Spark of Madness

Okay hold on, hold on. I just went to read the interview on GQ and there's so much stuff bombarding my brain right now, I need to take them piece by piece. I'm gonna add a lot of excerpts and pictures so I am going to provide a link to the original article in the end of the post.

So, the article, a promo interview for the Odyssey, starts with Nolan visiting the Castle of Saint Caterina in a small island in Italy and thinking the 15th century Christian fortress would be the ideal location to use as the Mycenaean Greek palace of Odysseus in Ithaca. Okay. That is, even though Nolan did go to Messenia in Greece and could have visited the archaeological site of the Palace of Nestor or Mycenae as well. We're off to a very promising start.

No comment.

Guys, even the promo photos are weird for this damn movie. Why do we get weak-armpit flashed by Tom Holland?

Ithaca is not the island home. It's the home island LOL A real existing island btw. The dude really says Saint Caterina is a real castle perfect for the movie version of Ithaca. OH goooood

But yeah it's perfect. It's only 3,000 years apart chronologically, founded by a different nation and of a different religion. Couldn't have picked better myself.

Then it says Nolan put poor Italians build a whole new road for the hill with the castle so that the crew could reach it. I feel for you, neighbours.

Tom Holland with a very historically accurate combination of an ancient Greek? Roman? I can't even tell at this point? helmet with western european medieval armour.

Hot take but if you read behind the lines really nobody enjoyed making this movie. And if you don't enjoy what you do, it shows.

No, Tom, you were not seeing Greek boats and soldiers. But you can really tell they were hating the whole process!

Have you ever seen a single Greek statue look like that? Correct, no you haven't. (Holland's and Pattinson's statues were passable.)

I don't know how to tell you this Nolan but you really did not have to go to Iceland and Scotland in order to shoot a story unfolding in Greece and the rest of the Mediterranean. You exhausted your cast and crew solely due to your stupidity.

What the hell is going on with these pictures XD

Link to charge, reblog to cast.

Further reading behind the lines, it seems Nolan acknowledges he's taking risks and that his team and producers are a bit worried.

At this point I think he is lowkey throwing the ball.

Only Pattinson asking to read the script and Nolan being startled at that just shows that nobody knew shit or cared about the Odyssey, it was a blind yes for working with Nolan with what sounds like a classic famous story (which however they hardly know about).

Is Nolan serious about the absence of the set-ups? Did he skip the moment where Odysseus commits hubris against Poseidon during his fight with Polyphemus? If that's not a set-up what is? Also, sorry but I asked in google what are the first texts ever using the technique of foreshadowing:

I think it's fair to say at this point; Nolan does not understand Odyssey. I don't know if he ends up lucky and gets praise again for a mess of a movie (like Inception) or a movie that ended up good thanks to another person (like The Dark Knight due to Heath Ledger), but he does not understand Odyssey.

Damon saying Odysseus had an existential crisis tied on the mast, listening to the Sirens. Oh god. Oh no. Please don't.

Oh please. I know this just has to be a replica of a weathered kion but if it were real, this right here would be an illegal thing to do. Okay maybe I am too strict on this one but it's because it is the cherry on top of this mess at this point. Also I don't like the guy advertising some sweats on a kion, sorry.

Look at the people hogging all the roles, man, while a Greek actor has to first prove he even exists........

This is fast becoming the most abysmal promo piece I have read in my life.

The first correct thing you said, Robert.

This extremely long, exhausting piece finally comes to its end. I will say that I am surprised by how miserable it all sounds. It seems like the actors simply hate their lives and jobs, at least the way movies are being made now, but are equally desperate to keep working because they have to. They did not say one. single. thing about Greece and Odyssey, and Homer, except for Nolan's inaccurate comment about a lack of foreshadowing. That's literally all they say about the Odyssey. Instead, they talk about other movie projects, how they want to pursue their personal lives but they all sleep at 7pm quitely in their hotel room at this point, how they hardly like being on camera, that Nolan is a good director though, that movies are becoming shitty (no shit Sherlock). That's it. That's what I got from an interview about the supposedly big cinematic event of the year. Pure depression.

Honestly I too like to keep some hopes but I don't see how this thing can turn up any good. And with all the crap they all keep saying, I am not wasting money on this. Brace yourself, Anon, it's probably not going to be good. But honestly maybe it would be for the better if it's not received well, otherwise such shitty and demeaning behaviour towards the classics and Greece's heritage might continue.

Here's a link to the whole article, people, if for whatever reason you are intrigued to read more:

French prosecutors escalate probe of Elon Musk and X to criminal investigation

PUBLISHED THU, MAY 7 2026 4:54 PM EDT

French cybercrime authorities have escalated an investigation of Elon Musk and his social network X to a criminal probe.

The investigation began in 2025 and focuses on alleged algorithmic manipulation by X to interfere in French politics, and the spread of AI deepfake content on the social network.

The U.S. Justice Department and Musk previously accused French authorities of a sham probe that interferes with an American business.

"This includes prisoners! They are not suddenly property of the state when they're convicted!" - *a little less cheering*

"And that includes children who are not their parents' property!" - *almost no cheering*

At minimum about 4.5 thousand people liked this without reblogging it.

The US House just voted 215 to 208 to end hostilities with Iran. ☮️

A bipartisan majority in the Republican-led House voted on Wednesday to end the war with Iran, the clearest rebuke yet of President Trump's handling of the conflict and the subsequent economic fallout. The war powers resolution passed by a vote of 215 to 208, with four Republicans joining Democrats in support. The resolution had originally been set for a vote two weeks ago, but Republican leaders sent House members home early for a May recess when it appeared the largely Democratic-backed measure had enough Republican votes for passage. However, the extended break didn't shift GOP support to kill the measure.

A caveat about its effect...

The vote is mostly symbolic. Democrats, despite multiple attempts, have been unable to pass a war powers resolution through the Republican-led Senate. Even if the measure passed in Congress, it would almost certainly be vetoed by President Trump, whose administration has questioned the constitutionality of the War Powers Act. Still, Senate Democrats have been inching closer. Last month, they won support on a procedural measure to set up a war powers vote after a handful of Republicans broke ranks to join them. A final vote has yet to be scheduled.

The NY Times reports...

Republican Representatives Tom Barrett of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky crossed party lines to vote with Democrats in favor of the resolution. Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, who had previously opposed similar measures, switched his position to support it. Though the few defections were notable, almost every Republican voted against the resolution. Most of them have accepted the Trump administration’s claim that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, the legal threshold under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 for the president to order attacks on a foreign adversary without the permission of Congress.

If Trump were smart (SPOILER: he's not), he'd not fight this resolution. He has essentially lost the war. This would give him a relatively face-saving excuse to cut his losses. Instead he will double down and again make squealing toddlers seem reasonable and mature.