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Los Angeles Times
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Who's afraid of James Joyce? Elevator Repair Service takes a tour of ‘Ulysses'
'Ulysses' may not be James Joyce's most difficult novel. That distinction would have to go to 'Finnegans Wake,' a book that has been described as unreadable even by its most fervent admirers. But 'Ulysses,' the modernist novel that changed the course of 20th century literature, is notoriously demanding. The book bested me when I first gave it a go in my student days. I expected to sprint through 'Ulysses' in a couple of weeks but found myself running uphill in a race I feared might never end. I finally did make it to the finish line, panting and red-faced. But I knew Joyce and I would have to have another rendezvous when I wasn't in such a rush to check a canonical box. It took more than 35 years for that reunion to happen. The book came back on my radar because Elevator Repair Service, the offbeat New York performance troupe best known for 'Gatz,' a marathon rendering of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby,' was coming to town with its stage version of 'Ulysses.' (The production, presented by Center for the Art of Performance, had a brief run last weekend at UCLA Little Theater.) But something else was drawing me back to Joyce, a need to breathe purer air. I could spend my free time doomscrolling, or I could challenge myself to a higher pleasure. This time around I imposed no deadline. I would read 'Ulysses' for the sheer pleasure of reading. It didn't take long to be reminded that pleasure isn't necessarily pain-free. I struggled past the roadblocks, cursing at what I took to be Joyce's willful obscurity as I consulted Terence Killeen's 'Ulysses Unbound,' a user-friendly reader's guide, as well as myriad online resources, including Google Translate to contend with the polyglot author's staggering range. I extemporized a program of reading a chapter on my own and then listening to it via the excellent RTÉ recordings of 'Ulysses' (available as a podcast) that bring to life the novel's symphony of voices. The exhilaration I came to experience entailed a fair amount of exasperation. The exertion that was required seemed to belong to a pre-internet age. Joyce, allergic to exposition, plunges the reader into sink-or-swim situations. The architecture of the book follows the plan of Homer's 'Odyssey.' Leopold Bloom is the unlikely modern-day Ulysses (Odysseus' Latin name), a newspaper ad salesman with an adulterous wife who is making his circuitous way home to see what remains after his tactical daylong absence. Stephen Dedalus, Joyce's alter ego from 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,' is thrust into the role of Telemachus, Odysseus' son, recast as a lofty aesthete grieving the death of his mother while keeping his distance from his overbearing, dissolute father. Into this complex scheme, Joyce incorporates all sorts of radical literary experiments. The most important of these is the stream of consciousness technique that's developed in ways that had never been attempted before. Joyce tunes into the inner musings of his characters as easily as he samples the collective consciousness, past and present. The novel, Edmund Wilson writes in his super-lucid chapter on Joyce in 'Axel's Castle,' moves from the ripest naturalism, awash in bodily secretions and pungent smells, to the most feverish symbolism, where dream logic liquefies objective reality. What I derived from the novel in my late 50s is not what I took away in my 20s. I was amused at what I had underlined as an overeager student, always on the lookout for the explanatory phrase. But I'm sure in time my latest markings in the book, like photos of an old hairstyle, will also elicit an eye roll. A literary work as dense as 'Ulysses' can't help but serve as a mirror of one's mental life. My experience of this ERS production is unique to the moment of my encounter. Had I not just cohabited with 'Ulysses' for the last month, I no doubt would have spent the intermission reading chapter summaries on my phone to get a deeper understanding of the story. I was relieved that this version of 'Ulysses' wasn't an eight-hour affair like 'Gatz,' which offered the complete text of 'The Great Gatsby.' (Joyce's novel would take at least 24 hours to read aloud, or all of Bloomsday, the annual celebration of the author.) The novel's 18 chapters are served cafeteria-style, a little from this section, a little from that, to provide an overview of the main action. The focus is on Bloom's wanderings through Dublin on June 16, 1904, the day his wife, Molly, a noted singer, begins an affair with a professional colleague named Blazes Boylan. Subsidiary but no less integral is Stephen's crisscrossing path through the city. When these displaced, grief-laden men lingeringly intersect late in the novel, nothing really changes in terms of the plot but everything changes in terms of the book's spiritual design. In the intimate confines of Macgowan Hall's Little Theater, seven actors took their seats at conference tables lined up for what looked like a panel discussion. An institutional clock kept track of the fictional time of day. Scott Shepherd, an ERS mainstay who was not only part of the ensemble but also co-directed with John Collins and served as dramaturg, introduced the proceedings in an impishly folksy manner reminiscent of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town.' He explained that the text would be fast-forwarded regularly. When this happened, the sound of a screeching tape catapulted the company to another passage in the book. Joyce's words rang out mellifluously at the start of the production, but as the main characters emerged from the reading, some of the musicality of the writing was lost. ERS doesn't traffic in emotional realism or literal re-creation. The company's aesthetic mode is wayward, oblique, loose and jocular. In 'Gatz,' the novel's narrative texture was conveyed through zany approximation — the troupe finding Fitzgerald not by effacing itself but by embracing its eccentric difference. The same eventually happened here, but I had to resign myself to what was missing. What I find irresistible about 'Ulysses' is the clarity with which the interior lives of Stephen and Bloom come into view. Amid all the rhetorical puzzles and literary pyrotechnics, these characters reveal to us their longings and insecurities, their preoccupations and rationalizations, their alienation and sociability — in short, their souls or, as Bloom more scientifically defines this mystical human substance, 'gray matter.' Hamlet-figures dressed in inky black, they are both processing loss. Bloom, whose day's journey takes him to the funeral of a friend, is still mourning his son, Rudy, who died shortly after birth. Stephen, called back from Paris as his mother was dying, is tormented a year later by his refusal to pray over her as she entreated him to do. Estranged in different ways — Bloom as a Jew (with a wife with a loose reputation) and Stephen as a freethinking young artist in Catholic Ireland — they have complementary needs. Bloom to love and to pass on some of what he has learned, Stephen to become secure and stable enough to realize his enormous potential. On stage, Stephen (Christopher-Rashee Stevenson), wearing the suit jacket and short trousers of a schoolboy prince of Denmark, was a strangely recessive presence. Stevenson seemed to deliberately deflect attention from Stephen's words, mumbling lines as though they were the character's private property and not meant to be spoken aloud. (A defensible literary interpretation but a theatrically deadening one.) Stevenson actually created a more vivid impression in his brief appearance as Bloom's cat. Vin Knight was more dynamic as Bloom, the adaptation's clear protagonist. Costume designer Enver Chakartash dressed the character, described at one point in the book as a 'new womanly man,' in a mourning jacket and complicated skirt, with green socks adding a fey accent to the gender-fluid ensemble. Knight found the gravity of the pragmatic, rational Bloom while preserving his essential nimbleness. The surrogate father-son flirtation between Stephen and Bloom accumulated power more through the staging than through acting. Scenically, the narrative built as it proceeded. The conference tables were imaginatively reconfigured by the design collective dots for the surreal brothel scene, and the lighting of Marika Kent made wild magic without disrupting the minimalist scheme. The production was somewhat more adept in telling than showing. (Stephanie Weeks, Dee Beasnael and Kate Benson, in addition to playing numerous supporting characters, helped keep the narration smoothly on track.) I wish everyone had Shepherd's command of the company's house style. His cameos as Blazes Boylan, jitterbugging across the stage with the self-satisfied air of a country rake, were not just enlivening but renewing, capturing the character in a new idiom. Maggie Hoffman delivered Molly's stream of erotic consciousness that ends the novel with just the right touch of unabashed earthiness. If I hadn't recently listened to the brilliant rendition of Pegg Monahan in the RTÉ Broadcast, I might not have missed the ferocious Irish lilt that animates the animal lusts and petty grievances of Joyce's character. I should confess that I turned to the novel as an escape from my disgust with our political situation. But politics runs through the book. Ireland is under brutal colonial rule, and partisan conflict is as inescapable as religious strife. But Stephen and Bloom don't want to be dominated by ideology. Stephen resists having his intellectual freedom ensnared by patriotic sanctimony: 'Let my country die for me,' he drunkenly tells a British soldier. Bloom contends that 'Force, hatred, history, all that' are 'not life for men and women, insult and hatred.' It's the opposite of these things 'that is really life,' by which he means 'love.' Joyce gives us this insight in a book that understands that it's no more possible to dismiss politics than it is to do away with the demands of the body. We exist in concentric realms, and our multifarious lives can only be lived. The same is true for art. There are things I wanted from this stage production that I didn't get. But there were unexpected rewards, and my view of 'Ulysses' expanded. We must make room on the bed of life and say, as Molly does in the book's last word: 'Yes.'
Express Tribune
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
What we know about Nolan's 'The Odyssey'
After coming off the success of his historical-drama film Oppenheimer in 2023, renowned British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan is adapting the seminal Greek epic, The Odyssey. And cinephiles might be pleased to learn that Nolan's The Odyssey is shaping up to be as real as a mythological story can get. Leaked photos, which have been circulating across social media, show actor Tom Holland surrounded by the director and other crew members on a boat in Greece. Rumours speculate that Holland will be playing the protagonist's son, Telemachus. In February, The Odyssey unveiled Matt Damon's first look as the eponymous hero, Odysseus. Damon was clad in a soldier's gear, complete with a Corinthian helmet. But he isn't the only star to have boarded the film. Nolan, known for his star-studded lineups, will be leading a cast comprising Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Robert Pattinson, Ryan Hurst, and more. Given the little information available, fans have been theorising the roles that each actor might be playing. "Christopher Nolan's next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer's foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theatres everywhere on July 17, 2026," Universal Pictures wrote on social media in December. In January, Variety reported that The Odyssey was set to partly be filmed in Sicily, which scholars suggest was one of the locations that saw Odysseus' many travels in the original narrative. Nolan aimed to focus on Favignana, also known as "goat island", where Odysseus' crew docked to replenish their food storage. The utopian location is part of the Egadi archipelago off of Sicily's north-west coast. Composed by Greek poet Homer around 8th century BCE, The Odyssey focuses on the events following those of its predecessor, The Iliad, primarily chronicling Odysseus' journey back home after a decade of bloodshed at the Trojan War. On his way, the Ithacan king clashes with monsters and deities who prolong his journey back to the island. The epic poem also switches perspectives, lending parts to the queen and Odysseus' wife Penelope, who wards off suitors back in Ithaca as she awaits her husband's return, and the prince Telemachus, who vies for his claim to the unprotected throne. Embedded in Greek mythology, the poem also depicts divine intervention in the form of Odysseus' patron goddess and mentor, Athena, among others.
Express Tribune
14-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Leaked roles reveal who plays what in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey with Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, a highly anticipated film set to release in 2026, has revealed key roles through Greek media outlets. The film, based on Homer's legendary epic poem, features a star-studded cast, with Matt Damon playing the lead role of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. Damon's portrayal of Odysseus, who struggles to return home after angering Poseidon, has already been teased in set photos where he dons traditional Greek attire. Tom Holland is set to play Telemachus, Odysseus' 20-year-old son, who embarks on a journey to find his father. Zendaya will portray Athena, the goddess who serves as Telemachus' protector. Anne Hathaway joins the cast as Penelope, Odysseus' faithful wife who resists numerous suitors during his long absence. Additional cast members include Charlize Theron as the sorceress Circe, who turns Odysseus' men into pigs, Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, and Lupita Nyong'o as Clytemnestra. The Odyssey is poised to be one of Nolan's grandest projects, blending his signature cinematic style with epic storytelling. The film will be shot using advanced IMAX technology, showcasing breathtaking locations from around the world. Principal photography began in Morocco, with the production set to move to Sicily and the United Kingdom. Hoyte van Hoytema, a frequent collaborator of Nolan, is behind the cinematography. Set to release on July 17, 2026, The Odyssey promises to bring Homer's timeless tale to the big screen with cutting-edge technology and an ensemble cast that has fans eagerly awaiting the film's arrival.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'We're disappointed in the outcome': NASA shares photo of sideways Intuitive Machines moon lander, which died 12 hours after touchdown
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The second moon landing attempt by Houston-based Intuitive Machines has ended just as the company's first did — with the lander dead after tipping over on its side inside a lunar crater, a new image confirms. According to NASA, which hired Intuitive Machines to carry several scientific instruments to the moon as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, the lander prematurely suspended operations on Friday (March 7) when its battery depleted just 12 hours after the fumbled landing. Before shutting down, the lander's various instruments managed to transmit about 250 megabytes of data to NASA, including a telltale photo showing two of the spacecraft's legs jutting upward, a half-lit Earth hovering majestically in the distance. Related: Blue Ghost spacecraft captures rare, stunning views of Earth eclipsing the moon It is not yet clear what went wrong for the IM-2 mission and the Athena lander, which officially touched down on the moon's near-side at 12:30 p.m. EST on Thursday (March 6) and ended operations at 1:15 a.m. on Friday. NASA noted that the spacecraft also landed more than 1,300 feet (400 meters) from its intended landing site near the moon's south pole. "While we're disappointed in the outcome of the IM-2 mission, we remain committed to supporting our commercial vendors as they navigate the very difficult task of landing and operating on the Moon," Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for Exploration in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. This was the second lunar landing attempt for Intuitive Machines in as many years. The company completed its first landing on Feb. 22, 2024, when the Odysseus spacecraft touched down, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to reach the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. RELATED STORIES —'Everything has changed since Apollo': Why landing on the moon is still incredibly difficult in 2024 —Space photo of the week: 55 years ago, the 'world's loneliest man' snapped this iconic Apollo 11 image —Pale Blue Dot: The iconic Valentine's Day photo of Earth turns 35 today — and you're probably in it However, during its descent Odysseus' landing lasers malfunctioned, causing the spacecraft to temporarily lose the guidance needed to estimate landing distances. One of Odysseus' legs snapped on the lunar surface, and the spacecraft fell on its side, limiting some of its functions. The spacecraft fell silent one week after landing, shutting down power before the frigid lunar night set in. NASA has committed to working with Intuitive Machines on two more lunar deliveries, with its IM-3 mission scheduled for 2026, and IM-4 slotted for 2027. The landing attempt comes just days after a successful touchdown by rival space company, Firefly Aerospace. The company's Blue Ghost spacecraft aced its landing on Sunday (March 2), sending home an image of the lander's perfectly-upright shadow cast onto the lunar surface. Blue Ghost, also part of the CLPS initiative, has 10 NASA instruments in its lander that will operate on the moon's surface for about 14 Earth days (one lunar day).
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Athena lunar lander makes it to the moon — but its condition remains unknown
A lunar lander made its touchdown on the moon earlier on Thursday, but controllers on the ground were unable to confirm the Athena lander's condition upon landing, the Associated Press reported. In addition to its condition, the location of where the craft landed is also unclear. The lander, which is owned by Intuitive Machines, was carrying an ice drill, a drone and two rovers. Athena was apparently able to communicate with its controllers, the Associated Press reported, citing officials. Mission director and co-founder Tim Crain was heard telling the team to "keep working on the problem," despite the craft sending apparent "acknowledgments" to the team in Texas. First Commercial Moon Lander 'Odysseus' Lands On Moon NASA and Intuitive Machines ended the online live stream and announced that they would hold a news conference on the status of Athena later on Thursday. Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Lands On The Moon With Equipment For Nasa Read On The Fox News App Last year, Intuitive Machine saw its Odysseus lander make it to the moon, only to end up landing sideways, putting extra pressure on today's landing. Athena is the second craft to land on the moon this week after Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost made touchdown on Sunday. "You all stuck the landing. We're on the moon," Firefly's Will Coogan, chief engineer for the lander, said. Blue Ghost's landing made Firefly Aerospace the first private company to put a spacecraft on the moon without it crashing or falling over. Fox News' Landon Minon contributed to this article source: Athena lunar lander makes it to the moon — but its condition remains unknown
