As The Odyssey surpasses $300M after a record opening weekend, conservative critics should be eating their words.

On Tuesday’s episode of The View, panelist Whoopi Goldberg called out social media trolls who have been “losing their minds over the cast” and are “still trashing the movie” amid its box office success, responding to a video of Ben Shapiro complaining that it’s “stupid to cast Elliot Page as a dude” in the Christopher Nolan adaptation.

“Listen, a lot of conservatives who see this are going to feel the same way. That’s okay,” she prefaced. “But I don’t understand. Why go see the movie? If you don’t want to see it, then don’t go see it. Why do you care who’s cast in it?”

Goldberg continued, “I don’t understand this idea that if we hate it, everybody must hate it because we hate it for this reason. You don’t like Elliot Page? Don’t go see the damn movie. Don’t do it. We will be okay if you don’t go see it.”

Fellow panelist Alyssa Farrah Griffin called the movie “a masterpiece,” arguing that despite the “woke” criticisms, the film has “a real conservative message.”

“It’s about devotion to family, it’s about faith, it’s about upholding institutions. It’s about how war is dangerous and has repercussions for all of us,” she explained. “And the fact that conservatives can’t take the win and just be like, ‘oh no, this is a really excellent film with a good message for families,’ I’ll never understand.”

Joy Behar quipped, “but they’re stuck on ‘woke,’” to which Griffin noted, “But there’s nothing woke in this film.”

Sarah Haines also chimed in on the discourse around trans actor Page playing Greek soldier Sinon, following online outrage over speculation that he would star as Achilles.

“There’s a unique ignorance to someone who comments on something they’ve never seen,” said Haines. “You’re taught from a young age, do your research, learn, and then you can join the conversation. But it’s like not voting and then complaining about what you get. You cannot not see the film and complain about how awful it is, when you haven’t seen the film. Because this film—and I echo Alyssa—is a masterpiece.”

Tuesday’s segment comes after criticism from the likes of Elon Musk and Matt Walsh over Oscar-winning Black actress Lupita Nyong’o’s dual casting as Helen of Troy, “the face that launched a thousand ships,” and her sister Clytemnestra. Others have also criticized Nolan for casting Black musician Travis Scott.

Meanwhile, Nolan has dismissed the backlash as “irrelevant” since the movie had not yet been released, noting that it “comes with the territory” of adapting a major piece of IP.

An adaptation of one of the first stories in human history, The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) through the incredible trials and mythical encounters he faces on his decade-long journey home to wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) after the Trojan War.

The film also stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, Mia Goth and more.

EXCLUSIVE: The police force on Law & Order is undergoing some major staff turnover. Reid Scott, who has played Senior Detective Vincent Riley for the past three seasons, is leaving the venerable NBC crime drama. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Veep alum will be succeeded by another high-profile name, James Badge Dale (13 Hours, 1923). He is set to play a new Senior Detective who will replace Riley.

For Scott, who is believed to have one more year on his contract, the departure is said to be his decision, related to the strain caused by the cross-country commute and being away from his family for nine months of the year while filming Law & Order in New York. His exit was amicable.

Det. Riley will get a proper ending as Scott is back on the set, filming a few episodes to wrap the character’s arc before Dale is introduced. The exact time of the transition is unclear.

Law & Order is known for its revolving cast, with changes between seasons happening annually. Scott’s Det. Riley was most recently partnered with Junior Detective Theo Walker (David Ajala). His previous partner, Junior Detective Jalen Shaw, was played by Mehcad Brooks who left last summer. Scott, in turn, replaced Jeffrey Donovan.

In addition to Ajala, Dale is joining returning Law & Order cast members Tony Goldwyn, Hugh Dancy, Maura Tierney and Odelya Halevi. Season 26 premieres Oct. 8 at 10 PM, behind the season opener of Law & Order: SVU.

In TV, Dale has had major roles on Fox’s 24, HBO’s The Pacific, Starz’s Hightown, Peacock’s Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy and Paramount+s 1923. He is also in the Jessica Chastain thriller series The Savant whose release has been put on hold by Apple TV.

Dale’s film credits include The Departed, The Grey, Iron Man 3, 13 Hours and World War Z. He recently signed on for crime thriller Interference and psychological thriller The Guide. Dale is repped by CAA, MJ Management and Michael Auerbach.

Will Ferrell shared he once “briefly” met legendary actor Gene Hackman, who he described as “very intimidating.”

The comedic actor opened up about his chance encounter with the two-time Academy Award winner while promoting his new Netflix show, “The Hawk,” alongside co-star Luke Wilson. The pair played a round of “Was I In This Movie?” for GQ, where Wilson’s performance in Wes Anderson’s dramedy “The Royal Tenenbaums” was mentioned.

“I came to ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ set because the same hair people on the ‘Tenenbaums’ were the ‘Zoolander’ hair people,” Ferrell, who played Mugatu in the Ben Stiller-led comedy, recalled. “And I had to get my ‘Zoolander’ hair retouched up.”

He continued: “And then I see Luke hitching up his pants, walking over to set. [He said], ‘Yeah, I’m going to walk over to set. I’m not even working today. I just want to… Gene Hackman may leave the movie.’ But he didn’t!”

Wilson backed Ferrell’s recollection of the set visit, adding, “He didn’t, he was great. He would just sometimes … he, you know, had a bad temper at times. But great, probably my favorite actor.”

Ferrell then admitted that he “briefly met” Hackman during his visit to the “Tenenbaums” set, sharing, “He asked me if I was in the picture. ‘Are you doing something in the picture?’ And I go, ‘No, I’m not.’ He was very intimidating.”

Wilson agreed, noting, “Yeah, he was.”

Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home during a welfare check on Feb. 26, 2025. It was later ruled by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator that Arakawa died from rodent-born hantavirus one week before Hackman ultimately died from cardiovascular disease and advanced Alzheimer’s.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” Hackman’s daughters and granddaughter said in a statement at the time. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”