White Plains, New York-based computer animation/visual effects house Blue Sky Studios has closed its commercial division. The company, which is owned by 20th Century Fox, will now focus on animated features. Currently in the works is Ice Age, to be directed by Chris Wedge….Director Roger Lunn has signed with New York based Link for U.S. representation. He is repped in Europe by Frontier Pictures, London….Sound designer/music composer Claude Letessier has joined Primal Scream, Santa Monica…. Chicago-based Chameleon Music is launching SoundPunks, an Internet music and sound design division ….Director Michel Gondry of bicoastal/international Partizan is wrapping up work on his feature film directorial debut, Human Nature, which will open in theatres in March; Gondry will be available for commercials at the end of October…….Director McG is again available for spots via Los Angeles-headquartered A Band Apart Commercials after wrapping his feature directing debut, Charlie’s Angels….Lizzie Friedman and Francesca Silvestri, who head the Hollywood-based motion picture/TV division of bicoastal commercial house Moxie Pictures, are co-producing A View From the Top for Miramax Films. Gwyneth Paltrow has committed to star in the film, which Friedman and Silvestri sold as a property to Miramax in 1999, when they maintained Friedman/Silvestri Entertainment. Friedman and Silvestri came aboard Moxie earlier this year (SHOOT, 6/23, p. 1)….
Christopher Nolan’s Next Film Is Based On “The Odyssey”
Christopher Nolan is following his Oscar-winning "Oppenheimer" with a true epic: Homer's "The Odyssey." It will open in theaters on July 17, 2026, Universal Pictures said Monday.
Details remain scarce, but the studio teased that it will be a "mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX technology." It will also be the first time that an adaptation of Homer's saga will play on IMAX film screens.
Nolan has been an IMAX enthusiast for years, going back to "The Dark Knight," and has made his last three films exclusively using large format film and the highest resolution film cameras. For "Oppenheimer," the first black-and-white IMAX film stock was developed. Nolan hasn't said specifically what the new technology for "The Odyssey" will be, but earlier this month he told The Associated Press that they're in an intensive testing phase with IMAX to prepare for the new production.
"They have an incredible engineering staff, really brilliant minds doing extraordinary work," Nolan said. "It's wonderful to see innovation in the celluloid film arena still happening and happening at the highest level possible."
"The Odyssey" will be Nolan's second collaboration with Universal Pictures following "Oppenheimer," which earned nearly $1 billion at the box office and won the filmmaker his first Oscars, including for best director and best picture. Rumors about his next project have been swirling ever since, with near-daily speculations about plot — none of which turned out to be true — and casting. While there are many reports about actors joining the ensemble, none has been officially confirmed by the studio.
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