The Swedish owners of a replica of the Viking ship featured in the Hollywood film “The Odyssey” have said they feel “forgotten” after the film’s producers allegedly returned the damaged vessel to them and failed to pay for repairs. For nearly three decades at sea, the warship “Glad av Gillberga” – built on the model of a shipwreck from around 1040, discovered in Denmark’s Roskilde Fjord – has successfully navigated the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and even travelled as far as Canada.
But after six months in use by the company "Universal", which according to the owners had promised to cover any repair costs, the ship returned with significant damage, including to the stern and mast.
"Vikingaleden", a non-profit Viking center in the Värmland region, in western Sweden, said that after sending Universal an invoice for the materials used in repairing the ship - not counting the volunteer work of its members - it did not receive any payment.
A year later, while Christopher Nolan's epic film, starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Zendaya, is enjoying great success in cinemas worldwide, grossing $264 million during its first weekend alone, the association has said it is still awaiting payment of $6.
Peter Olausson, chairman of the Vikingaleden association, said that although he was proud that their ship appeared in the film, this pride was tempered by a sense of injustice due to the company's alleged failure to cover the damages.
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"We are only asking for the cost of materials, not payment for the labor," he said. "Surely Universal can afford this $6. We feel forgotten."
The ship has now been restored to service, but Olausson has accused Universal of breaking its promise. “The agreement was that we would repair the ship and then be reimbursed financially,” he said. He added that while this amount is small for Universal, for the association with about 200 members that manages the Viking village and museum, it is a significant amount.
"Universal" has been contacted for comment.
The film, which reportedly cost around $250 million to make, is based on the ancient Greek epic poem, Homer's "The Odyssey," which recounts the ten-year journey of the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, in an attempt to return home after the Trojan War.
The "Glad av Gillberga" was used as one of the fleet's escort ships, which are believed to have resembled Nordic Viking ships.
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The main ship, that of Odysseus, was the 35-meter-long Norwegian replica "Draken Harald Hårfagre".
Its Swedish captain, Björn Ahlander, said life on board during the six months of filming around the Greek and Italian islands was not easy for the 30-person crew. He told Swedish broadcaster SVT: "We turned the ship into an ancient Greek ship. We removed the awnings and all the modern elements and created an open deck where we lived the whole time. It was quite difficult."
Renowned film critic Bilge Ebiri also wrote about this ship, in a long article about the behind-the-scenes of "The Odyssey", published in "New York Magazine" and "Vulture".
“One of the biggest challenges was finding Odysseus’ ship. The production chose the ‘Draken,’ a 35-foot ship docked in Stavanger, Norway, which could be converted into a warship with very little intervention,” he wrote, quoting production director Ruth De Jong. “When we got on board and felt its size, we realized we could easily shoot with 50 to 100 people on board, in the middle of the sea,” he quoted.
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According to Ebiri, the ship – which had crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice – came with its crew. They too were outfitted in the film’s costumes and trained the actors to learn how to steer the ship authentically, sometimes for hours on end. “The actors also learned how to raise the sails and perform the usual tasks of sailors. This allowed Nolan and the director of photography, Hoyte van Hoytema, to film them as if they were making a documentary. ‘I’m not sure they fully understood what they were filming,’ Nolan says with a smile. ‘But we had a fantastic group of actors, some of whom only had one or two stunt doubles,’” the article read, which also announced the inclusion of Albanian music in the soundtrack of “The Odyssey.”
Based on reporting by "The Guardian"
