Christopher Nolan (b. July 30, 1970) is a British-American filmmaker known for making intense blockbusters with intricate and complex storytelling. He is often considered one of the leading filmmakers of the 21st century, having made many iconic films such as The Dark Knight, Inception, and Oppenheimer.
Professional History
Early career
Sir Christopher Nolan is a widely celebrated film director, writer and producer. He first gained recognition in the industry for the psychological thriller Memento,[1] released in 2001, the same year he and his wife, Emma Thomas, founded Syncopy Inc., the production company through which they would make the rest of their films.[2] Memento's success led to Nolan being hired by Warner Bros., who would be his studio partner and distributer for many years.[3]
The Dark Knight trilogy
In 2003, after four unsuccessful attempts by Warner Bros. to revive the Batman franchise after the much reviled Batman & Robin, Nolan approached them with the idea of a reboot depicting the character's origins in a realistic setting. With a script co-written by Nolan and David S. Goyer,[4] and starring Christian Bale in the leading role,[5] Batman Begins was the biggest project Nolan had undertaken at that point,[6] and was released in 2005 to critical and commercial success.[5]
At the repeated insistence of Warner Bros., Nolan returned to the Batman franchise to make The Dark Knight, a direct sequel to Batman Begins, this time bringing his brother Jonathan on to help write it with himself and Goyer.[7] The film was released in 2008 to even greater success than its predecessor, grossing over $1 billion at the worldwide box office[8] and being declared by many to be one of the best films of the decade,[9] as well as the greatest superhero movie ever made.[10] Its success led Warner Bros. to allow Nolan to write, direct, and co-produce his own original blockbuster, Inception,[11] which was released in 2010 to similar critical acclaim and box office revenue.[12]
Nolan reunited with Goyer and his brother to make The Dark Knight Rises, which was released in 2012 to massive commercial success[13] and generally positive reviews.[14] While writing Dark Knight Rises, Goyer told Nolan of his idea for a Superman reboot, Man of Steel, which they conceived a story for together.[15] Nolan served as producer and hired Zack Snyder to direct the film, having been impressed by his work on 300 and Watchmen.[16] Man of Steel was released in 2013 to commercial success, though reviews were mixed.[17][18]
Further films
Nolan went on to make two more critical and commercial successes for Warner Bros., Interstellar[19][20] and Dunkirk.[21][22] After making Tenet for the studio,[23] he left in protest of their decision to release their films simultaneously in theaters and on streaming.[24] Through Universal Pictures, Nolan released Oppenheimer, a biographical drama based on the inventor of the atomic bomb, in 2023. The film was a gigantic box office success,[25] received universal critical acclaim,[26] and won several accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Picture.[27]
Nolan is currently in pre-production for his next film, The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer's epic poem. It will be his second film for Universal, and is slated for a July 2026 release.[28]
Work History
- Christopher Nolan/Director
- Christopher Nolan/Writer
- Christopher Nolan/Producer
- Christopher Nolan/Creations
External Links
References
- ↑ Christopher Nolan's Awards – The New York Times (web archive)
- ↑ The Z To A Of Christopher Nolan – Empire (web archive)
- ↑ Steven Soderbergh Called the Warner Bros. Exec Who Disliked Memento and Told Him to Consider Christopher Nolan for Insomnia: "Take the Meeting" – Variety
- ↑ Rescuing Batman – Los Angeles Times
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Complicated Legacy of Batman Begins – The Atlantic
- ↑ Christopher Nolan looks back over the Dark Knight trilogy – Film Comment
- ↑ The Dark Knight: The Original Feature – Empire (web archive)
- ↑ The Dark Knight – Box Office Mojo
- ↑ Review of the Decade: Year-by-Year – Empire (web archive)
- ↑ Readers' Poll: The 15 Greatest Superhero Movies – Rolling Stone (web archive)
- ↑ Nolan Tackles Inception for WB – Variety
- ↑ Warner Bros. Keeping Inception in Oscar-voters’ Minds with “New” Behind-the-Scenes Featurette – Collider
- ↑ Box Office Milestone: Dark Knight Rises Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide – The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ The Dark Knight Rises critic reviews – Metacritic
- ↑ Dark Knight inspired Man of Steel – Digital Spy
- ↑ Alien, Yet Familiar – The New York Times
- ↑ Man of Steel – Box Office Mojo
- ↑ Man of Steel critic reviews – Metacritic
- ↑ Interstellar critic reviews – Metacritic
- ↑ Interstellar – Box Office Mojo
- ↑ Dunkirk critic reviews – Metacritic
- ↑ Dunkirk Becomes Highest Grossing WWII Film at Global Box Office – ScreenRant
- ↑ Box Office: Tenet Debuts to $20M as U.S. Theaters Reopen, Nears $150M Globally – The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Here’s what we know about Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer – NME (web archive)
- ↑ Oppenheimer – Box Office Mojo
- ↑ Oppenheimer critic reviews – Metacritic
- ↑ Oscars 2024 Highlights – The New York Times
- ↑ Christopher Nolan’s Next Film Is An Adaptation Of Homer’s The Odyssey, Universal Reveals – Deadline