Intro for July 21, 2026
– 2 min read
Dear Gossips,
A great movie doesn’t always deliver a great press tour. And a great press tour doesn’t necessarily mean the movie will be great. The Odyssey, however, hit it on both counts. The film, as we have seen, has been embraced by (most) critics and audiences after a high-key press tour with all the Zendaya and Tomdaya and the Hathaway and the fashion and even the debates about the accents and the accuracy.
Now, after the movie’s opening weekend, we’re still getting great soundbites from a cast that clearly knows that the conversation about The Odyssey will last well beyond its theatrical run, considering that it was always marked as an Oscar contender given the talent involved – one of those stars being Matt Damon who is for sure in the running for a Best Actor nomination but who is, typically, not all that enthusiastic about what’s required on the circuit in terms of all the interviews and the other campaigning requirements.
But, as noted, Matt Damon has come to play. And one of the best soundbites he’s given about making the movie was making headlines yesterday from his junket interview with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused podcast when he was asked about getting ripped to play Odysseus and he took the opportunity to credit someone else.
Not just any stunt performer but a female stunt performer. I’m sure this will go over really well with the looksmaxxers and the other toxic men online – and I’ll enjoy every second of their crash-out over whatever problem they might have with a woman with the “best arms” ever stepping in for the lead actor in a key scene.
Matt doesn’t name her, and I understand why, with privacy issues and how unpredictably scary it can be out there these days, but I hope she’s heard about it, I hope she knows that he publicly acknowledged her contribution and the impressive effort she would have had to put in to achieve her physique that has now been showcased in a record-breaking film.
As for Matt – it’s the right thing to do but it’s also a good look, pun intended. To recognise the value of each and every person on a project, in departments that are often underappreciated (the Academy has only recently added stunt design as a category, but it will not be formally presented until 2028 for films released in 2027), and also celebrating the fact that are no limits on how women in these departments can be effectively featured. For an artist who also co-founded a production house called Artists Equity, that also tracks with his business plan. Solid campaign work from the #1 on the call sheet.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
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