r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/padfoony • 3h ago

Christopher Nolan avoided CGI and used 7ft stuntmen to portray Laestrygonians in The Odyssey. The giant leader, King Antiphates, is portrayed by actor Josh Stewart, while Matt Damon’s stunt double is Devyn Dalton, who is just under 5ft.

Post image
29.6k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

668 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.4k

u/HeartOn_SoulAceUp 3h ago

The CGI people were on set at every scene taking notes to LATER enhance it, but Nolan went to great lengths for reality to start with, pre CGI phase. The boat is real too and they were really out in the ocean on it... very uncomfortable for actors and crew.

806

u/SeeingEyeDug 3h ago

This is why those late 90’s and early 2000’s movies hold up so well in the earlier days of CGI. Like LoTR trilogy, Titanic, etc. They used practical effects and models and used CGI to enhance that.

227

u/rentedtritium 2h ago

Also the fury road practicals that everyone loves are enhanced with oodles of cgi debris and smoke to add texture.

131

u/twisty125 2h ago

Honestly the basis of the shots would still look great even without them - they're added in to enhance, not create the shot, which I think is what's missing from a lot of movies and shows.

12

u/Salty_LaRue 1h ago

Right? I always compare it to salt - it's great to enhance flavour, but nobody wants to go to a restaurant and just order a whole bowl of it alone to eat.

2

u/not-a-d0g 11m ago

You would say that...

•

u/Salty_LaRue 2m ago

👉🏻👈🏻

runs off with salt trailing from her pockets

1

u/twisty125 1h ago

That's fricking FANTASTIC analogy actually

27

u/thekittysays 2h ago

The fact that they're shot in real life locations is a big part of it too, or at least real studio sets, rather than full green screen where all of the surroundings are CGI too.

6

u/twisty125 1h ago

Yes! That's such a big part too! Like you could potentially have shot it in a way that looks like Road Warrior, just the simple desert background and cars, and it would look cool because it's in a real place or a crafted location.

5

u/SparkyTheRunt 1h ago

This is spot on. Planning and prep is the secret sauce that can make or break VFX looking real

11

u/thehelldoesthatmean 2h ago

And that's a fantastic use of CGI. Nolan should be praised more for effective CGI use than for not using it. He just has a really good eye for when to use it and when not to use it and what it's best at.

11

u/p_yth 2h ago

I just watched that movie and it’s so good

3

u/Talkimas 1h ago

Enhanced practical effects are the way to go in a lot of situations I feel as they still maintain a grounded, realistic feel a lot of the time. One example that sticks out is the Darkstar in Top Gun Maverick. Rather than doing a full CG scene, it was a real scene, with a real plane, that they painted over with the CGI plane. There was still something there and interacting with the environment and the actors.

1

u/foshiiy 2h ago

What I would give to own one of those cars. They all got auctioned off.

4

u/Not-a-Bot_1968 2h ago

So, they’re out there, and you could feasibly still own it, some day 

0

u/brew_n_flow 2h ago

You can own it quicker if your willing to break stuff / people.
Not recommending it but...in case readers didnt know.

2

u/Not-a-Bot_1968 2h ago

Please explain more for the dim minded among us (me)

1

u/PhilxBefore 1h ago

B&E, ransom, and GTA.