“The Odyssey” is already a hit. Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is already sold out on most IMAX screens.
But what happened at the premiere on Tuesday night?
You may have heard Universal Pictures installed a gigantic wooden Troojan horse in front of AMC Lincoln Square. There was also a trough of sand by the red carpet, and some lit torches. All of that certainly got our attention.
Inside the IMAX theater came several cast members including Lupita Nyong’o with her family, plus Bill Irwin, Himash Patel, Corey Hawkins, Benny Safdie, and many others.
There were also lots of celebrities, from Gayle King and Andy Cohen, to comedian Hasan Minhaj and, of course, New York ambassador to all important events, Spike Lee.
I ran into Ben Affleck in the lobby with son Sam. Ben was in a very sharp looking suit, Sam was in World Cup shirt. They were wide-eyed after the movie and looking for their close pal, Matt Damon. They loved the movie.
Affleck’s presence, all dressed up, may be why we didn’t see Matt Damon at Universal’s after party at the very exclusive Maxime’s on Madison Avenue. The building that houses Maxime’s used to be called the Waterbury Hotel, and featured New York’s own Polo Lounge, a swinging, hot restaurant back in the 80s and 90s. They were known for their lavish closed door phone booths, which were paneled and bigger than most apartments!
Maxime’s is all tarted up now, elegant and two-storied with two long, narrow rooms for parties. When I arrived, Peter Parker himself — Tom Holland — was hanging out by the door. Lupita was hustled upstairs, where Nolan, Zendaya (Mrs. Holland), Elliot Page and many more were celebrating the movie’s earlier loud reception of approval.
Charlize Theron — whom I met in 1996 when she did a movie called “2 Days in the Valley” — introduced me to her daughters, ages 14 and 11. “They’re so nice,” I told her. She quipped back, “To you!” They were actually lovely. But they’d already seen the movie before last night. so while we were at the screening, their Oscar winning mom took them to see Ariana Grande at Madison Square Garden.
“Girls, I’ve known Roger since I was almost your age!” The girls looked at me and said, with great enthusiasm, “Nice to meet you!” Sweethearts.
In the film, Charlize — who plays Calypso — is living on a beach with Odysseus (Matt Damon) telling him the story of how they met. She’s stunning. Wags will say her beachware came from Bergorf’s. For Charlize, who’s been in a lot of action films, this is a return to form as an intense dramatic actress. Because I’ve known her so long, I did say, “I’d be happy to be on a deserted island with you.” When you see the movie, you’ll get it.
Anne Hathaway brought her whole family and it was like a reunion from her early days in film. Mom, dad, brother, manager, friends. I looked at Anne, who seems heavily pregnant, and was dressed like the Shakespearean queen she plays in the movie, and asked, “When are you due?” She laughed. “I’m not as far along as you think!” I hope she’s not having twins.
Finally, there was Jon Bernthal, known to us from so many great movie performances and just closed in Broadway’s “Dog Day Afternoon” co-starring Ebon Moss-Bachrach, he’s also just wrapped five seasons of “The Bear.” Jon has an admirable head of thick, dark hair, but in the movie, he is bald.
“They shaved my head!” he told me. It did grow back, eventually, which caused a problem. Bernthal told me that while filming the standalone episode of “The Bear” with Bacharach — he was called back for additional shooting on “Odyssey.”
“I had to say no,” he told me. “I couldn’t go back. We were already doing The Bear, and it was too late.” He shook his head. “I had to turn down Chris Nolan!”
Don’t worry — he’s in “The Odyssey” a lot — and to great effect!
What’s next, I asked? “I’m taking a break,” he said.
