As we’ve seen throughout Hollywood history, there are many ways to promote a film. In 1999, the creators of The Blair Witch Project unleashed a viral marketing campaign that convinced unwitting audiences that the case of the missing film students was real, leading to confusion and panic ahead of the film’s theatrical release. In 2022, Paramount launched a creepy campaign for its supernatural horror film Smile, with random actors showing up at Major League Baseball games, standing still and mugging for the cameras. Today, we have the Odyssey rap, a promotional video featuring actors from Christopher Nolan’s latest epic as they rap about the film’s historical context. It’s one of the most cringe-worthy things I’ve ever seen, and because I suffered through it, so shall you.
Who’s spittin’ bars?
Featuring stars like Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal, and Charlize Theron, the star-studded song (which reminds me of Blackalicious’ “Alphabet Aerobics”) recounts how Homer’s epic tale takes place after the Iliad. In the song, the actors recite names to a simple, hypnotic beat, and even touch on the events of the Trojan War. They also name-drop the mythical creature Odysseus meets on his journey.
Armchair analysts rise up
The rap is a strange way to promote the film, given the seriousness of its presentation and historical cache. While you can chalk the song up to actors having a good time at the film’s expense, many armchair analysts online are having a field day with the promo. Many commenters are calling the song “cringe” while trying to determine whether it’s real or AI-generated. After doing some online sleuthing, I’ve concluded that the rap is real and is a product of The Tonight Show, which shared the promo on social media on Thursday.
The Odyssey is far from cringe
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opens in theaters tomorrow, July 17, with early screenings happening this afternoon. If the thought of Matt Damon and Zendaya spitting bars about ancient Greece makes you nervous for the actual film, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Our editor-in-chief, Chris Bumbray, reviewed The Odyssey for us the other day, saying it’s a brilliant film that he hesitates to give a hard score. Sometimes, movies demand a second or third watch before you can render a definitive verdict, and The Odyssey sounds like one of those. Chris says he was “captivated” by it and that it’s one of the “most ambitious films of all time,” but he’s unsure whether it’s among Nolan’s “absolute best” films.
In other Odyssey news, Tom Cruise recently attended a screening of Nolan’s latest epic, and he positively loved it. To show his enthusiasm for the film, Cruise posted a photo of himself holding his Odyssey ticket, congratulating the cast and crew, and saying he can’t wait to see it again.
What do you think about The Odyssey rap? Is it fun, cringe, or somewhere in between? Do you plan to see Nolan’s new film this weekend? Let us know in the comments section below.
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