Christopher Nolan

Nolan attended University College London and used its Flaxman Gallery for a scene in Inception (2010).^[1]

Christopher Edward Nolan was born on 30 July 1970, in Westminster, London. His father, Brendan, was a British advertising executive who worked as a creative director. His mother, Christina, was an American flight attendant from Evanston, Illinois; she would later work as a teacher of English. He has an elder brother, Matthew, and a younger brother, Jonathan, also a filmmaker. The three were raised Catholic in London and would spend their summers in Evanston. Nolan has both UK and US citizenship.^[2][3]

Growing up, Nolan was particularly influenced by the work of Ridley Scott and the science fiction films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Star Wars (1977).^[4][5] He would repeatedly watch the latter film and extensively research its making.^[6] Nolan began making films at the age of seven, borrowing his father's Super 8 camera and shooting short films with his action figures.^[7] These films included a stop motion animation homage to Star Wars called Space Wars. He cast his brother Jonathan and built sets from "clay, flour, egg boxes and toilet rolls".^[4] His uncle, who had worked at NASA building guidance systems for the Apollo rockets, sent him some launch footage: "I re-filmed them off the screen and cut them in, thinking no-one would notice", Nolan later remarked.^[8] From the age of 11, he aspired to be a professional filmmaker.^[9] Between 1981 and 1983, Nolan enrolled at Barrow Hills, a Catholic prep school in Weybridge, Surrey.^[10] In his teenage years, Nolan started making films with Adrien and Roko Belic. Nolan and Roko co–directed the surreal 8 mm Tarantella (1989), which was shown on Image Union, an independent film and video showcase on the Public Broadcasting Service.^[a][12][13]

Nolan was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, an independent school in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, and later studied English literature at University College London (UCL). Opting out of a traditional film education, he pursued "a degree in something unrelated", which his father suggested "gives a different take on things".^[14] He chose UCL specifically for its filmmaking facilities, which comprised a Steenbeck editing suite and 16 mm film cameras.^[15] Nolan was president of the Union's Film Society,^[15] and with Emma Thomas (his girlfriend and future wife) he screened feature films of 35 mm during the school year and used the money earned to produce 16 mm films over the summers.^[16]

Discover more about Early life related topics

Inception

Inception

Inception is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious. The ensemble cast includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine.

Creative director

Creative director

A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions are often found within the television production, graphic design, film, music, video game, fashion, advertising, media, or entertainment industries, but may be found in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well.

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is 12 miles (19 km) north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wilmette to the north, and Lake Michigan to the east. Evanston had a population of 78,110 as of 2020.

Jonathan Nolan

Jonathan Nolan

Jonathan Nolan is a British-American screenwriter, producer, director and author. He is the creator of the CBS science fiction series Person of Interest (2011–2016) and co-creator of the HBO science fiction western series Westworld (2016–2022).

Catholic Church

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.

Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott

Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. Best known for directing films in the science fiction and historical drama genres, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades throughout his career, including the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2018. In 2003, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the British film industry. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.

2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay was written by Kubrick and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, and was inspired by Clarke's 1951 short story "The Sentinel" and other short stories by Clarke. Clarke also published a novelisation of the film, in part written concurrently with the screenplay, after the film's release. The film stars Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, and Douglas Rain, and follows a voyage by astronauts, scientists and the sentient supercomputer HAL to Jupiter to investigate an alien monolith.

Star Wars (film)

Star Wars (film)

Star Wars is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century-Fox. It is the first film in the Star Wars film series and fourth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set "a long time ago" in a fictional universe where the galaxy is ruled by the tyrannical Galactic Empire, the story focuses on a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance, who aim to destroy the Empire's newest weapon, the Death Star. Luke Skywalker becomes caught in the conflict while learning the ways of a metaphysical power known as "the Force" from Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew.

NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.

Apollo program

Apollo program

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the third United States human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which succeeded in preparing and landing the first humans on the Moon from 1968 to 1972. It was first conceived in 1960 during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration as a three-person spacecraft to follow the one-person Project Mercury, which put the first Americans in space. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal for the 1960s of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in an address to Congress on May 25, 1961. It was the third US human spaceflight program to fly, preceded by the two-person Project Gemini conceived in 1961 to extend spaceflight capability in support of Apollo.

Roko Belic

Roko Belic

Roko Belic is an American film producer and director. His directorial debut, Genghis Blues, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Haileybury and Imperial Service College

Haileybury and Imperial Service College

Haileybury, formally Haileybury and Imperial Service College, is an academically selective, co-educational public school for 11- to 18-year-olds near Hertford in England. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols pupils at the 11+, 13+ and 16+ stages of education. Over 890 pupils attend Haileybury, of whom more than 550 board.

1993–2003: Early career and breakthrough

After earning his bachelor's degree in English literature in 1993, Nolan worked as a script reader, camera operator and director of corporate videos and industrial films.^[15][17][18] He directed, wrote and edited the short film Larceny (1996),^[19] which was filmed over a weekend in black and white with limited equipment and a small cast and crew.^[12][20] Funded by Nolan and shot with the UCL Union Film society's equipment, it appeared at the Cambridge Film Festival in 1996 and is considered one of UCL's best shorts.^[21] For unknown reasons, the film has since been removed from public view.^[19] Nolan filmed a third short, Doodlebug (1997), about a man seemingly chasing an insect with his shoe, only to discover that it is a miniature of himself.^[14][22] Nolan and Thomas first attempted to make a feature in the mid-1990s with Larry Mahoney, which they scrapped.^[23] During this period in his career, Nolan had little to no success getting his projects off the ground, facing several rejections; he added, "[T]here's a very limited pool of finance in the UK. To be honest, it's a very clubby kind of place ... Never had any support whatsoever from the British film industry."^[24]

Shortly after abandoning Larry Mahoney, Nolan conceived the idea for his first feature, Following (1998), which he wrote, directed, photographed and edited. The film depicts an unemployed young writer (Jeremy Theobald) who trails strangers through London, hoping they will provide material for his first novel, but is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance. It was inspired by Nolan's experience of living in London and having his apartment burgled; he observed that the common attribute between larceny and pursuing someone through a crowd was that they both cross social boundaries.^[25] Co-produced by Nolan with Thomas and Theobald,^[26] it was made on a budget of around £3,000. Most of the cast and crew were friends of the director, and shooting took place on weekends over the course of a year.^[27] To conserve film stock, each scene was rehearsed extensively to ensure that the first or second take could be used in the final edit.^[14][28] Following won several awards during its festival run and was well received by critics who labelled Nolan a majorly talented debutant.^[29][30] Scott Timberg of New Times LA wrote that it "echoed Hitchcock classics", but was "leaner and meaner".^[31] Janet Maslin of The New York Times was impressed with its "spare look" and "agile hand-held camerawork", saying, "As a result, the actors convincingly carry off the before, during and after modes that the film eventually, and artfully, weaves together."^[32]

Following's success afforded Nolan the opportunity to make Memento (2000), which became his breakthrough film. His brother Jonathan pitched the idea to him, about a man with anterograde amnesia who uses notes and tattoos to hunt for his wife's murderer. Jonathan worked the idea into a short story, "Memento Mori" (2001), and Nolan developed it into a screenplay that told the story in reverse. Aaron Ryder, an executive for Newmarket Films, said it was "perhaps the most innovative script I had ever seen".^[34] The film was optioned and given a budget of $4.5 million, with Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss in the starring roles.^[35] Newmarket also distributed the film after it was rejected by studios who feared that it would not attract a wide audience. Following a positive word of mouth and screenings in 500 theatres, it earned $40 million.^[36] Memento premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2000 to critical acclaim.^[37] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote in his review, "I can't remember when a movie has seemed so clever, strangely affecting and slyly funny at the very same time."^[38] In the book The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, Basil Smith drew a comparison with John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which argues that conscious memories constitute our identities – a theme Nolan explores in the film.^[39] Memento earned Nolan many accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, as well as two Independent Spirit Awards: Best Director and Best Screenplay.^[40][41] Six critics listed it as one of the best films of the 2000s.^[42] In 2001, Nolan and Emma Thomas founded the production company Syncopy Inc.^[43][b]

Impressed by his work on Memento, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh recommended Nolan to Warner Bros. to direct the psychological thriller Insomnia (2002), although the studio initially wanted a more seasoned director.^[45] A remake of the 1997 Norwegian thriller of the same name, the film is viewed as "the outlier of Nolan's filmography" due to its perceived lack of unconventionality he is known for.^[46] Starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank,^[47] Insomnia follows two Los Angeles detectives sent to a northern Alaskan town to investigate the murder of a local teenager. It received positive reviews from critics and earned $113 million against a budget of $46 million.^[48][49] Film critic Roger Ebert praised the film for introducing new perspectives and ideas on the issues of morality and guilt, adding, "Unlike most remakes, the Nolan Insomnia is not a pale retread, but a re-examination of the material, like a new production of a good play."^[50] Richard Schickel of Time deemed Insomnia a "worthy successor" to Memento and "a triumph of atmosphere over a none-too-mysterious mystery".^[51] Following, Memento and Insomnia established Nolan's image as an "auteur".^[52] After the lattermost, he wrote a screenplay for a Howard Hughes biopic. Nolan reluctantly tabled his script after learning that Martin Scorsese was already making one such film: The Aviator (2004).^[53] He turned down an offer to direct the historical epic Troy (2004).^[54]

2003–2013: Widespread recognition

In early 2003, Nolan approached Warner Bros. with the idea of making a new Batman film, based on the character's origin story.^[55] Nolan was fascinated by the notion of grounding it in a more realistic world than a comic-book fantasy.^[56] He relied heavily on traditional stunts and miniature effects during filming, with minimal use of computer-generated imagery (CGI).^[57] Batman Begins (2005), the biggest project Nolan had undertaken to that point,^[58] was released to critical acclaim and commercial success.^[59][60] Starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman—along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson—Batman Begins revived the franchise.^[61][62] Batman Begins was 2005's ninth-highest-grossing film and was praised for its psychological depth and contemporary relevance;^[60][63] it is cited as one of the most influential films of the 2000s.^[64] Film author Ian Nathan wrote that within five years of his career, Nolan "[went] from unknown to indie darling to gaining creative control over one of the biggest properties in Hollywood, and (perhaps unwittingly) fomenting the genre that would redefine the entire industry".^[65]

Nolan directed, co-wrote and produced The Prestige (2006), an adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel about two rival 19th-century magicians.^[66] The screenplay was the result of an intermittent, five-year collaboration between him and his brother Jonathan, who had begun writing it already in 2001. Nolan initially intended to make the film as early as 2003, but had postponed the project after agreeing to make Batman Begins.^[67][68] Starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in the lead roles of rival magicians, The Prestige received critical acclaim and received two Academy Award nominations.^[69][70] Roger Ebert described it as "quite a movie – atmospheric, obsessive, almost satanic",^[71] and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called it an "ambitious, unnerving melodrama".^[72] The Guardian's Philip French wrote: "In addition to the intellectual or philosophical excitement it engenders, The Prestige is gripping, suspenseful, mysterious, moving and often darkly funny."^[73] Despite a negative box-office prognosis, the film earned over $109 million against a budget of $40 million.^[74]

Nolan (left) with the cast and crew of The Dark Knight at the 2008 European premiere in London

The Dark Knight (2008), the follow-up to Batman Begins, was Nolan's next venture. Initially reluctant to make a sequel, he agreed after Warner Bros. repeatedly insisted.^[75] Nolan wanted to expand on the noir quality of the first film by broadening the canvas and taking on "the dynamic of a story of the city, a large crime story ... where you're looking at the police, the justice system, the vigilante, the poor people, the rich people, the criminals".^[76] Continuing to minimalise the use of CGI, Nolan employed high-resolution IMAX cameras, making it the first major motion picture to use this technology.^[77][78] The Dark Knight has been ranked as one of the best films of the 2000s and one of the best superhero films ever made.^[c] Many critics declare The Dark Knight to be "the most successful comic book film ever made".^[83] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times found the film to be of higher artistic merit than many Hollywood blockbusters: "Pitched at the divide between art and industry, poetry and entertainment, it goes darker and deeper than any Hollywood movie of its comic-book kind."^[84] Ebert expressed a similar point of view, describing it as a "haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy".^[85] The Dark Knight set many box-office records during its theatrical run,^[86] earning over $1 billion worldwide.^[87] At the 81st Academy Awards, the film was nominated in eight categories, winning two: Best Sound Editing for Richard King and a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for Heath Ledger.^[88] The film's failure to garner a Best Picture nomination was criticised by the media. Beginning in 2010, the Academy increased their Best Picture nominees from five to ten, a change known as "The Dark Knight Rule".^[89] Nolan received many awards and nominations for his work on the film.^[40]

The success of The Dark Knight allowed Warner Bros. to sign Nolan to write, direct and co-produce Inception (2010) – a film for which he had the idea around nine years before its release.^[90] Nolan described the film as "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind".^[91] Starring a large ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, the film became a critical and commercial success upon its release.^[92] Film critic Mark Kermode named it the best film of 2010, stating "Inception is proof that people are not stupid, that cinema is not trash, and that it is possible for blockbusters and art to be the same thing."^[93] Philosophy professor David Kyle Johnson wrote that "Inception became a classic almost as soon as it was projected on silver screens", praising its exploration of philosophical ideas, including leap of faith and allegory of the cave.^[94] The film grossed over $836 million worldwide.^[95] Nominated for eight Academy Awards—including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay—it won Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.^[96] Nolan was also nominated for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Director, among other accolades.^[40]

Nolan at the 2013 premiere of Man of Steel in London

Around the release of The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Nolan's third and final Batman film, Joseph Bevan of the British Film Institute wrote a profile on him: "In the space of just over a decade, Christopher Nolan has shot from promising British indie director to undisputed master of a new brand of intelligent escapism."^[97] After initial hesitation, Nolan agreed to return to direct The Dark Knight Rises and worked with his brother and David S. Goyer to develop a story that he felt would end the trilogy on a high note.^[98] The film was released to positive reviews;^[99] Kenneth Turan found the film "potent, persuasive and hypnotic" and "more than an exceptional superhero movie, it is masterful filmmaking by any standard".^[100] Christy Lemire of HuffPost wrote in her review that Nolan concluded his trilogy in a "typically spectacular, ambitious fashion", but disliked the "overloaded" story and excessive grimness.^[101] The Dark Knight Rises was a box office success, becoming the thirteenth film to gross $1 billion.^[102] During a midnight showing of the film in Aurora, Colorado, a gunman opened fire inside the theatre, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.^[103] Nolan released a statement expressing his condolences for the victims of what he described as a "senseless tragedy".^[104]

The Dark Knight trilogy inspired a trend in future superhero films seeking to replicate its gritty, realistic tone to little success. The second installment in particular revitalised the genre at a time when recent superhero films had failed to meet expectations.^[105][106] Ben Child of The Guardian wrote that the three films "will remain thrilling totems of the genre for decades to come".^[105] During story discussions for The Dark Knight Rises, Goyer told Nolan of his idea about Man of Steel (2013), which the latter would produce.^[107] Impressed with Zack Snyder's work in 300 (2006) and Watchmen (2009), Nolan hired him to direct the film.^[108] Starring Henry Cavill as Clark Kent who learns that he is a powerful alien, Man of Steel received mixed reviews and grossed more than $660 million against a budget of $220 million.^[109][110]

2014–2019: Interstellar, Dunkirk and other activities

Nolan and his younger brother, Jonathan (pictured in 2017), wrote several screenplays together, including for Interstellar.

Nolan next directed, wrote and produced the science-fiction film Interstellar (2014). The first drafts of the script were written by Jonathan Nolan, and it was originally to be directed by Steven Spielberg.^[111] Based on the scientific theories of theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole in search of a new home for humanity.^[112] In a 2014 discussion of the film's physics, Nolan expressed his admiration for scientific objectivity, wishing it were applied "in every aspect of our civilisation".^[113] Interstellar – starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain – was released to positive reviews and grossed $773 million worldwide.^[114][115] Observing its "visual dazzle, thematic ambition", The New York Times's A. O. Scott wrote that Interstellar is a "sweeping, futuristic adventure driven by grief, dread and regret".^[116] Documentary filmmaker Toni Myers called the film "a real work of art" and praised it for exploring a story spanning multiple generations.^[117] Interstellar was particularly praised for its scientific accuracy, which led to the publication of two academic papers.^[118][119] The American Journal of Physics called for it to be shown in school science lessons.^[120][121] At the 87th Academy Awards, the film won Best Visual Effects and received four other nominations.^[122] Also in 2014, Nolan and Emma Thomas served as executive producers on Transcendence, the directorial debut of his longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister.^[123]

In the mid-2010s, Nolan took part in several ventures for film preservation and distribution of the work of lesser-known filmmakers. His production company, Syncopy, formed a joint venture with Zeitgeist Films to release Blu-ray editions of Zeitgeist's films.^[124] As part of the Blu-ray release of the animation films of the Brothers Quay, Nolan directed the documentary short Quay (2015). He also initiated a theatrical tour, showcasing the Quays' In Absentia, The Comb and Street of Crocodiles. IndieWire wrote that the brothers "will undoubtedly have hundreds, if not thousands more fans because of Nolan, and for that The Quay Brothers in 35mm will always be one of [the] latter's most important contributions to cinema".^[125][126] An advocate for the survival of the analogue medium, Nolan and visual artist Tacita Dean invited representatives from leading American film archives, laboratories and presenting institutions to participate in an informal summit entitled Reframing the Future of Film at the Getty Museum in March 2015.^[127][128] Subsequent events were held at Tate Modern in London, Museo Tamayo in Mexico City and Tata Theatre in Mumbai.^[129] In April 2015, Nolan joined the board of directors of The Film Foundation, a non-profitable organisation dedicated to film preservation,^[130] and was appointed, along with Martin Scorsese, by the Library of Congress to serve on the National Film Preservation Board as DGA representatives.^[131] Nolan also serves on the Motion Picture & Television Fund Board of Governors.^[132]

After serving as an executive producer on Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017),^[133][134] Nolan returned to directing with Dunkirk (2017). Based on his own original screenplay and co-produced with Thomas, the film is set amid World War II in 1940 and the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, France. Describing the film as a survival tale with a triptych structure, Nolan wanted to make a "sensory, almost experimental movie" with minimal dialogue.^[135] He said he waited to make Dunkirk until he had earned the trust of a major studio to let him make it as a British film but with an American budget.^[136] Before filming, Nolan sought advice from Spielberg, who later said in an interview with Variety, "knowing and respecting that Chris [Nolan] is one of the world's most imaginative filmmakers, my advice to him was to leave his imagination, as I did on Ryan, in second position to the research he was doing to authentically acquit this historical drama".^[137] Starring an ensemble cast,^[138] Dunkirk was released to widespread critical acclaim and strong box office results.^{[139][140][141]} It grossed over $526 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing World War II film of all time.^[142] In his review, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "It's one of the best war films ever made, distinct in its look, in its approach and in the effect it has on viewers. There are movies—they are rare—that lift you out of your present circumstances and immerse you so fully in another experience that you watch in a state of jaw-dropped awe. Dunkirk is that kind of movie."^[143] The film received many accolades, including Nolan's first Oscar nomination for Best Director.^[144]

Nolan (right) with Keir Dullea, Katharina Kubrick, Ron Sanders and Jan Harlan at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival

In 2018, Nolan supervised a new 70 mm print of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), made from the original camera negative; he presented it at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.^[145] USA Today observed that festival-goers greeted the director "like a rock star with a standing ovation".^[146] A year later, Nolan and Thomas received executive producer credits on The Doll's Breath (2019), an animated short directed by the Quay brothers.^[147]

2020–present: Tenet and Oppenheimer

The science fiction film Tenet (2020) – described by Tom Shone of The Sunday Times as "a globe-spinning riff on all things Nolanesque" – was his next directorial effort.^[148] Nolan had worked on the screenplay for more than five years after deliberating about its central ideas for over a decade.^[149] Delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tenet was the first Hollywood tent-pole to open in theatres after the pandemic shutdown.^[150] The film tells the story of an unnamed protagonist (played by John David Washington) who travels through time to stop a world-threatening attack.^[151] It grossed $363 million worldwide against a production budget of $200 million, becoming Nolan's first to underperform at the box-office.^[152] Tenet was described as the most polarising effort of his career; critics praised the direction but found its story confusing.^[153][144] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film a full five stars, calling it "a cerebral cadenza, a deadpan flourish of crazy implausibility—but supercharged with steroidal energy and imagination".^[154] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter described it as "a chilly, cerebral film—easy to admire, especially since it's so rich in audacity and originality, but almost impossible to love, lacking as it is in a certain humanity".^[155] At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film won Best Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Production Design.^[156] Following the release of Tenet, Nolan joined the Advisory Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.^[157] He served as an executive producer on Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), a director's cut of 2017's Justice League.^[158]

Nolan's twelfth directorial venture will be Oppenheimer (2023), a biopic based on J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy) and his role in the development of the atom bomb.^[159] The film will be financed and distributed by Universal Pictures, making it Nolan's first since Memento that was not made for Warner Bros. He was disillusioned with the latter's decision to simultaneously release their films in theatres and on HBO Max.^[160] Nolan secured the deal with Universal after he was promised a production budget of around $100 million with an equal marketing budget, total creative control, 20 per cent of first-dollar gross, a 100-day theatrical window and a blackout period from the studio wherein the company would not release another film three weeks before or after Oppenheimer's release.^[161]

Discover more about Career related topics

Camera operator

Camera operator

A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task.

Corporate video

Corporate video

Corporate video refers to any type of non-advertisement based video content created for and commissioned by a business, company, corporation, or organization. Today, the vast majority of corporate video content is hosted online and is published on the company’s website page and distributed through social media or email marketing.

Cambridge Film Festival

Cambridge Film Festival

The Cambridge Film Festival is the third-longest-running film festival in the UK. The festival historically took place during early July, but now takes place annually during Autumn in Cambridge. It is organised by the registered charity Cambridge Film Trust.

Doodlebug (film)

Doodlebug (film)

Doodlebug is a 1997 short psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It follows the story of a man anxiously trying to kill a bug-like creature in his flat. Nolan created the film during his university days using 16 mm film. The film was met with a generally positive critical response.

Following

Following

Following is a 1998 independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by Christopher Nolan. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London and is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance.

Jeremy Theobald

Jeremy Theobald

Jeremy Theobald is a British actor best known for his portrayal of "The Young Man", the main character in Christopher Nolan's 1998 major picture debut Following, and for which Theobald was also a producer. Filming was scheduled around their day jobs. Jonathan Romney, writing in the New Statesman, noted that "Nolan and his cast are terrific finds: I wouldn't normally say this to struggling artists, but they might want to give up their day jobs."

Film stock

Film stock

Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film base coated on one side with a gelatin emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the crystals determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film. The emulsion will gradually darken if left exposed to light, but the process is too slow and incomplete to be of any practical use. Instead, a very short exposure to the image formed by a camera lens is used to produce only a very slight chemical change, proportional to the amount of light absorbed by each crystal. This creates an invisible latent image in the emulsion, which can be chemically developed into a visible photograph. In addition to visible light, all films are sensitive to X-rays and high-energy particles. Most are at least slightly sensitive to invisible ultraviolet (UV) light. Some special-purpose films are sensitive into the infrared (IR) region of the spectrum.

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the "Master of Suspense", he became as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews, his cameo roles in most of his films, and his hosting and producing the television anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–65). His films garnered 46 Academy Award nominations, including six wins, although he never won the award for Best Director despite five nominations.

Janet Maslin

Janet Maslin

Janet R. Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as a Times film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, Maslin helped found the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York. She is president of its board of directors.

Memento (film)

Memento (film)

Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story "Memento Mori" by his brother Jonathan Nolan, which was later published in 2001. The film stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, resulting in short-term memory loss and the inability to form new memories. He searches for the people who attacked him, raped and killed his wife, using an elaborate system of Polaroid photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos to track information he won't remember. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano co-star in the film.

Anterograde amnesia

Anterograde amnesia

In neurology, anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories after the event that caused amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact. This is in contrast to retrograde amnesia, where memories created prior to the event are lost while new memories can still be created. Both can occur together in the same patient. To a large degree, anterograde amnesia remains a mysterious ailment because the precise mechanism of storing memories is not yet well understood, although it is known that the regions of the brain involved are certain sites in the temporal cortex, especially in the hippocampus and nearby subcortical regions.

Memento Mori (short story)

Memento Mori (short story)

"Memento Mori" is a short story written by Jonathan Nolan and published in the March 2001 edition of Esquire magazine. It was the basis for the film Memento directed by his brother Christopher Nolan. The name refers to memento mori, a symbolic or artistic expression of the Latin phrase meaning "remember that you [have to] die."

Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas in January 2011

Nolan is married to Emma Thomas, whom he met at University College London when he was 19.^[9][16] She has worked as a producer on all of his films since 1997.^[43][162] The couple have four children and reside in Los Angeles.^[163]

Rarely granting promotional interviews about his films, Nolan prefers to maintain a certain level of mystery about his work.^[164] Refusing to discuss his personal life,^[165] he feels that too much biographical information about a filmmaker detracts from the experience of his audiences. "I actually don't want people to have me in mind at all when they're watching the films."^[164]

Nolan was physically assaulted by fellow filmmaker David O. Russell in 2003 at a party in Hollywood. The latter reportedly put Nolan in a headlock and wrapped his arm around Nolan's neck.^[166][167]

Nolan's films are majorly centred in metaphysical themes, exploring the concepts of time, memory and personal identity.^[168][169] His work is characterised by mathematically inspired ideas and images, unconventional narrative structures, materialistic perspectives, and evocative use of music and sound.^[d] Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro called Nolan "an emotional mathematician".^[174] BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz described him as "an art house auteur making intellectually ambitious blockbuster movies that can leave your pulse racing and your head spinning".^[175] Joseph Bevan wrote, "His films allow arthouse regulars to enjoy superhero flicks and multiplex crowds to engage with labyrinthine plot conceits."^[97] Nolan views himself as "an indie filmmaker working inside the studio system".^[176]

In the sixteen-essay book The Philosophy of Christopher Nolan, professional philosophers and writers analysed Nolan's work; they identified themes of self-destruction, the nature and value of the truth, and the political mindset of the hero and villain, among others.^[178] Robbie B. H. Goh, a professor of English literature, described Nolan as a "philosophical filmmaker" who includes philosophical ideas—existentialism, morality, epistemology and the distinction between appearance and reality—in films that frequently portray suspense, action and violence. Goh appreciated his ability to incorporate such themes in films that possess "elements of the Hollywood blockbuster"—which help keep the audiences engaged—but simultaneously remain "more thoughtful and self-reflexive than the typical consumerist action film".^[179] He further wrote that Nolan's body of work reflect "a heterogeneity of conditions of products" extending from low-budget films to lucrative blockbusters, "a wide range of genres and settings" and "a diversity of styles that trumpet his versatility".^[180]

David Bordwell, a film theorist, opined that Nolan has been able to blend his "experimental impulses" with the demands of mainstream entertainment, describing his oeuvre as "experiments with cinematic time by means of techniques of subjective viewpoint and crosscutting".^[181] Nolan's use of practical, in-camera effects, miniatures and models, as well as shooting on celluloid film, has been highly influential in early 21st century cinema.^[182][183] IndieWire wrote in 2019 that the director "kept a viable alternate model of big-budget filmmaking alive" in an era where blockbuster filmmaking has become "a largely computer-generated art form".^[183] Because of Nolan's deep involvement in the technical facet of his films, Stuart Joy described him as a "complete filmmaker" who "oversees all aspects of production while also managing cultural and industrial factors outside of the text".^[184]

Discover more about Filmmaking style related topics

Cinematic style of Christopher Nolan

Cinematic style of Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is a British-American filmmaker known for using aesthetics, themes and cinematic techniques that are instantly recognisable in his work. Regarded as an auteur and postmodern filmmaker, Nolan is partial to elliptical editing, documentary-style lighting, hand-held camera work, natural settings, and real filming locations over studio work. Embedded narratives and crosscutting between different time frames is a major component of his work, and his films often feature experimental soundscapes and mathematically inspired images and concepts. Nolan prefers shooting on film to digital video and advocates for the use of higher-quality, larger-format film stock. He also favours practical effects over computer-generated imagery, and is a proponent of theatrical exhibition.

Metaphysics

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality; the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, cause and effect, necessity and possibility.

Memory

Memory

Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, it would be impossible for language, relationships, or personal identity to develop. Memory loss is usually described as forgetfulness or amnesia.

Mathematics and art

Mathematics and art

Mathematics and art are related in a variety of ways. Mathematics has itself been described as an art motivated by beauty. Mathematics can be discerned in arts such as music, dance, painting, architecture, sculpture, and textiles. This article focuses, however, on mathematics in the visual arts.

Materialism

Materialism

Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialism, mind and consciousness are by-products or epiphenomena of material processes, without which they cannot exist. This concept directly contrasts with idealism, where mind and consciousness are first-order realities to which matter is dependent while material interactions are secondary.

Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro Gómez is a Mexican filmmaker and author. A recipient of three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and an Emmy Award, his work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales and horror, with an effort to infuse visual or poetic beauty in the grotesque. He has had a lifelong fascination with monsters, which he considers symbols of great power. He is also known for his use of insectile and religious imagery, the themes of Catholicism and celebrating imperfection, underworld and clockwork motifs, practical special effects, dominant amber lighting, and his frequent collaborations with actors Ron Perlman and Doug Jones.

BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, based at Broadcasting House in London, England. It is the world's oldest national broadcaster, and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, employing over 22,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 19,000 are in public-sector broadcasting.

Existentialism

Existentialism

Existentialism is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the issue of human existence. Existentialist philosophers explore questions related to the meaning, purpose, and value of human existence. Common concepts in existentialist thought include existential crisis, dread, and anxiety in the face of an absurd world, as well as authenticity, courage, and virtue.

Epistemology

Epistemology

Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.

David Bordwell

David Bordwell

David Jay Bordwell is an American film theorist and film historian. Since receiving his PhD from the University of Iowa in 1974, he has written more than fifteen volumes on the subject of cinema including Narration in the Fiction Film (1985), Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema (1988), Making Meaning (1989), and On the History of Film Style (1997).

Film theory

Film theory

Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to reality, the other arts, individual viewers, and society at large. Film theory is not to be confused with general film criticism, or film history, though these three disciplines interrelate.

Hollywood cinema in 21st century

Hollywood cinema in 21st century

Hollywood movies refers to the cinema of United States of America. The Hollywood cinema industry plays an important role among the world movie making studios. It is the third largest film market in the world. Hollywood movies in the 21st century are sometimes called "New Hollywood". Starting from the 2000s, American movies began to earn more fans and contributed to the box office. Science fiction, fantasy films, and animated movies have been globally impacting the movie industry. Research shows that compared to 20th century, the value of the movies increased around by double. International advertising had a crucial role in making "New Hollywood" bigger, compared to 20th century. Most of the movies` box office numbers are increased by overseas viewers.

Nolan has made some of the most influential and popular films of his time.^[e] Many of his films have been regarded by critics as among the best of their respective decades,^{[42][189][190]} and according to The Wall Street Journal, his "ability to combine box-office success with artistic ambition has given him an extraordinary amount of clout in the industry".^[191] His films have earned $5 billion.^[192] Nolan's films Memento and The Dark Knight have been selected by the US Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant.^[193][194] These films and Inception appeared in BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century and The Hollywood Reporter's poll of best films ever made.^[195][196] In 2017, The Dark Knight, Inception and Interstellar featured in Empire magazine's poll of "The 100 Greatest Movies".^[197] In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter listed Nolan as one of the 100 most powerful people in entertainment and described him as a "franchise unto himself".^[198] Parade ranked Nolan number eight in its 2022 list of 75 Best Movie Directors of All Time.^[199]

Two of Nolan's films (Memento and The Dark Knight) have been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.^[193][194]

Nolan's work has been as "intensely embraced, analysed and debated by ordinary film fans as by critics and film academics".^[165][200] Calling him "a persuasively inventive storyteller", Geoff Andrew of the British Film Institute named Nolan one of the few contemporary filmmakers producing highly personal films within the Hollywood mainstream. Andrew wrote that Nolan's films are "not so much [notable] for their considerable technical virtuosity and visual flair as for their brilliant narrative ingenuity and their unusually adult interest in complex philosophical questions".^[201] David Bordwell observed that Nolan is "considered one of the most accomplished living filmmakers", citing his ability to turn genre movies into both art and event films, as well as his box office numbers, critical acclaim and popularity among cinemagoers.^[181][202] In 2008, Philip French deemed Nolan "the first major talent to emerge this [21st] century".^[203] Mark Kermode complimented Nolan for bringing "the discipline and ethics of art-house independent moviemaking and apply[ing] them to Hollywood blockbusters. He's living proof that you don't have to appeal to the lowest common denominator to be profitable".^[204] The Observer's Ryan Gilbey described Nolan as a "skillful, stylish storyteller, capable of combining the spectacle of Spielberg with the intellectual intricacy of Nicolas Roeg or Alain Resnais".^[205] Mark Cousins applauded Nolan for embracing big ideas, "Hollywood filmmakers generally shy away from ideas—but not Christopher Nolan".^[206] Scott Foundas of Variety declared Nolan "the premier big-canvas storyteller of his generation",^[207] and Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times called him "the great proceduralist of 21st century blockbuster filmmaking, a lover of nuts-and-bolts minutiae".^[208]

Nolan has been praised by many of his contemporaries, and his work has influenced them.^{[209][210][211]} Kenneth Branagh called Nolan's approach to large-scale filmmaking "unique in modern cinema", adding, "regardless of how popular his movies become, he remains an artist and an auteur. I think for that reason he has become a heroic figure for both the audience and the people working behind the camera."^[212] Michael Mann complimented Nolan for his "singular vision" and credited with "invent[ing] the post-heroic superhero".^[213] Nicolas Roeg said of Nolan, "People talk about 'commercial art' and the term is usually self-negating; Nolan works in the commercial arena and yet there's something very poetic about his work."^[214] Martin Scorsese identified Nolan as a filmmaker creating "beautifully made films on a big scale".^[215]

Damien Chazelle lauded Nolan for his ability "to make the most seemingly impersonal projects—superhero epics, deep-space mind-benders—feel deeply personal".^[216] Discussing the difference between art films and big studio blockbusters, Steven Spielberg referred to Nolan's Dark Knight series as an example of both;^[217] he has described Memento and Inception as "masterworks".^[218] Denis Villeneuve was impressed by Nolan's ability "to keep his identity and create his own universe in that large scope ... To bring intellectual concepts and to bring them in that scope to the screen right now—it's very rare. Every movie that he comes out with, I have more admiration for his work."^[219] James Cameron expressed disappointment that Nolan was not nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director for Inception, calling it "the most astounding piece of film creation and direction of the year, hands down".^[218]

Discover more about Recognition related topics

National Film Registry

National Film Registry

The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB's inception in 1988.

BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century

BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century

The 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century is a list compiled in August 2016 by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), chosen by a voting poll of 177 film critics from around the world.

Parade (magazine)

Parade (magazine)

Parade was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 54.1 million. Anne Krueger has been the magazine's editor since 2015.

Memento (film)

Memento (film)

Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story "Memento Mori" by his brother Jonathan Nolan, which was later published in 2001. The film stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, resulting in short-term memory loss and the inability to form new memories. He searches for the people who attacked him, raped and killed his wife, using an elaborate system of Polaroid photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos to track information he won't remember. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano co-star in the film.

Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C. that serves as the library of the U.S. Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. Founded in 1800, the library is the United States's oldest federal cultural institution. The library is housed in three buildings in the Capitol Hill area of Washington. The Library also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its collections contain approximately 173 million items, and it has more than 3,000 employees. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages."

Geoff Andrew

Geoff Andrew

Geoff Andrew is a British writer and lecturer on film, and Programmer-at-large at BFI South Bank. After gaining a First in Classics at King's College, Cambridge, he was for some years programmer at London's Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, and later became the editor and chief critic of the film section of Time Out magazine.

David Bordwell

David Bordwell

David Jay Bordwell is an American film theorist and film historian. Since receiving his PhD from the University of Iowa in 1974, he has written more than fifteen volumes on the subject of cinema including Narration in the Fiction Film (1985), Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema (1988), Making Meaning (1989), and On the History of Film Style (1997).

Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode

Mark James Kermode is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for The Observer, contributes to the magazine Sight & Sound, presents a weekly Scala Radio film music show and the BBC Four documentary series Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema, and is a co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo.

Nicolas Roeg

Nicolas Roeg

Nicolas Jack Roeg was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing Performance (1970), Walkabout (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Bad Timing (1980), and The Witches (1990).

Alain Resnais

Alain Resnais

Alain Resnais was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Night and Fog (1956), an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.

Justin Chang

Justin Chang

Justin Choigee Chang is an American film critic and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He previously worked for Variety.

Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh

Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours. He was made a Freeman of his native city of Belfast in January 2018. In 2020, he was listed at number 20 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

• Following (1998)
• Memento (2000)
• Insomnia (2002)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Prestige (2006)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• Inception (2010)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Interstellar (2014)
• Dunkirk (2017)
• Tenet (2020)
• Oppenheimer (2023)

Discover more about Filmography related topics

Christopher Nolan filmography

Christopher Nolan filmography

Christopher Nolan is a British-American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His feature directorial debut was the neo-noir crime thriller Following (1998) which was made on a shoestring budget of $6,000. Two years later, he directed the psychological thriller Memento (2000) which starred Guy Pearce as a man suffering from anterograde amnesia searching for his wife's killers. Similar to his debut feature it had a non-linear narrative structure, and was his breakthrough film. It was acclaimed by critics and was a surprise commercial success. For the film Nolan received his first nomination for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film, and for writing its screenplay he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He next directed the mystery thriller remake Insomnia (2002) which starred Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank. It was his first film for Warner Bros., and was a critical and commercial success.

Following

Following

Following is a 1998 independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by Christopher Nolan. It tells the story of a young man who follows strangers around the streets of London and is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance.

Memento (film)

Memento (film)

Memento is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, based on the short story "Memento Mori" by his brother Jonathan Nolan, which was later published in 2001. The film stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, resulting in short-term memory loss and the inability to form new memories. He searches for the people who attacked him, raped and killed his wife, using an elaborate system of Polaroid photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos to track information he won't remember. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano co-star in the film.

Insomnia (2002 film)

Insomnia (2002 film)

Insomnia is a 2002 American psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Hillary Seitz. A remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, it stars Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank with Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt and Paul Dooley in supporting roles. The film begins with two Los Angeles homicide detectives investigating a murder in Nightmute, Alaska. After the killer witnesses an accident done by one of the detectives, they create a plan for both parties to mutually avoid prosecution.

Batman Begins

Batman Begins

Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, and Morgan Freeman in supporting roles. The film reboots the Batman film series, telling the origin story of Bruce Wayne from the death of his parents to his journey to become Batman and his fight to stop Ra's al Ghul and the Scarecrow from plunging Gotham City into chaos.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy. The plot follows the vigilante Batman, police lieutenant James Gordon, and district attorney Harvey Dent, who form an alliance to dismantle organized crime in Gotham City. Their efforts are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind who seeks to test how far Batman will go to save the city from chaos. The ensemble cast includes Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman.

Inception

Inception

Inception is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious. The ensemble cast includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the final installment in Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, and the sequel to The Dark Knight (2008). The film stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, alongside Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Morgan Freeman. Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the revolutionary Bane forces Bruce Wayne to resume his role as Batman and save Gotham City from nuclear destruction.

Interstellar (film)

Interstellar (film)

Interstellar is a 2014 epic science fiction film co-written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon, and Michael Caine. Set in a dystopian future where humanity is struggling to survive, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for mankind.

Dunkirk (2017 film)

Dunkirk (2017 film)

Dunkirk is a 2017 historical war film written, directed and produced by Christopher Nolan that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II from the perspectives of the land, sea and air. It was produced by Nolan and Emma Thomas. Its ensemble cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles in his film debut, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy.

Tenet (film)

Tenet (film)

Tenet is a 2020 science fiction action thriller film directed and written by Christopher Nolan, who also produced with his wife Emma Thomas. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh. The film follows a former CIA agent who learns how to manipulate the flow of time to prevent an attack from the future that threatens to annihilate the present world. Nolan continued his relationship with Warner Bros. and his production company Syncopy for the film's production and distribution.

Oppenheimer (film)

Oppenheimer (film)

Oppenheimer is an upcoming biographical film written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project—the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the film is based on American Prometheus, a biography written by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. The supporting cast includes Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh. It is a co-production between Universal Pictures, Syncopy Inc. and Atlas Entertainment, with Nolan producing the film alongside Emma Thomas and Charles Roven.

Nolan's hand and shoeprints in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood

Nolan has been nominated for five Academy Awards, five British Academy Film Awards and six Golden Globe Awards.^{[40][220][221][222]} Nolan was named an Honorary Fellow of UCL in 2006,^[223] and conferred an honorary doctorate in literature in 2017.^[224] From 2011 to 2014, he appeared in Forbes Celebrity 100 list based on his income and popularity.^[225] In 2012, he became the youngest director to receive a hand-and-footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.^[226] Nolan appeared in Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2015.^[227] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to film.^[228]

Discover more about Awards and honours related topics

List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Nolan

List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Nolan

British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan has received many awards and honours throughout his career. He has been nominated for five Academy Awards, five British Academy Film Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for his services to film.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.

British Academy Film Awards

British Academy Film Awards

The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is a highly prestigious annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The ceremonies were initially held at the flagship Odeon cinema in Leicester Square in London, before being held at the Royal Opera House from 2007 to 2016. From 2017 to 2022, the ceremony was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London before moving to the Royal Festival Hall for the 2023 ceremony. The statue awarded to recipients depicts a theatrical mask.

Honorary degree

Honorary degree

An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases honoris causa or ad honorem . The degree is typically a doctorate or, less commonly, a master's degree, and may be awarded to someone who has no prior connection with the academic institution or no previous postsecondary education. An example of identifying a recipient of this award is as follows: Doctorate in Business Administration (Hon. Causa).

Forbes Celebrity 100

Forbes Celebrity 100

Celebrity 100 was an annual list compiled and published by Forbes magazine since 1999, preceding by the Forbes Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnings, social media following, magazine covers and a range of qualitative metrics, with the aim of "measuring power". Since 2015, Forbes has solely factored pretax earnings, before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents.

Time (magazine)

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on March 3, 1923, and for many years it was run by its influential co-founder, Henry Luce. A European edition is published in London and also covers the Middle East, Africa, and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. The South Pacific edition, which covers Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, is based in Sydney.

Time 100

Time 100

Time 100 is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine Time. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly publicized annual event. Appearing on the list is often seen as an honor, and Time makes it clear that entrants are recognized for changing the world, regardless of the consequences of their actions. The final list of influential individuals is exclusively chosen by Time editors, with nominations coming from the Time 100 alumni and the magazine's international writing staff. Only the winner of the Reader's Poll, conducted days before the official list is revealed, is chosen by the general public. The corresponding commemorative gala is held annually in Manhattan.

Order of the British Empire

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V and comprises five classes across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order.

2019 New Year Honours

2019 New Year Honours

The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and were officially announced in The London Gazette at 22:30 on 28 December 2018. Australia, an independent Realm, has a separate honours system and its first honours of the year, the 2019 Australia Day Honours, coincide with Australia Day on 26 January.