Christopher Nolan’s Oscar ‘Odyssey’: Can Matt Damon, Monsters and Mythology Deliver Another Best Picture Statue?

Awards Circuit Column: The sword-and-sandal epic could mark a huge comeback for the genre and potentially head towards the big Oscar record

By Clayton Davis

Clayton Davis

Chief Awards Editor

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The last time the sword-and-sandal epic truly conquered the Oscars, Russell Crowe stood in the Colosseum and asked, “Are you not entertained?”

Ridley Scott’s 2001 blockbuster “Gladiator” won best picture that season, briefly reminding Hollywood that ancient-world spectacle could still capture the Academy’s imagination. Since then, the genre has largely retreated to the multiplex, where toga-clad warriors and mythological heroes have been treated as summer entertainment rather than awards-season contenders.

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