[Ammi]

…I’ll make a thread as this had already courted controversy and the attention of Elon Musk who is being reported as promoting mis-information…I mean, what’s a bored billionaire to do to pass the days..


…the official trailer…

Youtube video

Musk has reposted and responded to many posts on X this week attacking “The Odyssey,” an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek poem that is set to open in theaters in July, particularly over the casting of Black actress Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and trans actor Elliot Page in an undisclosed role.

Musk has boosted multiple posts attacking Page for allegedly playing the Greek warrior Achilles, which targeted him for his gender identity—but Page’s role in the movie has not been confirmed, and claims he is playing Achilles are rumors.

Musk responded, “True,” to a post on X that falsely claims films must meet three diversity standards to be eligible for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, including a claim 30% of a film’s cast must be non-white or non-straight people—but it is not accurate, as these are just some of the multiple criteria films can meet for eligibility.

Despite misstating the Academy’s diversity requirements, Musk has accused Nolan of hiring a diverse cast for “The Odyssey” because he wants to win Oscars.

Musk also posted Friday, “Who specifically is the asshole who added DEI lies to Academy Awards eligibility instead of it just being about making the best movie?”


…one of the many articles…https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormu...r-nolan-movie/

[Mystic Mock]

I liked Lupita Nyong'o's performance in Us tbf, some of the best acting you'll probably see in Horror imo.

But isn't The Odyssey based in Ancient Greece?

[Alf]

Originally Posted by Ammi

…I’ll make a thread as this had already courted controversy and the attention of Elon Musk who is being reported as promoting mis-information…I mean, what’s a bored billionaire to do to pass the days..


…the official trailer…

Youtube video

Musk has reposted and responded to many posts on X this week attacking “The Odyssey,” an adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek poem that is set to open in theaters in July, particularly over the casting of Black actress Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and trans actor Elliot Page in an undisclosed role.

Musk has boosted multiple posts attacking Page for allegedly playing the Greek warrior Achilles, which targeted him for his gender identity—but Page’s role in the movie has not been confirmed, and claims he is playing Achilles are rumors.

Musk responded, “True,” to a post on X that falsely claims films must meet three diversity standards to be eligible for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, including a claim 30% of a film’s cast must be non-white or non-straight people—but it is not accurate, as these are just some of the multiple criteria films can meet for eligibility.

Despite misstating the Academy’s diversity requirements, Musk has accused Nolan of hiring a diverse cast for “The Odyssey” because he wants to win Oscars.

Musk also posted Friday, “Who specifically is the asshole who added DEI lies to Academy Awards eligibility instead of it just being about making the best movie?”


…one of the many articles…https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormu...r-nolan-movie/

She/Her

[Crimson Dynamo]

i will give this a sharp swerve

[Livia]

This has been covered in the 'what made you ponder' thread. The fact that Helen of Troy, a Turkish beauty, 'the face that launched a thousand ships', is played by a black actress who looks like a twelve year old sub-Saharan boy, and Achilles, a fearsome and fearless warrior, is being played by a biological female who thinks she's now a man. Mess.... Hope it bombs.

[MTVN]

Tbh casting actors to play characters who would have been a different race is a pet peeve of mine. There are a lot of actors in the Other Bennett Sister who are non-white and playing characters who are supposed to be upper class in the Regency era. It's jarring when you know it's completely out of keeping with the time period and it feels like it's rewriting history

[bots]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Tbh casting actors to play characters who would have been a different race is a pet peeve of mine. There are a lot of actors in the Other Bennett Sister who are non-white and playing characters who are supposed to be upper class in the Regency era. It's jarring when you know it's completely out of keeping with the time period and it feels like it's rewriting history

it is re-writing history and there is nothing more Orwellian in my opinion

[Alf]

Nolan just wants to win Oscars, so he's playing ball with what the controllers want to push down peoples throats.

[Barry.]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Tbh casting actors to play characters who would have been a different race is a pet peeve of mine. There are a lot of actors in the Other Bennett Sister who are non-white and playing characters who are supposed to be upper class in the Regency era. It's jarring when you know it's completely out of keeping with the time period and it feels like it's rewriting history

its not really history. Do you really believe Helen of Troy's mum was a swan?

[MTVN]

Originally Posted by Barry.

its not really history. Do you really believe Helen of Troy's mum was a swan?

I know nothing about Helen of Troy honestly so was making a wider point in that I think actors who are depicting characters from a historical period should generally appear to actually be from that period and not very conspicuously be from a different race than you would find in that period

They used to cast white people to play non-white roles in films like Lawrence of Arabia but that quite rightly doesn't happen anymore

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Barry.

its not really history. Do you really believe Helen of Troy's mum was a swan?

Greek mythology is the body of ancient folklore and stories originally used by
the Greeks to explain the origins of the world, natural phenomena, and the lives
of deities, heroes, and monsters. To change it to pander to the latest woke
ideology is an anathema. It is cultural history, try telling a Greek its there to be
altered and destroyed to please the latest shrieking online cults.

[arista]

Originally Posted by bots

it is re-writing history and there is nothing more Orwellian in my opinion

Yes

Be better in 3-D

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Barry.

its not really history. Do you really believe Helen of Troy's mum was a swan?

…yes, I believe …that blend and merge of human/God and animal/beast is such a regular thing in Greek mythology, isn’t it…and I believe it’s all true…


…I guess I may watch this at some point but from the trailer, it doesn’t really excite atm…I mean, if those are the ‘best bits’ aimed to draw the audience in, it doesn’t really hold out much promise for such a big story…so far as the casting goes and the two castings in particular that Elon Musk seems to be very vocal about…?…it hasn’t been confirmed as to the character that Elliot Page is cast as, there is equally a strong rumour that the character is Elpanor, who mythically was the youngest crew-mate of Odysseus…which seems like a relatively minor part, also…so far as the casting of Helen of Troy …Lupita Nyong’o is someone who is very much listed as one of the most beautiful women in the world, which is subjective obviously but the casting in terms of ‘outstanding physical beauty’ would absolutely follow …in a world of Greek mythology which contains some incredible female beauty, what would make a beauty stand out in terms of being ‘a face that launched a thousand ships…’…a beauty that was so ‘stand out’…maybe that her skin was a darker colour, maybe that she had a uniqueness that was very rare …?…Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey vision and direction is yet to be seen by any of us so I’ll wait to see how the performances and casting fit the stories…as I say, it’s interesting that Elon has focused on those two castings when the whole trailer atm looks quite pants and flat…

[bots]

Taking the other side. Every story has always changed from one teller to the next. Sometimes the difference will be minimal, other times extreme. Nolan is just another storyteller along the way. If his voice is powerful and strong, maybe his story will go on and become the main branch. If it's not, it will just wither and die

[Livia]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Tbh casting actors to play characters who would have been a different race is a pet peeve of mine. There are a lot of actors in the Other Bennett Sister who are non-white and playing characters who are supposed to be upper class in the Regency era. It's jarring when you know it's completely out of keeping with the time period and it feels like it's rewriting history

I completely agree. I can suspend my disbelief, but not that far. And it irritates me when people accuse me of being racist because I hate blind casting. I would equally hate Judi Dench playing Rosa Parks, not that it ever happens the other way rounds. It pretends that everything was equal and rosy for black people in history, and it diminishes their struggle. I recently saw The Mousetrap, I'd wanted to see it for years and when I did, the middle class wife of a middle-class man in rural England in the 1940s, was black. Around the time the Windrush generation was arriving and I'm sure their experience was quite different to the gentrified ideal of English rural life in the 40s. I actively avoid anything that is blind cast. I'm sure I'm not alone.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Crimson Dynamo

Greek mythology is the body of ancient folklore and stories originally used by
the Greeks to explain the origins of the world, natural phenomena, and the lives
of deities, heroes, and monsters. To change it to pander to the latest woke
ideology is an anathema. It is cultural history, try telling a Greek its there to be
altered and destroyed to please the latest shrieking online cults.

Great post...

[Barry.]

Originally Posted by Crimson Dynamo

Greek mythology is the body of ancient folklore and stories originally used by
the Greeks to explain the origins of the world, natural phenomena, and the lives
of deities, heroes, and monsters. To change it to pander to the latest woke
ideology is an anathema. It is cultural history, try telling a Greek its there to be
altered and destroyed to please the latest shrieking online cults.

Most of cast aren’t Greek though?

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by Barry.

Most of cast aren’t Greek though?

I don't think any of the cast are Greek ,but that seems fine with people lol.

Charlize Theron is South African but it seems that's ok ....hmm interesting.

Greek mythology is fantasy , but people are comparing it to casting Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King as white ,as if those are the same things.

I mean it seems people have forgotten through history White British and American actors have been and are still playing Egyptian , Greek ,middle Eastern & east Asian etc roles .

Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra for goodness sake .

[Vanessa]

I'm still going to watch it. Looks fun

[MTVN]

Originally Posted by GoldHeart

I don't think any of the cast are Greek ,but that seems fine with people lol.

Charlize Theron is South African but it seems that's ok ....hmm interesting.

Greek mythology is fantasy , but people are comparing it to casting Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King as white ,as if those are the same things.

I mean it seems people have forgotten through history White British and American actors have been and are still playing Egyptian , Greek ,middle Eastern & east Asian etc roles .

Elizabeth Taylor played Cleopatra for goodness sake .

In the 60s. It feels like we've gone through a weird horseshoe where we've phased out white actors playing non-white roles but once again that was done we started casting more non-white actors to play white characters

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by MTVN

In the 60s. It feels like we've gone through a weird horseshoe where we've phased out white actors playing non-white roles but once again that was done we started casting more non-white actors to play white characters

I mean yeah it's good to see characters actually look like how they should or how we'd imagine them ,The chosen is a good example of Jesus actually being cast by a guy who looks like how Jesus likely would have looked , judging by his background and ethnicity. Same goes for the rest of the cast .


But what are your thoughts on Scarlett Johansson in ghost in the shell ? . Or Matt Damon playing a GREEK king in this new Odyssey movie? .

I agree castings should be portrayed authentically, but there seems to be alot of inconsistencies with people's complaints. If they want an ' accurate greek adaptation ' ,then they should take issue with the whole cast surely?? .

People can think lupita nyong'o is the wrong choice, but I find it weird that they have no problem with the rest of the choice cast members .

[MTVN]

Originally Posted by GoldHeart

I mean yeah it's good to see characters actually look like how they should or how we'd imagine them ,The chosen is a good example of Jesus actually being cast by a guy who looks like how Jesus likely would have looked , judging by his background and ethnicity. Same goes for the rest of the cast .


But what are your thoughts on Scarlett Johansson in ghost in the shell ? . Or Matt Damon playing a GREEK king in this new Odyssey movie? .

I agree castings should be portrayed authentically, but there seems to be alot of inconsistencies with people's complaints. If they want an ' accurate greek adaptation ' ,then they should take issue with the whole cast surely?? .

People can think lupita nyong'o is the wrong choice, but I find it weird that they have no problem with the rest of the choice cast members .

Fair question about Scarlett Johansson, wasn't really familiar with that film but I see it was criticised for having her as the lead. Matt Damon can feasibly pass as Greek I'd say so not sure there is a big problem with that. Might be a bit superficial but I would just judge it on appearance - does this person look like they could be from the time period and location that the film is depicting? If yes then fine, if not then I think it's jarring for the viewer when it's too conspicuous

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Fair question about Scarlett Johansson, wasn't really familiar with that film but I see it was criticised for having her as the lead. Matt Damon can feasibly pass as Greek I'd say so not sure there is a big problem with that. Might be a bit superficial but I would just judge it on appearance - does this person look like they could be from the time period and location that the film is depicting? If yes then fine, if not then I think it's jarring for the viewer when it's too conspicuous

So basically all the white actors can pass for' Greek ' then ? Lol , including south African Charlize Theron ?? .

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Fair question about Scarlett Johansson, wasn't really familiar with that film but I see it was criticised for having her as the lead. Matt Damon can feasibly pass as Greek I'd say so not sure there is a big problem with that. Might be a bit superficial but I would just judge it on appearance - does this person look like they could be from the time period and location that the film is depicting? If yes then fine, if not then I think it's jarring for the viewer when it's too conspicuous

I guess Tom Holland,Ann Hathaway & Robert Pattinson can also pass for Greek then ?? Lol. These are probably the whitest actors ,sure they have European features...but I would not say any of them can pass for Greek ,neither would I say blue eyed Matt Damon could pass for Greek . I'm not saying it couldn't happen .....but if we want strictly believable "authentic superficial " ,then he would be more tanned with darker features ... surely? .

[MTVN]

Originally Posted by GoldHeart

I guess Tom Holland,Ann Hathaway & Robert Pattinson can also pass for Greek then ?? Lol. These are probably the whitest actors ,sure they have European features...but I would not say any of them can pass for Greek ,neither would I say blue eyed Matt Damon could pass for Greek . I'm not saying it couldn't happen .....but if we want strictly believable "authentic superficial " ,then he would be more tanned with darker features ... surely? .

Well that's all within the realms of possibility for a major cinematic production to make a Matt Damon believable as an Ancient Greek. If we go back to my original example of the Other Bennett Sister, you cannot make a black or Asian person to realistically appear as an upper class citizen in the Regency era. It requires the viewer to suspend their belief in the authenticity of the production