I attended BAFTA’s career retrospective of Christopher Nolan on 1st December, a talk between interviewer Edith Bowman and Nolan himself which covered the breadth of his filmography and allowed for more casual insights into his work. Held in BAFTA’s headquarters – specifically the Princess Anne Theatre – just off of Picadilly Circus, there was a palpable air of excitement and enthusiasm that crackled through the room as we filed in to take our seats, and hear what he had to say.
Bowman began by asking what the last film was that Nolan had seen at the cinema. Having to throw the question out to his wife, producer Emma Thomas, who was in the audience, a voice from near the back shouted out Ladybird. Nolan went to on elaborate that he doesn’t like watching films when he is making his own as he finds it distracting, as he will overanalyze rather than just be able to sit back and watch. He discussed one of his most prominent cinematic memories as a child was going to see Star Wars (which he saw 12 times at the cinema, as this was pre-home video), as well as 2001: A Space Odyssey, an influence he had discussed a lot when Interstellar was released.
Nolan discussed what he feels is his position on set as a director, as well as the fact that what he believes to be the most important relationship on set is that between the director and the director of photography. Nolan describes the job of a director as that of a conductor; the director is a lense for individual ideas, they don’t have a job onset but are there to act as a filter. He discussed how it was important for a team to have ideas, but also important for them to not become offended if he were to say no those are wrong or do not work.
The first film clip we watched was from Memento – one of the black and white scenes with Leonard (Guy Pearce) examining his tattoos, specifically matching the tattooed license plate to that of Teddy’s (Joe Pantoliano). Bowman enquired about the order of writing for Memento, given its unusual structure. Nolan replied detailing how with his previous film, Following, he had written it chronologically and then cut it up, which he found much more difficult as he then had to try and alter it to make narrative sense for the audience. Subsequently, when it came to Memento, he knew he had to write it completely from beginning to end in the order it would appear in the film. In terms of getting the film made, Nolan advised how helpful it was that he had the Memento script to present as he went around the film festivals circuits with Following, allowing him to show a solid idea of what he was going to do next which let to him securing the money for what would become his first budgeted film.
The next clips we watched were in a compilation from the three Dark Knight films (From Batman Begins – the introduction of the tumbler, from The Dark Knight – the truck flip and from The Dark Knight Rises – Alfred’s fantasy). One of the notable things he discussed was working with Heath Ledger. In referencing the physicality of the character that came from Ledger’s performance, the make-up team, and their collaboration, he stated how Ledger managed to blend the interior process with the external look and props – something he noted rarely actors can do, with Tom Hardy being his only other example – the results of which apparently scared him sh*tless initially. He discussed not writing for actors specifically, as if you do that, you are writing for what you’ve seen them do before, and the excitement of working with actors comes from the fact you are waiting ot see what they will do with it. In moving onto The Prestige (we watched the scene where Michael Caine explains the three stages of a trick, intercut with Angier’s illusion), Nolan discussed how David Bowie was the only actor who he has ever gone back to to convince after they had already passed on a part (stating normally if that happens you’re usually like “f*ck you” – Nolan showed much more of his humour in this interview which felt a little more candid that the norm). He discussed going back and looking at the script with Bowie’s eyes and adding an introduction to the character that he felt was now needed – he stated he really wanted Bowie for the part due to the presence that he could bring, but joked it was probably just a cheap trick for him to meet one of his idols. In working with Christian Bale on the film after having done so in Batman Begins, he also discussed that what comes from working with various actors on multiple occasions is an ease of communication – you know how each other work, and what you each want. He noted as well how the time he was given between the Batman films (enough able to make a feature in each of the gaps) is a luxury not really afforded to filmmakers anymore, with studios pressing for sequels immediately after the release of a film.
Within The Prestige, one of the things Nolan cited that drew him to the story was the idea that the characters weren’t set up to be the protagonist and antagonist, that everything was much more ambiguous and complex and he liked that idea, referencing that one of his favourite films is Heat, which holds a similar idea. With The Prestige being his only book adaptation, Bowman enquired the different ways that forces you to work. Nolan explained that you still hold freedom in adapting from a novel as you can change things as you wish or go back and pull more from the source material if you wanted. However, he noted that in working on Insomnia (his only remake, from a Norwegian film of the same name), he felt more as though he needed to stay away and not revisit the original as it was another film, but overall, adaptations aren’t so different from doing original material as it becomes your own. And, in case you were wondering, yes, he believes filmmaking to be like a magic trick.
A lot of discussion surrounded many of the trademark features Nolan is known for. In discussing the fact that his films are incredibly rewatchable and often provide differing details and experiences upon each viewing, Nolan talked about how he is very conscious of people rewatching his films when he is making them, so he tries to create an information density, a narrative density, that allows for payoff upon multiple viewings; packing lots of detail in so there is more to look for as you deepen your understanding.
He also discussed his penchant for visuals and in-camera stunts. He stated how he finds in-camera so much more exciting, so anything he can do there, he will. As a result, he described how pretty much everything on screen is probably a watered-down version of the original idea, as things aren’t quite possible or feasible one way, and different alternatives are needed to be tried out. The only exception, he stated, was the truck flip in The Dark Knight. The team kept coming back to him with vans and various other vehicles, but he stood steadfast, refusing anything but the truck – and lo and behold, it worked. He discussed how in terms of production design, he and his production designer, Nathan Crowley, would set up shop in his garage and make small-scale models and versions of various things, for example the Batmobile, which he used to pitch with. In designing the Batman world, he said he had an idea of tone, but little idea of what it would look like; he simply knew he wanted to marry the romanticism and gothic that had been used for Batmans previous, with a sense of modernism, which was where he and Crowley started for their designs. He also discussed how the lighting they used evolved over the course of his films – using studio lights and backlighting for Batman Begins, then changinc dramatically to natural window light for The Prestige (stating he didn’t want any lighting stands around), and ending up with a combination for The Dark Knight. With much of The Dark Knight taking place at night, the challenges of the night scenes, in IMAX, the combination was needed to capture the actors as well as light up the outside of the tall buildings in scenes such as the truck flip, due to the height of the IMAX screen.
Moving on to Inception (we watched the hallway fight scene, because really, which other scene would you pick), the practicalities of the complex scenes in the film were also discussed, as well as the idea’s origins. Nolan explained that, whilst at university, he was in catered accommodation, so used to have to get up early to go and have breakfast, but then immediately go back to bed. It was during these times that he would often experience lucid dreaming (where you can have greater control over your dreams), and this planted the seed from which the idea of Inception would grow.
In discussing Nolan’s next film, Interstellar (we watched the first wormhole sequence), Nolan returned to discussing the use of in-camera effects, explaining how they did the visuals for the space scenes pre principle photography, in order to be able to project it outside the spacecraft. This meant they could avoid green screens and give the actors something real to react to. It also meant that they had the reflections in the actors’ helmets and the light pouring in through the windows, corresponding to the visuals, and making it all feel more real. He also discussed the story of giving Hans Zimmer a day to write something of the score for the film, based on a one-page description of the story, which did not mention space. Nolan talked about how it was important that the heart of the whole film was the father-daughter relationship, not the sci-fi aspect.
Nolan also discussed the music and practicalities of making his latest film, Dunkirk (we watched the ending scene with the reading out of Churchill’s speech). Nolan discussed Zimmer’s use of the Shepard’s tone, a musical technique that through using ascending and descending notes creates the illusion that the music is always climbing, to help create the tension so vital to the film. He discussed how, in terms of dialogue vs visuals, suspense is not really created by dialogue, and thus the lack of it in the film. He talked about how his desire for visual storytelling was probably cultivated when he was young and only had a silent Super 8 camera to use, thus great emphasis was placed on visuals. He also talked about how Hitchcock created the suspense in his films from what you see, not what was said, and thus for a film like Dunkirk it needed little dialogue. He also discussed the actual filming of the cockpit scenes whilst flying. They used Hungarian planes with two cockpits, so a pilot could be in one, and the actor in the other, and how Hoyte van Hoytema had had to create a mechanism involving prisms in order to get a front view of the actors’ faces whilst having the hefty IMAX camera strapped behind. This showed that the team were willing to find a way to be able to shoot the action for real, emphasising the importance of it for the story.
Other interesting tidbits were shared, including Nolan’s continued desire to make his Howard Hughes film (he wrote a script years ago), as well as Bowman mentioning that she has it on authority, from Edgar Wright (Nolan agreed that is very good authority) that he is actually a big comedy nerd. Nolan professed that directors don’t only like the types of films that they make, and his favourite comedy is, in fact, Withnail and I.
It was an incredibly insightful conversation, which felt more casual and had more humour to it than the types of press interviews we are only privy to otherwise. It made me immediately want to go back and rewatch all of his films, and even more excited for whatever comes next.
For my guide to Christopher Nolan’s films, check this out: A Guide To: Christopher Nolan
