Christopher Nolan - Appreciation Thread

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  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    edited December 2022 Posts: 4,638
    peter wrote: »
    @MaxCasino , I agree about Cameron (and he’s an ass in real life), but Nolan is approaching this rarefied air.
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    Three overlong boring epic fails of a director being mean and full of himself.

    You might not like them, but there's dozens of reasons why at least two of them are massive successes.

    Sorry rough day at work. But he really is not a good writer or person. @peter it sounds like you met him in your post. Did you? As for Nolan, in his defense yes, he might want to look at the mistakes of Tenet. But when that came out, society was at a low point. Not a good time for a movie like that.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,218
    Yes, there's certainly a case to be made for some limitations helping to breed maximum creativity as you really have to work to get what you want and think outside the box. I think Nolan is past that point now though.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    @SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ … I don’t have faith that Nolan has a switch and -poof- he’s fun and lively and doesn’t have his head stuck up his arse.

    @007HallY … you and I share the same feelings. I think he’s better having his brother write his scripts with him.
    Nolan may be too smart for his own good at times.
  • edited December 2022 Posts: 4,174
    Yes, there's certainly a case to be made for some limitations helping to breed maximum creativity as you really have to work to get what you want and think outside the box. I think Nolan is past that point now though.

    Maybe it might not be a bad thing if Nolan decided to slash his budget for his next film, or maybe even gave himself some sort of story limitation (I dunno, could be keeping it to a certain number of characters or locations, having to have the plot revolve around a single McGuffin or something).

    It's something that's been done by other directors. Hitchcock, for example, followed up North By Northwest with the comparatively more stripped down Psycho and that was a success. The likes of Alfonso Cuaron and Jonathan Demme also made more low budget films later into their careers.
    peter wrote: »
    @007HallY … you and I share the same feelings. I think he’s better having his brother write his scripts with him.
    Nolan may be too smart for his own good at times.

    I suppose the one thing that can be said about Tenet is that it's not a film made with the intention of being conventionally engaging. The main character is called 'The Protagonist', the rest of the characters are all pretty one dimensional, and it's the sort of story based on pretty cerebral (I'd say confusing) ideas. Not saying Nolan made this film with the intention of being confusing or off-putting, but I suspect his logic in making such a film would be that he was trying to do something Kubrick-esque almost - something a bit more detached in order to make his points... Again, I don't think it works, and Nolan doesn't strike me as that sort of filmmaker, but I think that's the idea.
  • SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 2,078
    Yeah, I get your point @peter Maybe I simply love Nolan and I'm being delusional. But I'm willing to give him a chance though.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    edited December 2022 Posts: 9,509
    @SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ go on loving him unapologetically; I really got my feathers ruffled with Tenet (and rewatched his films after, and I started to note where his weaknesses are as a story teller).

    There’s something that Nolan hits with you. And that’s your truth when you see his films. I’m happy for anyone who finds enjoyment in any film— whether it’s a Steven Seagal film, or a Nolan film. It’s all good.

    EDIT:

    @MaxCasino sorry, I only saw your question now:

    no I haven’t met James Cameron. I know a couple of ppl who were on TITANIC and, although they’re close friends with his brother (the seemingly true genius behind James (he’s an inventor, explorer and has a bunch of patents out there), they will not work with ”Jim” again.

    Granted, Kate Winslet said she felt beaten up by him on Titanic, but said he’s softened somewhat since then.

    Personally I think his last great film was T2 and The Abyss with a very fun film being True Lies. Otherwise, he doesn’t hit me in any way (and I still think T1 and Aliens are his two best film and I can rewatch and revel in his genius over these two films).
  • SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 2,078
    Fair enough @peter :)
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,638
    Fair enough @peter :)

    Thank you @peter for your honesty. Sorry for the rants everyone.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    No problem @MaxCasino !!
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,410
    Well, it finally happened. They released the run time for christopher nolans Oppenhiemer and the movie runs over 3 hours, adding to the latest Hollywood trend of epic-sized stories. Seems a little excessive for a biopic but we'll have to see.


    as always, In Nolan We Trust
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    Seems very excessive. I'll be surprised if you don't feel the runtime on this one.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,218
    It's a fairly expansive story so three hours seems about right. The only way we'll feel the runtime is if Nolan has done a bad job of telling it.
  • Posts: 9,848
    Do we think a Nolan James Bond Film will be dark like the Craig era or light like the Roger Moore era?
  • SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 2,078
    Risico007 wrote: »
    Do we think a Nolan James Bond Film will be dark like the Craig era or light like the Roger Moore era?

    Nolan said Dalton's his favourite Bond. So......
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,410
    I wonder if Nolan winning best director or cillian winning best actor at next years oscars would have any impact on whether he becomes the next Bond director. Imagine Nolan wins an award and a few months later they announce he's directing the next james bond, the hype that would bring globally for the franchise would be insane.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2023 Posts: 15,718
    Oppenheimer starts at 96/100 on Metacritic, making it (so far) the best reviewd Nolan film yet. It also makes it the best reviewed film of 2023.

    Edit: 96% on Rottentomatoes, with an average rating of 9.0/10.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,205
    Just watching Inside Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer on Sky Arts, a fascinating interview with Nolan and cast. This film looks like it is going to be something very special.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Oppenheimer starts at 96/100 on Metacritic, making it (so far) the best reviewd Nolan film yet. It also makes it the best reviewed film of 2023.

    Edit: 96% on Rottentomatoes, with an average rating of 9.0/10.

    I’m seeing a lot of “Nolan’s best” in reviews.

    I hope so. Nolan needs that upswing after the very misguided TENET.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited July 2023 Posts: 25,205
    TENET was a dissapointment Nolan was 100 per cent focused on the technical aspects and neglected pretty much everything else.

    ---

    Just watching Following, never seen this before. Nolans precision is evident in his debut, very prophetic there being a Batman logo on the door of one of the apartments they break into.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    edited July 2023 Posts: 2,848
    This ten minute CBS news profile of the new film includes clips from the movie as well as a short interview with Nolan. Really getting excited for this one.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oppenheimer-runtime-imax-film-length-weight/
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited July 2023 Posts: 8,410
    NOLAN ADDRESSED THE BOND RUMOURS on the happy sad confused podcast, essentially reiterating that he would be very privileged to work on the franchise in the future but he would need full creative input in all aspects, including script and casting.

    Each little snippet we get seems to bring the Nolan Bond closer to reality.
  • edited July 2023 Posts: 4,174
    Actually I suspect him saying something like that may well work against him when it comes to Bond. It's not a deal breaker, but I can see how a director demanding too much creative control, at least when it goes against what the producers want, would be a problem. One can argue it worked against them when they tried this with Danny Boyle for instance (while it's worth noting he and Hodge worked within what the producers wanted, the amount of creative freedom they got didn't necessarily seem to result in a gripping script, nor did their method of working/their views on bringing in other writers help things).

    I think the reality is BB and MGW will want a director who they can work with and will be able to at least understand their vision of a new film. None of us really know whether Nolan, or indeed any other director, will be their man in this sense.
  • @007HallY What if EON does not have a strong vision yet for the next film? What if they like Nolan's idea more than anything they have come up with so far for Bond 26?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    Saw this on Facebook just now. Give me this film.

    361916545_717754337028484_1959059096340291143_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=aqBzVGkYAs0AX-MrmRO&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=00_AfB3jlt2La8QbNqlUJckof5PhRE2bOm_o2DxkvqBQfGRhQ&oe=64BD3E34
  • SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 2,078
    I feel like Nolan is like Eon and Bond, in the sense that whenever Nolan releases a film, it's an event. Also, once he announces a film, a lot of people are eager to know even the smallest detail...just like Bond.
  • edited July 2023 Posts: 4,174
    @007HallY What if EON does not have a strong vision yet for the next film? What if they like Nolan's idea more than anything they have come up with so far for Bond 26?

    Well, the truth is I'm not entirely sure how EON will work with whoever the director is on this particular film. So it's in the details really.

    From what I can tell of NTTD and having read a bit about the other Bond films BB and MGW have helmed, they have those big concepts sorted before hiring directors/screenwriters. I don't think they've ever gone into one of these projects without establishing broadly what they want first (again, even if it's very general and not necessarily intricately plotted or anything), so I don't think they'll go into Bond 26 cold this time round. Whenever they hire directors/screenwriters it's about them picking who they feel is best to helm the film they want to make. It's not necessarily just about picking a director, giving them full creative control, and seeing what they'll come up with. Heck, I'm not sure if any film works like that.

    And to be fair to Nolan I suspect he wasn't saying he wanted full creative control per say, just that he wanted a good deal of creative input. Which is fine, but at the end of the day it's not his 'baby' as it were. If he gets a meeting with EON he won't be giving a full pitch for a film at that point. If he doesn't see eye to eye with where they want to go with Bond 26 at this point I suspect they won't hire him. It's that simple.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    @007HallY , you’ve nailed what would likely happen based off of EoN’s preferred methodology of hiring a director. EoN does things a certain way, their way, and there’s no indication that that is about to change.
  • Creasy47 wrote: »
    Saw this on Facebook just now. Give me this film.

    361916545_717754337028484_1959059096340291143_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=aqBzVGkYAs0AX-MrmRO&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=00_AfB3jlt2La8QbNqlUJckof5PhRE2bOm_o2DxkvqBQfGRhQ&oe=64BD3E34

    I’d pay to see that.
  • Posts: 4,174
    peter wrote: »
    @007HallY , you’ve nailed what would likely happen based off of EoN’s preferred methodology of hiring a director. EoN does things a certain way, their way, and there’s no indication that that is about to change.

    Ah, that's good to know. For what it's worth they certainly seem collaborative and have given their filmmakers plenty of creative freedom. But ultimately yes, they seem to do things in a certain way.

    It's like you said in the other thread, Nolan seems to make things about himself. Whether true or not, it's hard not to get a whiff of that with these comments he's given. For instance, specifying he wants a good deal of involvement in casting and writing. Again, this is fine and directors on these films seem to have a pretty good level of creative input, but it's difficult not to interpret that as him wanting to 'run the show' as it were. I'm not sure if that's necessarily a solid foundation for a working relationship between a director and the producers on something like a Bond film.
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