From Homer's epic to Nolan's Odyssey

The stories sparked a lifelong ambition — not only to bring the 3,000-year-old myth to the screen, but also to make its timeless themes resonate with contemporary audiences.

"I think as a filmmaker — you're always looking for something to challenge yourself, but also something hopefully the audience hasn't seen before. I was really struck by the fact that the world of Greek mythology is the oldest foundation of story in Western literature. The Odyssey is a great epic that hadn't been told in this form in a modern film. And so, to me, that just seemed like a tremendous opportunity," Nolan said during the Beijing event.

He added that the poem endures because it is rooted in "primal, universal desires and fears", allowing it to remain relevant across generations.

To re-create the ancient world, the production traveled across six countries — Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland, and the United States. Exterior scenes for Odysseus' palace were filmed at Castello di Santa Caterina, a 15th-century castle in Sicily, Italy, perched atop a rugged hill more than 310 meters above sea level, commanding panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea.

"There were 250 people we needed to get to this location. We thought we'd be able to put up a temporary road. And then, in the end, we weren't able to, so it meant everybody hiking up 1,000 feet every morning, arriving pretty tired before the day's work even began," Nolan recalled.

One cast member, however, barely seemed to notice the climb. Nolan said Tom Holland bounded up the steep path "like a gazelle" throughout the three-week shoot, setting an example for the cast and crew.

The film also fulfills another dream Nolan has pursued since the age of 16: making an entire feature film in the IMAX format.

While The Odyssey is Nolan's seventh film shot with IMAX cameras, it is also the first feature in history to be filmed entirely with IMAX 15/65 mm cameras. Shot over 91 days, the production used more than 2.1 million feet (640 kilometers) of film stock — longer than the distance between Toronto and New York, according to IMAX.

Although the production posed unprecedented technical challenges, Nolan said the cast adapted to the large-format equipment "wonderfully".

"(That is because of) the fact that we would use a monitor system to allow them to see each other across the camera — because it's a giant box between them — essentially, and also the reloading process. But of course, one of the things when you bring a camera this big onto a set is that there's a tremendous amount of focus from the cast and the crew," Nolan said.

"They see how cumbersome and important — and expensive, frankly — the whole thing is. So, there's a real sense of focus, and everybody is able to focus at the same moment, and I think the discipline of that really helps," he added.

The film's demanding production left a lasting impression on its cast as well. According to Entertainment Weekly, Damon said he had promised his wife he would take a break from acting — with one exception: if Nolan called, the break would have to wait. She agreed.

Asked in Beijing how he reacted when Nolan invited him to star in The Odyssey, Damon said preparation was never a concern because the director always gives his actors ample time.