By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Christopher Nolan gave theater owners a thrilling glimpse of “The Odyssey” on Wednesday evening at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. His adaptation of Homer’s epic starring Matt Damon as Odysseus is one of the most hotly anticipated of the year, arriving in theaters on July 17.
“‘The Odyssey’ is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years,” Nolan said from the stage. “It’s not a story, it’s the story.”
He introduced an extended clip from the film showing the arrival of the Trojan Horse and the intense nighttime infiltration of the city of Troy. Or, as Jon Bernthal’s Menelaus calls it, “the story of the horse.”
“The Odyssey” is the first motion picture shot entirely on IMAX film, thanks to the development of new cameras that aren’t quite so noisy, fulfilling a dream Nolan said he’s had since he was 16.
The film boasts a massive ensemble with Anne Hathaway playing Odysseus’s wife Penelope, Tom Holland as their son Telemachus, Zendaya as the goddess Athena and Robert Pattinson as Antinous, one of Penelope’s suitors. Nolan said it would be quicker to say who isn’t in “The Odyssey,” his first feature since “Oppenheimer,” which won best picture and best director at the Oscars in 2024.
“It’s always been a film, first and foremost, about this idea of family, this idea of homecoming,” Nolan said, adding that it is almost done.
The footage was shown as part of the Universal Pictures presentation to exhibitors where the studio also has a new “Minions” movie and Steven Spielberg’s original science fiction film “Disclosure Day” coming to theaters this summer.
“I’m just really glad not to be following Steven Spielberg,” Nolan said.
Later, Spielberg, like Nolan, got a rousing, retrospective montage of his films and a big standing ovation from the audience as well. For Spielberg’s first visit to the convention, the Motion Picture Association even gave him an award. Colman Domingo, who co-stars in “Disclosure Day,” led a discussion with Spielberg about his 35th feature, which opens on June 12.
Spielberg said he’s always been fascinated by what’s happening in the sky, and, particularly, the UFO phenomenon. And 50 years after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” he said he’s convinced that there’s more truth to it than fiction. The movie, which also stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, has been kept quite secretive. Spielberg said he was adamant about not spoiling the third act.
“All I can say is it’s an experience,” Spielberg said. “And all you need to get from the beginning to the end is a seat belt.”
He also spoke about the industry at large and the importance of giving the audience original stories.
“That is what’s going to keep this business alive,” Spielberg said.
Snoop Dogg kicked off the presentation performing “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and announcing that he’s partnered with Universal “to finally tell my story.” Craig Brewer will direct and it’s aiming to be in theaters next year.
“My movie will be rated R, you can believe that,” he said. “So kids, get your parents’ permission.”
Universal currently has the year’s biggest box-office hit in theaters with “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which has only been out for 15 days and has already made over $631 million worldwide. It is on its way to being the year’s first billion dollar movie, said Donna Langley, the NBC Universal Entertainment chairperson. Last month the studio also pledged to extend the exclusive theatrical window for all its movies to 45 days starting in 2027.
“We’ve always been a theatrical first studio,” Langley said.
For decades the standard exclusive window was 90 days in theaters, but the pandemic and the rise of streaming led to drastic shifts from all the major studios. Universal experimented with 17-day windows during the pandemic era, as well as some day-and-date releases, but for its biggest movies they had already settled into the 45-day model.
It’s an important guarantee for theater owners and operators with the box office still at a 20% deficit from its pre-pandemic highs. Disney, by contrast, has a 60-day window, the longest in the industry but still quite depleted from the old 90-day norm.
“Audiences will find what they want to watch whether they’re big or small,” Spielberg said. “But studios need to help us by expanding their exclusive windows like Donna Langley just did.”
He added: “But today I’ve got to be greedy: Do I hear 60 days? … We can all make it happen; we have to insist on making it happen.”