Now that everyone is discussing Nolan's Odyssey movie, I feel like it's a good time to let non-Italians know that the production dumped plastic props into the Italian sea. Weirdly enough I could not find any article in English about it but it's a fucking problem nonetheless.
I might translate this article later today. This one was the most complete one, even in Italian news it's not talked about that much.
Non è la prima volta che la produzione solleva un vespaio in Sicilia. A Lipari una squadra di sub sarebbe però già impegnata a bonificare i
Nolan's The Odyssey between "junk skeletons" and wrecks: Arpa [translator's note: Regional Environmental Protection Agency] is working in Sicily. What's happening?
It's not the first time that this production stirs up a hornet's nest in Sicily. In Lipari, divers are reportedly already working on cleaning the sea. Here is what we know.
[Translation of the article below the cut]
In recent weeks, some macabre discoveries made in the waters off Linosa, near the village of Pietra del Bagno, have caused quite a stir.
A number of fake skeletons and various props have been found on the seabed around the island. These are from the production of the film The Odyssey by Christopher Nolan, the Oscar-winning director of Oppenheimer, a film dedicated to the tragic figure of the man in charge of the Manhattan Project.
The skeletons, in particular, have caused worry among divers and swimmers who didn't know that some of the scenes of the movie had been shot on the island.
It's not the first time that the production of this movie stirs up a hornet's nest in Sicily. This past spring, some environmentalists accused the Wildside production of ruining some parts of Egadi, the other Sicilian archipelago in which some of the scenes are set. To ascertain whether any damage has occurred and, if so, the extent of it in these archipelagos, Giusi Savarino, the Councillor for Land and the Environment, decided a few days ago to carry out further inspections, in collaboration with ARPA Sicilia and on the basis of reports already submitted by the Port Capitancy, which had previously highlighted the failure to remove certain props from the seabed around these islands.
To make it worse, Egadi and Aeolian Islands are part of some of the country’s most important marine protected areas and are amongst the archipelagos with the greatest tourist appeal in our country. “Along with the authorisation to shoot the film in our region,” explained Councillor Savarino in a statement, “we had also provided precise rules and guidelines to protect the environment of the areas involved in the filming. The discoveries of the last few days are a cause for serious concern and, for this reason, together with ARPA, we will take action to assess the potential impact of these materials on the habitat and marine species in this area of significant natural value.”
We are delighted to host international film projects and are always willing to support these productions, but no one should think they can take advantage of our generosity by showing a lack of respect for the beauty of our environment."
There has been no response yet from Christopher Nolan, but it is a known fact that the director's intention was to film in Sicily to make his ‘Odyssey’ as faithful as possible to the literary work.
Nolan had been planning to shoot this film in the Mediterranean for years and waited until he had obtained all the necessary permits to film at the various locations, which – in addition to Sicily – included Tunisia and some mountainous regions of Greece.
Furthermore, it is not the director himself who is under fire, but once again the film production company Wildside, which collaborated with him during shooting in the Aeolian Islands in May.
In Lipari, however, a team of divers is reportedly already working to clean up the seabed, precisely to defuse the controversy.
Sorry for the poor quality of the translation, I couldn't be bothered to polish it, hopefully it's understandable, but if it isn't please feel free to reach out and I'll clear up any doubts. If you want any more information about it I can try to find more articles in Italian and translate them for you. So far I haven't found any in English, only one in Dutch and a few in Italian but even in Italian news there isn't much, they aren't mentioning it on tv or anything (and I don't expect them to mention it when they are going to promote the movie on the national news). It's mostly on some local newspapers.
actually I think you should be normal about ordinary citizens of authoritarian countries and yes that applies even to that country you're thinking of right now
"but they support [dictator] and [violent action]!" okay is it possible that a combination of propaganda, election rigging, and authoritarian crackdowns on dissent could lead a population to look like it supports something most people would find distasteful under more reasonable circumstances
Being a calm, gentle, non-reactive person is really hard work, which is probably why many people are none of these things. Personally I think it’s worth it but sometimes one does want to just roll around on the floor wailing at the top of one’s lungs
People in my notes who think I’m repressed or dissociating: you will feel better when you learn emotions are not a binary of Not Feeling It vs Being Overwhelmed By It
here's a secret: whatever you're doing, you have to root for your peers with all your heart because it forces you to root for yourself too. I've seen people in various spheres of my life (workplaces, education, art, activism) fall into the trap of envy and resentment when they see others succeed while they struggle, and it always always goes hand in hand with them pulling back and giving up and stagnating.
when you let yourself get sour grapes about shit, you tacitly give up on yourself. when you sit around hoping other people will flop and fail so you can catch up to them, you stop trying. it's a fantasy of mediocrity, the vain wish that other people would walk so you could take the gold medal at a jog. wouldn't you rather come last place at 27mph?
Most infuriating part of writing is having an idea and thinking oh, this is gonna be so good and wanting to IMMEDIATELY share the vision with other people because it's gonna be good but then you start writing it down and - it is gonna be good. Except. It is also gonna take so, so, so long to finish. And in the meantime. You are the only one with The Vision. Alone. Losing your mind. 😭
opened the comments on a post and tumblr somehow had a half written comment already autofilled from the last time I saw that post. which was at least two years and several computers ago. what does this site's back end look like
earlier I was coming back up from skating and one of the starstruck little kids from across the hall asked me, “how are you allowed to drive on the inside?” (referring to the fact that I carefully skate in the hallway and elevator, because swapping shoes on and off for the one-block commute to and from the park is a massive pain in the ass), and I swear to god the dialogue options that flashed up on my heads-up display were
[] Nothing in the lease explicitly says I can’t, and all uncodified rules are merely suggestions
[] I’m probably not, but the only people in this building who are fast enough to actually stop me are the maintenance guys who are all charmed by my kind green eyes and adorable dog
[x] I ate all my vegetables and did my homework so my mom said I’m allowed to do whatever I want
