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.

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u/thissexypoptart 2h ago

I just don’t get why they cut the famous “nobody” conversation

I guess it would make the cyclops seem less monstrous and scary if it speaks coherently, but it’s like getting rid of Scylla and only having Charybdis or something. Or doing a rehashing of OT starwars and excluding the “No, I am your father” from the Vader-Luke confrontation.

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u/djc6535 Interested 2h ago

Nolan suggested that the pun didn't really fit with his movie.

There's a few layers to this.

First: the pun doesn't work in English. The word Odysseus uses is "Outis" which is very much like a short version of his own name. You can imagine the poet playing on this during the verbal telling of the story. Imagine if in English the characters name was "Norman" and they used "NoMan"

Second: The verbal trap doesn't really fit with the tone of the movie Nolan created here. The original Odysseus is a brilliant trickster who revels in his games. Avoiding spoilers, this Odysseus is not. In Nolan's movie Odysseus is haunted by the trick he performed at Troy, and blames himself for performing it. He isn't going to happily engage in sparring with the Cyclops, he's a sad man full of shame trying to get home, not show off

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u/thissexypoptart 2h ago

That all makes sense for the direction Nolan was taking things but it’s pretty much my main criticism of the movie. It’s an incredibly minor point as well, I was just hyped for the “nobody” scene and didn’t get it lol

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u/XtendedImpact 2h ago

That was me when he acknowledged Argus. I didn't remember much of the Odyssey but that was the one scene I did specifically remember and I was a bit disappointed that they basically flipped it.
Also I thought the cyclops just going to sleep when he knew there was a bunch of walking snacks in his home was a bit odd tbh but those were really my only gripes with the story.

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u/Michauxonfire 1h ago

It's weird cuz the cyclops should've definitely gone out immediately and open the cave. But Nolan had to had that silly scene where he says the name which is such an obvious "nod". No subtlety there.

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u/thissexypoptart 1h ago

This deep into the thread I really think the spoiler tags are a bit silly lol

Going to sleep with a bunch of walking snacks makes complete sense though. The cyclops’ daily life includes locking the sheep that he eats in his cave with him every night.