Universal will step up its Oscar campaign for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” during the week of Nov. 9, with screenings and discussions bringing the filmmaker, producer Emma Thomas and lead actor Matt Damon before awards voters. According to Variety, the schedule will put the team in front of voters almost every night over a two-week stretch, with several prominent filmmakers and performers serving as moderators.
Robert Downey Jr. will moderate the Los Angeles launch on Nov. 11 at the TCL Chinese Theatre, where an Imax 70mm presentation will be followed by a discussion with Nolan, Thomas and Damon. Guillermo del Toro will lead a session with Nolan, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson and Damon at AMC Universal CityWalk on Nov. 12. Steven Spielberg will moderate a conversation with Nolan after a 70mm screening at the DGA Theater on Nov. 17.
The campaign follows a major commercial run for the adaptation of Homer’s poem. “The Odyssey” opened in July with $264.1 million worldwide, the largest debut of Nolan’s career, and has since exceeded $1.1 billion to become his highest-grossing movie. Universal’s awards push places particular emphasis on theatrical presentation, with nearly all Los Angeles screenings scheduled in Imax 70mm, 70mm or 35mm. The production was filmed entirely with Imax film cameras.
A separate event will spotlight the work behind the production. The 75-minute documentary “Behind the Scenes of The Odyssey” will have its world premiere at Universal’s Spielberg Theater on Nov. 10, with an introduction by Nolan. Damon, who portrays Odysseus, will moderate the subsequent discussion, and a reception will follow.
The documentary panel will include Thomas, casting director John Papsidera, editor Jennifer Lame, production designer Ruth De Jong and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick. Hair department head Gloria Casny, makeup department head Luisa Abel, sound mixer Willie Burton, supervising sound editor Craig Henighan, composer and songwriter Ludwig Göransson and Jackson are also scheduled to participate.
Other Los Angeles events will highlight the cast and additional production departments. A Nov. 13 screening at Universal’s Spielberg Theater will feature Papsidera, Mirojnick, Abel and Casny. The Academy Museum’s Geffen Theater will host a Nov. 14 discussion with Damon, Tom Holland, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, John Leguizamo, Zendaya, Himesh Patel and Elliot Page.
The screening program also extends to New York, San Francisco, London and several international cities. Rome has an event scheduled for Nov. 8, followed by screenings elsewhere in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. A Bristol screening is listed with its date still to be announced.
Universal’s campaign materials list Nolan for director and adapted screenplay, Damon for actor, and Thomas and Nolan for best picture. Supporting acting campaigns include Holland, Robert Pattinson, Leguizamo, Anne Hathaway and Morton. The studio is also pursuing recognition across craft categories, including original score for Göransson and original song for “When I’m Home,” written by James Blake, Göransson and Travis Scott.
