's barbaric. It's horrible, right? And it doesn't matter which

525
00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.740
side you're fighting for. You're doing horrible things.

526
00:31:21.220 --> 00:31:21.440
Yes.

527
00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:23.779
Otherwise, you don't win.

528
00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:25.099
Right. Yeah. Yeah.

529
00:31:26.309 --> 00:31:28.289
Amber, let me have a little fun with you here.

530
00:31:29.130 --> 00:31:31.970
And I think I could only ask this of a

531
00:31:32.029 --> 00:31:35.930
Christopher Nolan fan of your caliber. So let's talk one

532
00:31:36.309 --> 00:31:40.769
more scene. How about give me any scene from a

533
00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:46.440
Christopher Nolan movie. Before you do, I want to know

534
00:31:46.460 --> 00:31:48.599
why you chose it. Oh, you're ready to go.

535
00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:53.559
It's my absolute favorite scene of any of his movies ever.

536
00:31:54.650 --> 00:31:56.769
It's the docking scene from Interstellar.

537
00:31:58.190 --> 00:31:58.950
That's a nail-biter.

538
00:31:59.509 --> 00:32:05.849
Yeah, I mean, from the moment that they are chasing Dr. Man,

539
00:32:06.609 --> 00:32:11.369
you know, back to the ship, to the explosion, to

540
00:32:12.349 --> 00:32:18.609
when they finally dock, everything about it is amazing. Like,

541
00:32:18.710 --> 00:32:26.430
the little details, like Cobb, or Cobb, Cooper leans into

542
00:32:26.470 --> 00:32:30.710
the spin because he's a pilot. And so does not

543
00:32:30.769 --> 00:32:33.390
pass out and is able to control the ship and

544
00:32:33.599 --> 00:32:35.859
successfully dock that little detail.

545
00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:37.940
Small detail.

546
00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:42.640
The music and the way it's all edited together. And

547
00:32:44.119 --> 00:32:46.400
I just, that is my favorite thing that he has

548
00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:48.480
ever done in anything.

549
00:32:49.259 --> 00:32:52.420
We'll take one last break. We'll come back, we'll wrap up,

550
00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:55.019
because we've got more Christopher Nolan to talk about with

551
00:32:55.119 --> 00:33:02.049
Amber before we go. Okay, Amber, all the times we've talked,

552
00:33:02.789 --> 00:33:07.509
Christopher Nolan, and you've always had plenty of great things

553
00:33:07.529 --> 00:33:10.089
to say, no matter what the movie is, but I

554
00:33:10.109 --> 00:33:11.549
don't think I've ever asked you, so I'm going to

555
00:33:11.569 --> 00:33:16.029
ask you right now. What are your top three films

556
00:33:16.769 --> 00:33:19.319
directed by Christopher Nolan? Okay. Can you, can you, is

557
00:33:19.339 --> 00:33:20.059
this something you could do?

558
00:33:20.599 --> 00:33:24.980
Well, I can tell you why I chose all three. Okay.

559
00:33:25.339 --> 00:33:26.880
Okay. Collectively, what you chose.

560
00:33:26.900 --> 00:33:32.160
Collectively, I think he is at his best when he

561
00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:37.529
is filming his own stories and not adapting something else.

562
00:33:39.009 --> 00:33:43.430
So to that end, my three favorites are Inception, Interstellar

563
00:33:43.529 --> 00:33:44.009
and Tenet.

564
00:33:44.670 --> 00:33:46.329
When you get, when you look at his filmography as

565
00:33:46.369 --> 00:33:48.750
a whole, It sounds like you're leaning more towards his

566
00:33:48.829 --> 00:33:54.630
sci-fi work as opposed to some of his other stuff. Yeah.

567
00:33:54.650 --> 00:33:56.210
There's no wrong answer here, by the way.

568
00:33:56.250 --> 00:33:59.390
Right. I mean, and it's like stages of love. I

569
00:33:59.450 --> 00:34:03.039
love them all. The things that are more just straight

570
00:34:03.140 --> 00:34:08.820
drama are sometimes a little much. And it's a little

571
00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:12.099
like memento is heavy to carry. Like you carry it

572
00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:14.510
with you for a while.

573
00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:17.320
I've been carrying it for a while. Next week, we'll

574
00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:20.119
be discussing it. So it's a heavy one to carry.

575
00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:21.380
Yeah.

576
00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:26.250
If you had to, because I asked you for your

577
00:34:26.329 --> 00:34:30.769
top three, could you cut two of those away and

578
00:34:30.789 --> 00:34:35.179
give me just the Amber Lewis go-to pick? Someone says,

579
00:34:35.260 --> 00:34:38.239
I've never seen a Christopher Nolan movie. Where do I start?

580
00:34:39.139 --> 00:34:42.300
My first love was Inception. I had seen his other

581
00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:45.929
movies before. But the reaction I had to Inception was

582
00:34:46.809 --> 00:34:51.300
it just knocked my socks off. And I've seen that

583
00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:52.920
more than any of the others.

584
00:34:53.800 --> 00:34:54.360
Real quick.

585
00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:55.320
I just adore it.

586
00:34:55.880 --> 00:35:00.139
Real quick. Can we get your interpretation of the ending?

587
00:35:00.179 --> 00:35:03.340
Does the top, does it fall or does it keep spinning?

588
00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:08.940
Well, I actually know the answer to this, but yes.

589
00:35:09.099 --> 00:35:09.860
It falls.

590
00:35:09.880 --> 00:35:10.199
Okay.

591
00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:12.909
You know the answer to this. It's in reality.

592
00:35:13.550 --> 00:35:17.659
Okay all right all right uh.

593
00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:21.539
Is the odyssey christopher nolan's masterpiece.

594
00:35:21.739 --> 00:35:25.300
No okay then what is inception is inception is his

595
00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:29.360
is still the the best most amazing thing he's ever done.

596
00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:33.340
Okay well on that note christopher nolan is 56 years

597
00:35:33.539 --> 00:35:38.960
old have we seen his best work at this point

598
00:35:39.159 --> 00:35:40.829
or is the best yet to come.

599
00:35:41.349 --> 00:35:44.469
Bullshit question it's impossible to answer.

600
00:35:45.909 --> 00:35:48.730
Impossible because you don't know well.

601
00:35:48.650 --> 00:35:51.050
And that's the thing is none of us can know

602
00:35:51.070 --> 00:35:54.030
it's not the end yet you know i i think

603
00:35:54.070 --> 00:35:57.190
of martin scorsese who is still directing some of his

604
00:35:57.250 --> 00:35:59.610
best work and he's 83.

605
00:35:59.190 --> 00:36:03.940
Ridley scott is still directing incredible stuff so so i

606
00:36:04.340 --> 00:36:06.719
i think no one's a young pup yeah every.

607
00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:09.360
Time i think that he can't come up with another

608
00:36:09.440 --> 00:36:14.929
original idea. He can't push the boundaries of, of what

609
00:36:15.030 --> 00:36:20.110
filmmakers can do and what these artisans can do. You know, he,

610
00:36:20.250 --> 00:36:22.989
he comes up with something else. So I just sit

611
00:36:23.030 --> 00:36:27.860
back and, and delightedly wait for whatever he's going to

612
00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:31.900
do next. Cause I'm going to be there opening weekend, regardless.

613
00:36:32.659 --> 00:36:41.199
One last question. Cause he's talked about, both of these franchises. So,

614
00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:44.199
and you're a big fan of both of these franchises.

615
00:36:44.420 --> 00:36:44.880
Oh, no.

616
00:36:45.679 --> 00:36:52.239
Amber, if you had sway, if you were like Zendaya

617
00:36:52.300 --> 00:36:54.250
out on that beach and Christopher Nolan's out there with

618
00:36:54.289 --> 00:36:57.269
you and, you know, you are the voice of reason

619
00:36:58.190 --> 00:37:03.710
and Nolan must choose between doing a Marvel film or

620
00:37:03.730 --> 00:37:08.980
a Bond film, what are you going to have him

621
00:37:09.019 --> 00:37:11.460
do bond. It's gotta be bond, right?

622
00:37:11.539 --> 00:37:12.480
It's gotta be bond.

623
00:37:12.519 --> 00:37:13.159
Gotta be bond.

624
00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:16.880
I don't want to see him. He already did like

625
00:37:17.949 --> 00:37:22.619
one of the best superhero films ever made. Like the

626
00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:26.829
dark night is, it would be the best except Superman's there. So,

627
00:37:26.949 --> 00:37:27.469
you know, yeah.

628
00:37:27.849 --> 00:37:29.690
Dark night, a top three of all time.

629
00:37:29.730 --> 00:37:34.849
Yeah. Yeah. Dark night, 89 Batman and Superman are like,

630
00:37:35.610 --> 00:37:36.590
that's it for me.

631
00:37:36.610 --> 00:37:37.769
That's a damn good top three.

632
00:37:38.219 --> 00:37:41.090
Yeah. So I don't, I don't want to see him

633
00:37:41.150 --> 00:37:45.469
do another dip into that well again, but, but I

634
00:37:45.510 --> 00:37:48.809
think a bond film would be intriguing. I've heard that

635
00:37:48.889 --> 00:37:51.190
he wants to do a horror movie and I don't

636
00:37:51.210 --> 00:37:53.869
know how I feel about that because like I said,

637
00:37:53.929 --> 00:37:58.760
his dramas can sometimes be too heavy and I, I

638
00:37:58.820 --> 00:38:00.599
don't know. I think I might be scarred for life.

639
00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:04.960
If he, if he does a horror film, it will

640
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:08.590
be the most cerebral horror. And terrifying horror film we

641
00:38:08.630 --> 00:38:11.449
may ever get. Yeah, I'm thinking.

642
00:38:11.110 --> 00:38:15.500
Something like in the Exorcist Rosemary's Baby kind of.

643
00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:16.579
Oh, gosh, yeah.

644
00:38:17.099 --> 00:38:18.659
That direction, not like.

645
00:38:19.460 --> 00:38:21.400
That'd be the flavor because it's got to be realistic.

646
00:38:21.780 --> 00:38:22.380
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

647
00:38:22.980 --> 00:38:25.219
Amber, I want to thank you because I know I

648
00:38:26.389 --> 00:38:28.269
know I kind of just called you up and said, hey,

649
00:38:29.030 --> 00:38:32.710
let's talk about Christopher Nolan. How about tomorrow? And you

650
00:38:32.730 --> 00:38:34.130
were just like, I'm in. Let's do this.

651
00:38:34.349 --> 00:38:34.730
Right?

652
00:38:34.769 --> 00:38:39.250
How many hours do you got? Yeah. I appreciate you

653
00:38:39.269 --> 00:38:42.090
taking a moment to have a fun chat about one

654
00:38:42.110 --> 00:38:45.239
of your favorite directors, one of my favorite directors for

655
00:38:45.260 --> 00:38:50.219
the listeners. We've got a big month ahead filled with

656
00:38:50.820 --> 00:38:55.000
just some amazing movies. And we're going to be talking

657
00:38:55.019 --> 00:38:58.389
about a couple by Christopher Nolan. So to that end,

658
00:38:58.610 --> 00:39:02.349
next time on A Film By, we'll be talking– about

659
00:39:02.369 --> 00:39:06.719
Memento from 2001. So if you've seen it, how would

660
00:39:06.739 --> 00:39:11.599
you summarize it in exactly five words? Go to a

661
00:39:11.860 --> 00:39:14.320
film by podcast.com to give us your answer. You can

662
00:39:14.420 --> 00:39:17.659
email us. If we use your five word synopsis on

663
00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:20.199
the show, we'll shout you out on the episode. We'll

664
00:39:20.199 --> 00:39:22.530
give you some, a film by swag and Amber will sigh, uh,

665
00:39:23.190 --> 00:39:24.909
give a sigh of relief because she won't have to

666
00:39:24.949 --> 00:39:29.289
do one. Um, yeah. As always, please join us on

667
00:39:29.309 --> 00:39:33.199
social media. You'll find us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook X.

668
00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:37.260
We love interacting with you, sharing opinions, taking your requests

669
00:39:37.460 --> 00:39:41.440
for future episodes. And, uh, if you're brave enough to,

670
00:39:41.679 --> 00:39:46.440
you know, Amber will definitely debate you on great movies. Uh,

671
00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:49.500
so to all of you, that are out there listening

672
00:39:49.519 --> 00:39:53.050
to the show, following us on social media, subscribing to

673
00:39:53.090 --> 00:39:55.320
our Patreon. We absolutely thank you.