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WIRED tasks Matt Damon (Odysseus), Anne Hathaway (Penelope), Tom Holland (Telemachus) and Robert Pattinson (Antinous) to answer the 50 most searched questions about The Odyssey. Whether it’s 10 minutes or 10 years, Odysseus gets there in the end.

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Transcript
00:00Who wrote The Odyssey?
00:02Homer Simpson.
00:03Hello, I'm Matt Damon.
00:05Hi, I'm Anne Hathaway.
00:06I am Tom Holland.
00:07I'm Robert Pattinson.
00:08And we are here to answer the most searched questions about The Odyssey.
00:13Let's go.
00:18How do you spell Odyssey?
00:21Which, by the way...
00:22Pass.
00:22Very tough.
00:23What a nightmare.
00:24How long is Odysseus away from home?
00:2620 years!
00:28Oh my god!
00:30How many men does Scylla kill?
00:32Six.
00:32Six.
00:33I just gotta do this for my kids.
00:35Six, seven.
00:36Seven.
00:38Is Calypso a monster?
00:39No.
00:40I don't think so at all.
00:41Particularly not the way she's portrayed in the film.
00:44No.
00:46Okay, what is Scylla?
00:49Scylla and Charybdis are the two...
00:52Charybdis is the whirlpool and Scylla is the six-headed snake monster that comes down.
00:56And takes six of my crew mates.
00:58How did you shoot that again?
01:00Because that to me is another part of the movie that I don't understand how you did that.
01:03We took the boat through that passageway.
01:06And Chris had on one side jet skis doing donuts in the water.
01:11This is true.
01:12To really create a small whirlpool that the visual effects could use the actual movement of water as a guide.
01:19George Cottle did six ratchets on that boat.
01:25On the actual boat he rigged a ratchet system and pulled stunt guys up out off the deck of the
01:30boat.
01:30It was the most incredible thing.
01:32He did six ratchets and he did it after lunch.
01:35He did it all in an afternoon.
01:37The great George Cottle ladies and gentlemen.
01:38George Cottle!
01:40Did Athena love Odysseus romantically?
01:42No, because she's married to me.
01:44Yep, good answer.
01:46Was Odysseus faithful to Penelope?
01:48That's something I've been really curious about.
01:52Uh...
01:53Ugh.
01:53Keep going.
01:55Here's the thing.
01:56No, no, no, no, no, no.
01:57What's her name?
01:59Charlize.
02:01Penelope did have a little bit of an emotional affair as well.
02:04You're really trying to make this work break.
02:06You're so delusional.
02:07You gotta watch the movie again.
02:08Oh, you're such bad news.
02:09You're such bad news.
02:11How long does Odysseus stay with Calypso?
02:13Seven years, but don't worry about it.
02:14It wasn't nothing.
02:15It didn't mean anything.
02:16It was one night for seven years.
02:19How does Antinous treat Telemachus terribly?
02:24I'm waiting for someone to say that.
02:25He's really nice until, you know, you just get too big for your boots.
02:28You do horrible things to my dog.
02:31No.
02:31But that's not the question.
02:33I didn't.
02:33I just lift him outside.
02:35It wasn't very nice the way you lifted him.
02:37I think the dog was a little bit worse than me.
02:39The dog was actually quite scary.
02:43Why does Odysseus disguise himself as a beggar?
02:45He's sneaking back into his homeland and he can't reveal his identity yet.
02:48And he's smart.
02:50One long night.
02:50Why did Achilles fight for Agamemnon?
02:53Ask Brad Pitt.
02:55How tall are the Lystragonians?
02:57Pretty damn tall.
02:59And the way we shot that was also amazing.
03:02We were doing everything in camera.
03:04We had seven foot stuntmen and a whole team of doubles who were under five foot doubling
03:11all of us.
03:12And it was thrilling to watch those stunt performers work and this whole idea of forced perspective
03:17to, again, do as little CG as possible.
03:20I also think that has to be one of the hardest things to pronounce in all of this experience.
03:25It's been coming up in interviews and every time you say it I'm like, wow.
03:29Why doesn't Tinous want to kill Telemachus?
03:31Because he's a dickhead.
03:32We've been there already today moving on swiftly.
03:35What do the sirens sing about?
03:37Well, Chris wrote a beautiful monologue that plays in voiceover and Odysseus goes into
03:44detail about what the song sounds like.
03:46And you can see that on IMAX on July 17th.
03:50What is the main conflict in the Odyssey?
03:52You guys gotta get home.
03:53You guys gotta get home.
03:54Who is Odysseus' best friend?
03:56Argos.
03:57Aww.
03:58Aww.
03:59Well, Eurylochus is his number two in command.
04:01But Eumaeus is known in literature as the most loyal of characters, though technically he's
04:06a slave so I would have to say Penelope is his best friend.
04:10That's very sweet.
04:12Why does Calypso keep Odysseus?
04:14Because she fancies him.
04:15Yeah, because she loves him.
04:16Because she's got taste.
04:18And Charlize is amazing in the movie.
04:21Why does Circe turn Odysseus' men into pigs?
04:24This is a sequence that is absolutely incredible and terrifying and all done in camera.
04:30We don't want to say too much about it.
04:32But her rationale is that she fears for her safety and that the men basically are already
04:40pigs.
04:40She's just revealing who they truly are.
04:43What does Athena teach Telemachus?
04:44True love.
04:45Yeah.
04:48Why doesn't Penelope remarry?
04:51Love.
04:52Same answer, no?
04:53Love, loyalty.
04:55Great taste.
04:56She's waiting for Antinous to get older.
04:58And because he's not there.
04:58She's waiting for Antinous to get older.
05:01Got my eye on that one.
05:03He needs to ripen a bit.
05:05Ew.
05:06Ew.
05:07Alright, I'm aiming for the lens.
05:09Wow.
05:10How old is Telemachus in the Odyssey?
05:1216?
05:13I think.
05:13I think he might be 18.
05:15Because if I'm away 20 years.
05:16Dammit, I played it like 16.
05:20Fuck!
05:21But if I left when you were 2 and I come back 20 years later, are you 22?
05:26That would be correct.
05:28Yeah.
05:29This is very easy to figure this out.
05:31Yeah.
05:31How many of you think he's gone for 20 years?
05:33Yeah, I don't know where I got that from.
05:35I think you play him young and you kind of age in the movie.
05:38I have started sweating because I think I realized a major flaw in my performance.
05:44Alright, why does Poseidon curse Odysseus?
05:47Well, that's because I, yeah, blind his son.
05:50That answer has been around for 3,000 years, so, alright.
05:54Why does Agamemnon praise Penelope?
05:56Because his wife killed him?
05:59And Penelope doesn't kill Odysseus.
06:03I guess.
06:04But then he wouldn't be able to praise her because he would be dead.
06:08She wasn't there.
06:08Was Odysseus responsible for the Trojan horse?
06:11Famously, yes.
06:12Yes.
06:13Yes, yes, yes.
06:14I say yes too.
06:15Why is Odysseus tied to the mast?
06:17Because he's passing the sirens.
06:19And he wants to hear the sound of the sirens but doesn't want to jump off the boat.
06:22Love it.
06:24I do remember something about that though.
06:26That's an important part of the story.
06:28No more brain.
06:29Fair play.
06:29No more brain.
06:30Baby eight brain.
06:31What does Telemachus learn from Menelaus?
06:33He learns that he needs to face the music.
06:35And go back and claim the throne.
06:37That's exactly what he learns.
06:38Why does Odysseus visit the underworld?
06:41He's looking for directions.
06:43You love that.
06:44Why does Athena choose Odysseus?
06:47This is difficult in the context of our movie
06:50without giving things away.
06:53Because does Athena choose Odysseus or does Odysseus choose Athena?
06:59Spoiler alert.
07:00I like that.
07:00That's all we can say.
07:02Wow, that almost hit the director.
07:04Sorry guys.
07:05Sorry guys.
07:06Where was the Odyssey film?
07:08Where wasn't it?
07:08That's what I was going to say.
07:10Let's do it fast.
07:10Greece.
07:11Italy.
07:12London.
07:13Not London.
07:15Los Angeles.
07:16Scotland.
07:18I got them all.
07:18I got them all.
07:19Fair.
07:21Oh, you almost got it.
07:23What is the contest of the bow?
07:24Well, at the very end it's set up by Penelope to find a...
07:28To get rid of your ass.
07:29To kick your ass out of my castle.
07:31When was the Odyssey written?
07:32I think 2700 BC.
07:35I was just going to say that.
07:36Why does Intinuous underestimate Odysseus?
07:39Because he's a child.
07:39Ooh.
07:41Is Cersei a witch?
07:43Yeah.
07:45She's a goddess, right?
07:46She is a demigoddess, yes.
07:47Right.
07:48Who's very witchy.
07:49Witchy vibes?
07:51I feel like that's a...
07:52We're alighting this.
07:54She's a witchy demigoddess.
07:56What creatures guard the underworld?
07:59Well, the underworld is full of shade, so I'm just going with that.
08:03How does Penelope test Odysseus?
08:05Ooh.
08:06With the bow.
08:07With the bow that only he could string.
08:09Is Odyssey a sequel to Troy?
08:11And over.
08:11The Odyssey is a sequel to the Iliad.
08:14Troy is based on the Iliad.
08:15The Odyssey is based on the Odyssey.
08:17How does Athena help Odysseus in the Odyssey?
08:20She gives him guidance.
08:22What happens after the first Trojan...
08:23What happens after the Trojan War?
08:25Sad.
08:26We're not talking about Trojan War II.
08:29Well, the Odyssey happens because it's about the guys trying to get home.
08:34Is Odysseus more of a warrior or a strategist?
08:37Well, he's both, but he's definitely known for his strategy.
08:40His strategy.
08:41Are the sirens mermaids?
08:42No, there's something far more dangerous.
08:45Who are Penelope's suitors?
08:47Is there really any other other than Antinous?
08:49Yeah.
08:50Does Calypso love Odysseus?
08:52She says that.
08:53I believe so.
08:53Great taste.
08:54What happens after Odysseus returns home?
08:57We call that act three.
08:59It's pretty good.
09:01He puts his house in order.
09:03Is that a good way of saying it?
09:04All right.
09:05Who does Odysseus meet in the underworld?
09:07Well, in our film, not only Agamemnon, but also Sinon.
09:11And is it Tiresias?
09:13And Tiresias.
09:14How does Telemachus change throughout the Odyssey?
09:16He grows up and becomes man.
09:18I like it.
09:19Why didn't Telemachus know his father?
09:21Because his father was not...
09:22He was an absentee father.
09:24Who are the gods that help or hinder Odysseus?
09:27Well, there's Zeus, there's Poseidon, there's Athena, to a degree Calypso.
09:32Doesn't Zeus help you by, like, punishing you so badly that you wash up on the shores of...
09:37Is that the thought?
09:38Yeah, makes a deal with Poseidon.
09:39Right.
09:40They take him basically to the limit, but then...
09:42Yeah.
09:42But I'm under Zeus's protection.
09:44Sure.
09:45Do Penelope and Antinous get together now?
09:48That's what she told me.
09:49She promised me.
09:50Why does Antinous want Odysseus dead?
09:53I think it's very clear that he would like my throne and my wife.
09:58Yes.
09:59Price.
10:00Why does Athena protect Penelope?
10:02I think Penelope's very devoted to her, and I think Athena's a big fan of our family.
10:07I think she knows that we practice Zeus's law, and that we're trying to do good in a world that's
10:12complicated.
10:14Is Odysseus a hero or an anti-hero?
10:17I think we leave that one to the audience.
10:19Nice.
10:20That was a lot of questions.
10:22Amazingly though, not a single question the press has asked us for the last three days.
10:26That's true.
10:26They've all probably read it already.
10:28Yeah, that's true.
10:29That was fun.
10:30Thank you for your questions, and hopefully we'll see you at the Odyssey.
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