Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Edward Nolan is a British film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the highest-grossing directors in history, and among the most successful and acclaimed filmmakers of the 21st century...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth30 July 1970
believe writing emotional
What I react against in other people's work, as a filmgoer, is when I see something in a movie that I feel is supposed to make me feel emotional, but I don't believe the filmmaker shares that emotion. They just think the audience will. And I think you can feel that separation. So any time I find myself writing something that I don't really respond to, but I'm telling myself, 'Oh yes, but the audience is going to like this,' then I know I'm on the wrong track and I just throw it out.
cameras stories shots
A camera is a camera, a shot is a shot, how you tell the story is the main thing.
risk trying want
I've always believed that if you want to really try and make a great film, not a good film, but a great film, you have to take a lot of risks.
movie inspiring actors
The best actors instinctively feel out what the other actors need, and they just accommodate it.
different film audience
I like films that continue to spin your head in all sorts of different directions after you've seen them.
curiosity
You're never going to learn something as profoundly as when it's purely out of curiosity
jobs taken superhero
Superheroes fill a gap in the pop culture psyche, similar to the role of Greek mythology. There isn't really anything else that does the job in modern terms. For me, Batman is the one that can most clearly be taken seriously.
taken mean bridges
For me, Batman is the one that can most clearly be taken seriously. He's not from another planet, or filled with radioactive gunk. I mean, Superman is essentially a god, but Batman is more like Hercules: he's a human being, very flawed, and bridges the divide.
thinking blade-runner sound
The film that really struck me was Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. That was a film I watched many, many times and found endlessly fascinating in it's density. I think the density of that film is primarily visual density, atmospheric, sound density, moreso than narrative density.
dream memories emotional
When you're dealing with the world of dreams, the psyche, and potential of a human mind, there has to be emotional stakes. You have to deal with issues of memory and desire.
fall batman-dark-knight trilogies
Why do we Fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.
mean play people
It's very important that a film that intends to play tricks on the audience... has to play fair with the audience. For me, any time you're going to have a reveal in the film, it's essential that it have been shown to the audience as much as possible. What that means is that some people are going to figure it out very early on. Other people not til the end. Everybody watches the film differently.
writing trying way
I realized that if you're trying to reach an audience, being as subjective as possible and really trying to write from something genuine is the way to go. Really it's mostly from my own process, my own experience.
character keys different
Batman and Superman are very different characters but they're both iconic and elemental. Finding the right story for them both is the key.