Studios will begin clearing the runway for director Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in July — the filmmaker's contract reportedly forbids a major release from Universal in the run-up to and in the aftermath of The Odyssey's debut. The epic is Nolan's most ambitious film yet, and reportedly also his most expensive. He was already operating in a league of his own as far as creative freedom in Hollywood is concerned, but his Best Picture and Best Director wins at the Oscars a couple of years ago have pushed him into uncharted territory of creative leverage at this scale. The Odyssey reportedly comes with a $250 million production budget, with hundreds of millions committed to a globe-spanning promotional campaign. It is virtually impossible for the movie to underperform at the box office come July. But Nolan was recently hit with a rather ill-timed blow.