{"id":899277,"date":"2026-09-20T20:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T20:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/899277\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T20:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T20:16:11","slug":"charlize-theron-says-the-odyssey-gave-hollywood-a-much-needed-reminder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/899277\/","title":{"rendered":"Charlize Theron Says The Odyssey Gave Hollywood a Much-Needed Reminder"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tCharlize Theron<\/a> had plenty to celebrate at the sixth annual Block Party benefiting the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) on Saturday night. <\/p>\n

\n\tNearly 20 years after founding CTAOP<\/a>, the Oscar-winning actress reflected on its impact, which has helped close to 5 million people across South Africa \u2013 and on the overwhelming response to Christopher Nolan<\/a>\u2019s The Odyssey<\/a> and what it could signal for Hollywood going forward. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe film has become a box office phenomenon, grossing more than $1.6 billion worldwide since its mid-July debut and becoming Universal\u2019s highest-grossing release<\/a> ever. The demand has been especially intense for IMAX 70mm screenings<\/a>, with showtimes selling out weeks in advance and some fans turning to the resale market to secure coveted tickets.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s so rewarding to see that people do want to go to the theaters,\u201d Theron told The Hollywood Reporter at the event. \u201cThey do want to go and see movies, and if we were ever questioning it, we shouldn\u2019t anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTheron, who plays Calypso in Nolan\u2019s epic, said the response has been particularly encouraging at a time when the industry remains uncertain about the future of moviegoing. \u201cI do think my industry is really worried about where we are going and what\u2019s happening,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we needed a little bit of this reminder that people do love to watch movies in the theater.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd while Nolan has become one of the rare filmmakers capable of turning his name alone into a theatrical event, Theron hopes he won\u2019t remain an exception. \u201cLet\u2019s hope he\u2019s not the only,\u201d she noted. \u201cI know he hopes that he\u2019s not the only one either. If anything, I think we should take encouragement from this. And I know that he, for sure, wants more of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Theron, however, the night\u2019s biggest celebration was much closer to home. <\/p>\n

\n\tFounded in 2007, CTAOP supports the health, safety and education of young people across South Africa. As the organization approaches its 20th anniversary next year, Theron said she is most proud of the relationships it has maintained with locally led partners, saying, \u201cI think the evolution of where we started and how [is] we\u2019ve just kind of listened and evolved over 20 years to help facilitate the need in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

That evolution has meant responding to changing needs on the ground, while expanding its work across education, HIV prevention, youth safety and support for LGBTQ+ youth. \u201cYou don\u2019t do this work in a silo, and it\u2019s not black and white,\u201d Theron said. \u201cWhen there\u2019s a flood or COVID, you have to know how to pivot as an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m proud of us because at the scale that we\u2019re working, that\u2019s a tough thing to do, but we\u2019ve been able to manage that,\u201d she continued. \u201cWe get to be partners to our partners through all of it \u2014 not just HIV, not just education, not just safety \u2014 but that we\u2019re there for them no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTheron pointed to the loss of international funding as one of the most significant challenges facing that work over the past year. \u201cLosing international funds has really devastated not only South Africa, but I think all of this work all over the world,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we can\u2019t sit and dwell on that. I wish it was different, but it isn\u2019t right now.\u201d Faced with that loss, Theron said CTAOP is increasingly relying on the people who have sustained its work.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt comes back to the community coming here, and if it wasn\u2019t for them, absolutely, there\u2019d be nothing,\u201d she said. That message was at the heart of Theron\u2019s remarks to the crowd Saturday night, where she thanked the supporters, volunteers and partners who have helped sustain CTAOP over the years.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis isn\u2019t just a party. This is proof \u2013 proof that when people decide to show up for each other again and again, year after year, something real gets built,\u201d she said. And show up they did. The event raised nearly $1 million for CTAOP \u2014 along with support from guests including Nick Kroll, Natasha Lyonne, January Jones, Patton Oswalt and Skye P. Marshall \u2014 and featured a performance by Kid Cudi.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKid Cudi and Charlize Theron.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmy Sussman\/Getty Images for CTAOP<\/p>\n

\n\tTheron also underscored the less visible work happening through CTAOP\u2019s grassroots partners on the ground. \u201cThe work on the ground is hard. It\u2019s unglamorous. It doesn\u2019t trend,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a nurse staying up two hours past her shift. It\u2019s a counselor who sits with someone who is scared and makes sure they don\u2019t feel alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s not charity. It\u2019s commitment,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s a commitment to a shared vision that a young person\u2019s future is theirs to shape, no matter where they\u2019re born. And that this world can be a place where everyone can thrive.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThat commitment is one Theron has balanced alongside a decades-long career and raising her two daughters, Jackson, 14, and August, 12. \u201cI feel like I live such a blessed life, and I have real interests in things that I feel vibrant and excited about,\u201d she told THR. \u201cAnd I get to live my life as a mother, feeling like I can still fulfill those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Theron, that balance inevitably comes with trade-offs. \u201cCompromise is always part of the game, but that\u2019s OK,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you met my two girls, you\u2019d understand why it\u2019s worth it. The compromise is worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for what comes next, Theron\u2019s biggest hope is that the work CTAOP is leading won\u2019t be needed for another two decades. Asked about her goals for the next 20 years, she quickly responded, \u201cI hope it\u2019s not 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat would be my goal,\u201d Theron added. \u201cI hope it\u2019s sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Charlize Theron had plenty to celebrate at the sixth annual Block Party benefiting the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,34476,129268,134,3172,30335],"class_list":["post-899277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-charlize-theron","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-entertainment","tag-events","tag-the-odyssey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}