Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan is a British-American film director known for his innovative storytelling and distinctive cinematic style. Born on July 30, 1970, in London, he studied English literature at University College London, where he developed a passion for filmmaking. Nolan began his career creating low-budget, self-funded films, gaining attention with his 1998 feature "Following." He achieved critical acclaim with his breakthrough film "Memento" (2000), which introduced audiences to his non-linear narrative style. Nolan's prominence grew with the success of the Batman trilogy—"Batman Begins" (2005), "The Dark Knight" (2008), and "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)—which redefined the superhero genre.
Beyond the Batman series, Nolan has directed renowned films such as "Inception" (2010), "Interstellar" (2014), and the World War II epic "Dunkirk" (2017). His most recent work, "Oppenheimer" (2023), has garnered significant commercial success and critical acclaim, including multiple awards. Nolan's films often explore complex themes, featuring characters with psychological depth and ambiguous endings. He is recognized for his practical effects and immersive storytelling, making him one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation. Nolan is married to producer Emma Thomas, and they have four children together.
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Subject Terms
Christopher Nolan
Director, screenwriter, producer
- Born: July 30, 1970
- Place of Birth: London, England
Education: Studied English literature at University College London
Significance: Christopher Nolan is a self-taught film director who began his career making self-funded, low-budget films but quickly rose to prominence in the motion picture industry. He has been at the helm of a number of critically acclaimed films as well as blockbuster movies.
Background
Christopher Nolan was born in London, England, on July 30, 1970, to British advertising copywriter Brendan Nolan and American English teacher Christina Nolan. He holds both British and American citizenships and grew up splitting time between England and the United States. Nolan has an older brother, Matthew, and a younger brother, Jonathan, and he has collaborated with them during his film career.
Nolan’s earliest foray into movie making came shortly after his father took him to see Star Wars and a theatrical re-release of 2001: A Space Odyssey when he was seven. Nolan borrowed his father’s Super 8 movie camera and began filming his own movie shorts.
After an early education in boarding schools, Nolan attended University College London. He studied English literature and was part of the school’s film society. During college, Nolan directed two short films, Tarantella (1989) and Larceny (1995). Each was critically acclaimed, and Larceny, which was filmed in black and white over a single weekend, was shown at the Cambridge Film Festival in 1996.
Following graduation, Nolan continued making short films. In 1998, he and some friends made the film Following. The movie took a year of weekends to shoot because all the actors and members of the crew had day jobs, and Nolan funded the film’s $6,000 cost out of his own pocket. The film was shown at several key film festivals and earned Nolan the attention of the motion picture industry.
Life’s Work
Nolan’s first industry-funded movie was Memento (2000). He based the screenplay on a short story written by his brother, Jonathan, about a man who has amnesia and can only remember things for fifteen minutes at a time. The film presented the storyline in reverse order to give the viewer the sensation of memory loss as experienced by the character. The film received several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.
This was followed up by the 2002 thriller Insomnia. After that, Nolan was offered the chance to step into the Batman franchise and direct a new phase of the legendary series. Batman Begins was released in 2005 to praise by both critics and fans, who liked the director’s grittier examination of how Bruce Wayne became Batman. Nolan went on to direct two more films in the Batman franchise, including The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), both of which were high-grossing films at the box office. In addition to directing The Dark Knight, Nolan also cowrote and produced the picture, which received eight Academy Award nominations.
Between the Batman films, Nolan worked on several other projects. In 2006, he cowrote, produced, and directed The Prestige, a period piece set in Victorian London about a pair of magicians whose rivalry results in murder. He also wrote, produced, and directed the 2010 release Inception, which grossed more than $800 million globally. The science-fiction thriller had a deliberately vague ending, which Nolan consistently declined to explain in deference to allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions. The movie earned four Academy Awards.
Following his success reviving the Batman franchise, Nolan was offered the opportunity to do the same for Superman. He served as a cowriter and producer on Man of Steel (2013). His next directing project was Interstellar (2014). The film, which tells the story of explorers looking for a new home for humans as Earth becomes uninhabitable, was cowritten by Nolan’s brother Jonathan. Nolan’s unusual use of sound in the film—at times the musical score intentionally obscures the dialogue—was subject to much discussion. Despite this, Interstellar earned Academy Award nominations for its musical score, sound editing, and sound mixing as well as its production design. Interstellar won the Academy Award for best visual effects and was praised for its scientific accuracy.
Following Interstellar, Nolan’s production company, Syncopy, entered into an agreement with Zeitgeist Films to release several of the film company’s short films. As part of this, Nolan directed a short entitled Quay (2015). His next project, the World War II film Dunkirk (2017), earned him two more Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Directing. Though Tenet, his 2020 sci-fi thriller film, did not perform as well at the box office in terms of its production budget, his 2023 release, Oppenheimer, which he both wrote and directed, proved to be another commercial and critical hit. A historical drama focusing on scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer's work on the building of the atomic bomb in the mid-1900s, the lengthy film boasts an all-star cast and, just over two months after it hit theaters, had become the third-highest-grossing film of the year. By the end of 2023, Oppenheimer grossed over $950 million at the global box office, which made the film the highest-grossing biographical drama in history at that time.
Oppenheimer swept the 2024 award season in both nominations and wins, particularly at the Golden Globe Awards, the British Academy Film (BAFTA) Awards, and the Academy Awards. The film claimed five Golden Globe wins, including for best drama and best director, out of eight total nominations. The film also led the BAFTA Awards and Academy Awards with thirteen nominations and seven wins at both award ceremonies. Oppenheimer won Nolan his first BAFTA for best director and claimed the awards for best picture and best director at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Impact
Nolan has developed a distinctive style of directing that sets his films apart regardless of their subject matter. His movies frequently feature nonlinear story lines and parallel action scenes that serve to build tension and draw in viewers. Nolan’s characters often suffer from some sort of psychological ailment or trauma, helping audiences relate to them and allowing the characters to act in unpredictable ways. He often avoids tying up loose ends of his storylines, leaving aspects of the plot and characters open to interpretation. He avoids the use of computer-generated action and prefers to use techniques such as hand-held cameras and setting to create a realistic experience for moviegoers.
Through these techniques, self-taught filmmaker Nolan creates movies that earn praise and acclaim from his peers and the movie-going public. His films have been some of the most popular and widely praised productions of his era.
Personal Life
Nolan married producer Emma Thomas in 1997. They have four children and reside most often in Los Angeles. The couple co-owns the production company Syncopy.
Bibliography
Bentz, Adam. "Oppenheimer Box Office Passes Near-$1 Billion Milestone Days Before Digital Release." ScreenRant, 17 Nov. 2023, screenrant.com/oppenheimer-movie-box-office-near-billion-dollar-milestone/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2024.
"Christopher J. Nolan." Good Reads. Good Reads Inc., n.d. Web. 2 May 2016.
"Christopher Nolan Biography." Tribute.ca. Tribute Entertainment Media Group, n.d. Web. 2 May 2016.
Leopold, Todd. "‘Interstellar’ Sound Issues Are Deliberate, Says Director Nolan." CNN. Cable News Network, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 2 May 2016.
Nolan, Christopher. "An Extended Interview with Christopher Nolan, Director of Oppenheimer." Interview by John Mecklin. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 17 July 2023, thebulletin.org/premium/2023-07/an-extended-interview-with-christopher-nolan-director-of-oppenheimer/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
O’Hehir, Andrew. "‘Interstellar’: Christopher Nolan’s Grand Space Opera, Tries to Outdo ‘2001.’" Salon. Salon Media Group, Inc., 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 2 May 2016.
Ressner, Jeffrey. "The Traditionalist." Directors Guild of America. Directors Guild of America, n.d. Web. 2 May 2016.
Whitney, Erin. "This Is Why Christopher Nolan Won’t Explain the ‘Inception’ Ending." Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 2 May 2016.