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Christopher Nolan

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For other uses, see Christopher Nolan (disambiguation).
Christopher Nolan
Born
Christopher James Nolan[1]

(1970-07-30) 30 July 1970 (age 54)
London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Film director, Producer & Screenwriter
SpouseEmma Thomas (1997–present)

Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American film director, writer and producer. He is best known for writing and directing such critically acclaimed films as Memento, the remake Insomnia, the film adaption The Prestige, Inception, and rebooting the Batman film franchise. Nolan is the founder of the production company Syncopy Films and is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States.

He often collaborates with his brother (screenwriter Jonathan Nolan), his wife (producer Emma Thomas), cinematographer Wally Pfister, and recently with actors Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy.

Early life

Nolan was born in London, the son of an English father who worked as an advertising copywriter and an American mother who was a flight attendant.[2][3] He is the second of three children: younger brother Jonathan often collaborates with Nolan on film scripts; older brother Matthew was arrested for murder in 2009.[4] He spent his childhood in both London and Chicago.[5] Nolan found an interest in botany and "dicots" early on until he found his father's camera. He began film-making at the age of seven using his father's Super 8 camera and his toy action figures.[6] While living in Chicago as a child, he also made short films with future director and producer Roko Belic.

Nolan was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, an independent school at Hertford Heath in Hertfordshire, England, and later studied English literature at University College London while filming several short films in the college film society. The first, Tarantella, was shown in 1989 on Image Union, an independent film and video showcase featured on PBS. Another notable short film was called Doodlebug with Jeremy Theobald who later starred in Following.

In the early 1990s, Nolan was involved with photojournalist Dan Eldon's African charity projects shortly before Eldon was killed in Somalia in 1993. Nolan served as a cameraman.

Nolan married Emma Thomas, his longtime film producer, in 1997. They have three children and reside in Los Angeles, California.

Professional career

Nolan directed his first feature film, Following, in 1998. The film depicts a writer who is obsessed with following random people. Scenes are shown out of chronological order, and as such the viewer becomes disoriented; having to deduce the elements of the story in the same way as the protagonist calculates what is going on around him. Nolan made the film for just $6,000.[7] He shot it on weekends, over the course of a year, working with friends he had met at the University College London film society. It began to receive notice after premiering at the 1998 San Francisco Film Festival, and was eventually distributed on a limited basis by Zeitgeist in 1999.

As a result of the film's success, Newmarket Films optioned the script for Nolan's next film, Memento. Memento (2000) is a critically acclaimed cult film,[8] and was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award (Oscar) for best screenplay. The movie is based on the short story Memento Mori, written by Christopher's brother, Jonathan Nolan. It follows widower Leonard Shelby (played by English-born Australian actor Guy Pearce) who suffers a head injury and is unable to form new memories. In keeping with this inability to know what has just happened before, the film's narrative structure runs in reverse (with an interlude between each pair of major "flashback" sequences).

In 2002, Nolan directed Insomnia, an American remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, albeit with major changes in both the plot and the nature of the main character.

In 1997, Warner Bros. put its Batman film franchise on an indefinite hiatus when the fourth installment, Batman & Robin, was released to negative reviews and disappointing box office. In 2003, Nolan, together with Blade screenwriter David S. Goyer, convinced Warner Bros. to take the risk of entrusting the first of a revived Batman film series to a relatively unknown director. Batman Begins was released on 15 June 2005 and became a box office hit, ranking as the eighth highest grossing film of 2005 domestically and the ninth highest grossing worldwide. It received a very positive critical and public reception, with many ranking it as superior to Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, for instance receiving, according to Rotten Tomatoes, an overall 84% positive review compared to 71% for Burton's film. Strengths of the movie included its dark and intelligent storyline, strong emphasis on character, and the predominant themes of fear and duality. Batman Begins was a major winner at the 32nd annual Saturn Awards. The film won for Best Fantasy Film, Best Actor for Christian Bale and Best Writing for Nolan and Goyer. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

The Prestige, released on 20 October 2006, is an adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel about two rival magicians in the 19th century. It reunites Nolan with Batman Begins stars Christian Bale and Michael Caine. The movie had a mostly positive response from critics and made over $109 million worldwide.[9] The film was co-scripted by his brother, Jonathan Nolan and co-produced with his wife, Emma Thomas.

In the months following The Prestige's release, Nolan made numerous comments suggesting that he would return to direct the sequel to Batman Begins.[10] In late July 2006, the sequel was officially confirmed as The Dark Knight with Nolan at the helm and Heath Ledger joining the cast as The Joker, Batman's arch-enemy.[11] Nolan and his brother Jonathan wrote a script, based on a treatment written by himself and David S. Goyer. The film began production in early 2007 and was released on 16 July 2008 in Australia and 18 July 2008 in the United States, to overwhelming critical acclaim with some critics calling it the greatest comic-book based movie ever made.[12] It also had enormous box office success, setting the record for the highest-grossing weekend opening in the U.S. with over $158 million and becoming the 3rd highest grossing film of all time domestically, and the sixth-highest worldwide at the time.[13]

At the 2009 Golden Globe Awards, Christopher Nolan accepted the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture on behalf of the deceased Heath Ledger. Nolan was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director for The Dark Knight. While the movie did not receive any nominations for the five major categories at the 81st Academy Awards, it was nominated for a total of eight Oscars, and won two, the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing, and a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Ledger.

After the release of Nolan's successful 2008 film The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. contracted Nolan to a seven-figure deal to direct the science fiction film Inception. The film was based on a script written by Nolan and has been described as being "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind".[14] Filming began in summer 2009, and Inception was released on July 16, 2010 to largely positive reviews and became a box office hit.[15]

Upcoming projects

On March 10, 2010, Nolan confirmed that he and David Goyer have been working on an idea for a Superman film. Nolan says, "He basically told me, 'I have this thought about how you would approach Superman.' I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story I’ve never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way… A lot of people have approached Superman in a lot of different ways. I only know the way that has worked for us that’s what I know how to do." It is unlikely that he will direct, but would have significant creative input in the process.[16]

Nolan also confirmed his involvement with a sequel to The Dark Knight and gave some information regarding the story. The next Batman film will be Nolan's last in the series and a conclusion to the story. Nolan says, "Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story. And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story . . . I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we’ve done with the characters. My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff."[17] Warner Bros. has set the date for the next Batman film for July 20, 2012.[18] On June 4, 2010 Christopher Nolan spoke with Empire magazine and confirmed that the Joker will not return. When asked for the reason he said, “No…I just don’t feel comfortable about it.”[19] On October 27, 2010, Nolan confirmed that the title of the film will be The Dark Knight Rises.[20]

Recurring collaborators

Nolan often casts certain actors more than once in his films. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Russ Fega and Larry Holden are among his most frequent acting collaborators.

Nolan's wife Emma Thomas has produced most of his films, with the exception of Memento and Insomnia. Lee Smith has been Nolan's editor since Batman Begins, with Dody Dorn editing Memento and Insomnia. Wally Pfister has served as cinematographer for all of Nolan's films starting with Memento. David Julyan has provided music for Following, Memento, Insomnia, and The Prestige. Hans Zimmer has provided music for Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Inception.

Actor Following
(1998) 		Memento
(2000) 		Insomnia
(2002) 		Batman Begins
(2005) 		The Prestige
(2006) 		The Dark Knight
(2008) 		Inception
(2010)
Christian Bale checkY checkY checkY
Michael Caine checkY checkY checkY checkY
Russ Fega checkY checkY checkY
Morgan Freeman checkY checkY
Larry Holden checkY checkY checkY
Mark Boone Junior checkY checkY
Nicky Katt checkY checkY
Colin McFarlane checkY checkY
Cillian Murphy checkY checkY checkY
John Nolan checkY checkY
Gary Oldman checkY checkY
Andrew Pleavin checkY checkY
Lucy Russell checkY checkY
Jeremy Theobald checkY checkY
Ken Watanabe checkY checkY

Filmography

Features

Year Film Studio Worldwide Gross Credit(s)
1998 Following Momentum Pictures $48,482 Director
Writer
Producer
Cinematographer
Editor
2000 Memento Newmarket Films
Summit Entertainment 		$39,723,096 Director
Writer
2002 Insomnia Warner Bros. $113,714,830 Director
2005 Batman Begins Warner Bros. $372,710,015 Director
Writer
2006 The Prestige Touchstone Pictures
Warner Bros. 		$109,676,311 Director
Writer
Producer
2008 The Dark Knight Warner Bros. $1,001,921,825 Director
Writer
Producer
2010 Inception Warner Bros. $820,014,445 Director
Writer
Producer

Short films

Year Film Credit(s)
1989 Tarantella Director
Writer
Producer
1996 Larceny Director
Writer
Producer
1997 Doodlebug Director
Writer
Producer

Awards and nominations

Following (1998):

Memento (2000):

Batman Begins (2005):

The Prestige (2006):

The Dark Knight (2008):

Critical reception

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Overall Top Critics
Following 76%[21] N/A[22] N/A
Memento 93%[23] 94%[24] 80[25]
Insomnia 92%[26] 94%[27] 78[28]
Batman Begins 84%[29] 60%[30] 70[31]
The Prestige 75%[32] 75%[33] 66[34]
The Dark Knight 93%[35] 91%[36] 82[37]
Inception 87%[38] 79%[39] 74[40]
Average 86% 79% 75

See also

Publications

Articles

References

  1. ^ IMDB. Biography for Christopher Nolan
  2. ^ Can't get him out of our heads
  3. ^ http://www.ariel-leve.com/st_interviews/christophernolan.html
  4. ^ http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29797047
  5. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2010-06-30). "The Man Behind the Dreamscape". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  6. ^ http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/review-1260075-nolans-move-from-highgate-to-hollywood.do
  7. ^ Interview with Christopher Nolan
  8. ^ Foss, Sara. (2009-03-03). Film capsules Schenectady Gazette. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  9. ^ The Prestige (2006)
  10. ^ "Nolan Talks Next". IGN FilmForce. 12 October 2005. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  11. ^ Garth Franklin (31 July 2006). "It's Official: "Batman 2" Gets A Title". DarkHorizons.com. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  12. ^ "The Dark Knight Review".
  13. ^ "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses".
  14. ^ Fleming, Michael (February 11, 2009). "Nolan tackles 'Inception' for WB". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  15. ^ Fleming, Michael (April 1, 2009). "Trio in talks for 'Inception'". Variety. Retrieved April 2, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  16. ^ Brendan Bettinger (2010-03-10). "Christopher Nolan Speaks! Updates on DARK KNIGHT Sequel and SUPERMAN MAN OF STEEL". Collider. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  17. ^ Boucher, Geoff (March 10, 2010). "Christopher Nolan takes flight with Superman: 'We have a fantastic story' [UPDATED]". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  18. ^ Batman 3 Set For July 2012
  19. ^ Dan Mecca (2010-06-04). "Chris Nolan Says No Joker In 'Batman 3,' Talks Superman". The Film Stage. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  20. ^ Boucher, Geoff (October 27, 2010). "Christopher Nolan reveals title of third Batman film and that 'it wont be the Riddler'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
  21. ^ Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of Following
  22. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics Rating of Following
  23. ^ Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of Memento
  24. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics Rating of Memento
  25. ^ Metacritic reviews of "Memento"
  26. ^ Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of Insomnia
  27. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics Rating of Insomnia
  28. ^ Metacritic reviews of "Insomnia"
  29. ^ Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of Batman Begins
  30. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics Rating of Batman Begins
  31. ^ Metacritic reviews of "Batman Begins"
  32. ^ Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of The Prestige
  33. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics Rating of The Prestige
  34. ^ Metacritic reviews of "The Prestige"
  35. ^ Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of The Dark Knight
  36. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics Rating of The Dark Knight
  37. ^ Metacritic reviews of "The Dark Knight"
  38. ^ Rotten Tomatoes T-Meter Rating of Inception
  39. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics Rating of Inception
  40. ^ Metacritic reviews of "Inception"
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Preceded by Batman film director
2005-2012 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

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