Brad Pitt. THE ODYSSEY. Outer Space. WHAT?
I guess Brad Pitt hasn’t had his fill of Homer yet. After starring as Achilles in Troy for Warner Brothers, it looks like Brad Pitt is set to star in The Odyssey for Warner Brothers. I’m assuming that Pitt will be playing Odysseus, the role that Sean Bean portrayed in Troy. I happen to be a big fan of this story, having read it in high school, and I was very excited about the possibility of this great story being turned into a lavish big-screen production…until I read the puzzling news that the story is getting an update of epically weird proportions. According to Variety, the film is going to be set…in OUTER SPACE. The Odyssey. In outer friggin’ space. Say what?
Speaking of Troy, I just watched the Director’s Cut this weekend for the very first time. Not a major improvement, but it is a better cut. You do get a bit more background information, and they speak a bit more on the gods, something that was painfully missing from the theatrical cut. The gods are a major factor in this story, and I wish that they had been more included. My only quibble is that they frequently changed around the score for certain scenes, and it was jarring to say the very least. A quiet scene on the beach has this blaring, bombastic music, and it just didn’t work. You guys have any thoughts on Troy or this upcoming Odyssey adaptation?
6 Responses to “Brad Pitt. THE ODYSSEY. Outer Space. WHAT?”
Now, you might already know this, but there has already been an adaption of The Odyssey which was set in space – the 1980′s anime series Ulysses 31. And it was superb! All of the elements of The Odyssey were present and correct, all of the trials that Odysseus faced where there, they were just given a sci-fi make over. So it’s not that much of a stretch to apply the story to a space age setting, so this I’ll be keeping an eye on I think.
I actually didn’t know that. Now, an anime series can do some things that won’t work in live action. Do you think that it worked so well because it was a cartoon, or because of the strength of the story?
I may have mislead you somewhat by calling it an “anime”. In the strictest sense, it was anime as it was drawn by Japanese artists, but it didn’t feature “cute” characters (well, apart from the kids and the robot) but despite that they were “realistic”, Westernized characters (even the aliens!). In fact Ulysses looked like one of the Bee Gees! In a spacesuit…..
As for did it work so well because it was a cartoon – honestly, no, I don’t think that was the only reason. I don’t remember any of the ideas being too outlandish, despite the fact that it was basically the Greek legends come to life in space, including the Gods and Hades and all the rest! But it had some great writing, seriously good pacing and kept me gripped from week to week wondering if he’d ever make it home! And it had the most excellent theme tune ever!!
Ok, that last bit might be a little inaccurate but still, it is a great theme tune! The design of Ulysses spaceship was cool, he had a cape, a little jetpack belt, energy shield on his arm and a gun which had a energy sword which wasn’t at all like a lightsaber. Honest!
Here, check out the intro over at You Tube, which also gives you an idea of how they upgraded the story into space. Now, if it turns out that it’s actually this that is going to be the basis of Pitts Odyssey in space then I really will be happy!
Well, to be fair, if you told me before 1995 that they could take a Shakespearean tragedy and adapt it into a Disney cartoon with a bunch of talking and singing lions, I would have laughed. Anything is possible, I suppose, but my personal attachment to the story of The Odyssey makes me especially wary of this. It could work. It could be some Star Wars-style epic. Or it could be absolute garbage. We’ll see.
Hey the Coens were able to do it with O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Ha Ha, trust you Wyv to find a way into pimping Ulysses 31! That show rocked!
I think I TOTALLY read this story wrong whilst out in the US. I got the impression that Pitt was making a big screen version of Ulysses 31! :s
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