Why Hollywood Loves ‘Interstellar’ Director Christopher Nolan
For a big-ticket movie, the science-fiction epic “Interstellar” is highly unusual. It cost a hefty $165 million budget to make, but is also wholly original—that is, not based on a comic book, TV show, or young-adult novel. Amid much hoopla, it opens across the country on Nov. 7, after two days of special showings in 250 theaters.
The last time a studio made a movie that cost so much and wasn’t part of a “franchise” was 2010’s “Inception.” Like “Interstellar,” it was directed by Christopher Nolan, one of the very few directors to whom Hollywood issues a virtual carte blanche—along with extreme veneration.
Director Christopher Nolan enjoys unheard-of clout in Hollywood. As his film 'Interstellar' debuts,
Mr. Nolan’s ability to combine box-office success with artistic ambition has given him an extraordinary amount of clout in the industry. Studios pay him as much as they do elite stars. Warner Bros. provides him with all the benefits of a studio deal with no strings attached. They indulge his personal passions—his love for traditional celluloid over digital technology, his fondness for IMAX big screens, his penchant for extreme secrecy. And they leave him alone, letting him go away and make his movies with little interference.
Christopher Nolan’s Mindbending Movies
‘Interstellar’ isn’t Christopher Nolan’s first attempt to warp reality. Over his eight prior movies, the director has played with time and perception in both his stories and his storytelling techniques.
For a director to wield such power flies in the face of the current movie-business model, built upon superheroes, cartoon characters and wizards cycled in and out of multiplexes. Increasingly, studios occupy the driver’s seat on these massively expensive “event” films: Directors are hired hands. In recent decades, few besides Steven Spielberg and James Cameron have been entrusted with near-total control.
Mr. Nolan, 44 years old, is known for his well-regarded trio of “Batman” movies, which together grossed $2.5 billion at the global box office. Even though his latest picture has little prospect of spawning sequels, toys and theme-park attractions, everyone wants to work with him.
“Interstellar” is being promoted with all the hype of the latest “Fast & Furious” or “X-Men,” from the immersive website created with Google to a surprise, debut appearance by Mr. Nolan at the Comic Con pop-culture convention, where the crowd of 6,000 went wild.
“Interstellar” is far from a slam dunk. The film, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway , clocks in at nearly three hours, mixes emotional drama with complex science and high-minded philosophy, and has far less fast-paced action than “Inception” or the director’s Batman movies. Surveys indicate pre-release audience interest is similar to that of “Inception,” although some early reviews have been less than enthusiastic.
Critical response aside, the box-office numbers don’t need to be record-breaking for Mr. Nolan to continue his reign.
Hollywood is still a business where the people who wear suits are eager to be associated with the most respected artists. While he hasn’t won an Academy Award, the director is revered by fanboys and cineastes alike. His rejection of many modern trends—he doesn’t shoot with digital cameras, own a cellphone or have an email address—only adds to the mystique.
At a recent screening of the movie in New York, Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey chose his words carefully as he introduced Mr. Nolan. After comparing the director to Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra, he said: “I am deeply grateful to have worked for Chris on this film.”
Mr. Nolan, through a spokeswoman, declined to be interviewed. Paramount executives wouldn’t comment for this article.
Paramount and Warner Bros., which backed “Interstellar,” were prepared to spend close to $200 million to make the movie, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. Mr. Nolan responded that he didn’t need that much money, despite the picture’s extensive use of digital and physical effects to create robots, dust storms, and mile-high waves.
The movie was for many years set up at Paramount, where Mr. Nolan’s brother Jonah had written it with the idea that Steven Spielberg would direct. When Christopher Nolan came on board, Warner, which had long been the filmmaker’s home base, offered its rival a set of sweeteners to become involved. For the opportunity to co-finance “Interstellar” and release it overseas, Warner gave Paramount rights it controlled to make future “Friday the 13th” sequels and a new “South Park” film.
Mr. Nolan is being paid the greater of more than $10 million or more than 10% of revenue, minus certain deductions, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. That’s comparable to not just the highest-paid filmmakers in Hollywood, but many A-list actors.
Paramount agreed to cater to Mr. Nolan’s love of old-fashioned film rather than digital projection, persuading movie theaters around the country to retrain workers and dust off film projectors just for “Interstellar.” Theaters that want to make extra money by showing the movie for two days before the planned Nov. 7 opening can do so, but only if they put away their usual digital projectors.
That applied to IMAX screens as well, which Mr. Nolan has long championed and for which he specially shot a little more than an hour of the film in extra-large proportions.
IMAX Corp. spent $600,000 at one of its flagship locations, the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, to replace its digital projector for the film’s premiere and subsequent run, according to a knowledgeable person. Then the venue will switch back to digital.
The last two directors who enjoyed such clout and independence with the studios were Messrs. Spielberg and Cameron. Mr. Spielberg’s “Jaws” was released in 1975; Mr. Cameron’s “The Terminator” in 1984. Mr. Nolan’s first studio movie, “Insomnia,” came out in 2002.
Mr. Nolan is so revered at Warner, which released five of his six movies before “Interstellar,” that the studio pays for his office suite, assistants, and other expenses without any obligation in return. Typically, producers and filmmakers receive such “overhead” deals only in exchange for giving a studio the first chance to make any movie of theirs. Contractually, Mr. Nolan owes them nothing.
Hollywood also accommodates Mr. Nolan’s passion for secrecy. In early 2012, just after the holidays ended, a group of Warner’s top movie executives gathered for an emergency meeting because Mr. Nolan was upset.
The filmmaker had told executives he wanted them to find and punish the person who had talked to the Hollywood Reporter magazine about his plans to alter the sound mix on “The Dark Knight Rises” after audiences had a difficult time understanding actor Tom Hardy’s Bane character in a preview, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.
The executives, who had already traded frantic phone calls while the studio was closed between Christmas and New Year’s, concluded it would be impossible to find the source. It took weeks until the issue was resolved with Mr. Nolan and his wife and producing partner, Emma Thomas, recalled the knowledgeable people.
“Anything touching Chris Nolan is treated at the most heightened level,” said one Warner Bros. employee.
Retaining Mr. Nolan for its key franchises has been a top priority at Warner. One of the reasons its slate of DC superhero films have rolled out more slowly than rival Marvel’s comic-book movies was the studio’s lengthy pursuit of him to produce a “Justice League” film and “Batman” reboot. He declined, though he did produce last year’s Superman movie “Man of Steel.”
While some uber-directors run rampantly over budget or construct their own mini-empires in Hollywood, Mr. Nolan has a reputation for focusing on his filmmaking. Ms. Thomas handles much of the business dealings for their production company, Syncopy, leaving her husband free to focus on writing, directing or editing.
And in contrast to the frantic last-minute reshoots of so many big-budget movies, Mr. Nolan’s work is reliable. He delivers films that are remarkably close to what he originally pitched to his backers. They come in ahead of schedule and under budget. Last April, a time when many summer releases were still far from complete, studio executives saw Mr. Nolan’s first cut of “Interstellar”—nearly identical to the one hitting theaters now.
“It’s like Hitchcock—he tells you what he’s going to deliver and you decide whether to be his collaborator,” said one studio executive involved in the movie.
Mr. Nolan, who comes off as a brainy introvert, grew up in England and Chicago. He speaks with a British accent, giving him an air of sophistication accentuated by his habit of wearing suits—and often scarves—at a time when many directors prefer T-shirts and baseball caps. Some who have worked with the director describe him as cold and aloof, though none say he is arrogant. But he’s also clear about what he wants.
“I’m continually impressed by his self-deprecation and humility, but with that comes supreme confidence,” said Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios and former president of Warner Bros.
Mr. Nolan won the job of rebooting Warner’s most famous superhero in 2004’s “Batman Begins” with a 90-minute pitch, without a script or any experience making big-budget films.
“I don’t think we ever made a leap like that with any other filmmaker,” said Jeff Robinov, the former film group chief of Warner Bros. who now runs the independent company Studio 8. “I consider it a blessing to work with him as long as I did, forget about the economic success of the films.”
Studios realize that Mr. Nolan and his wife of 14 years, whom he met in college in England, are a two-for-one package. And though the pair have worked with experienced, activist producers in the past, they are now essentially an independent operation. This is rare, given the immense management challenges of a production like “Interstellar.”
“She speaks for him much more than he speaks for himself,” said one longtime associate of the duo.
“It’s like she’s the prime minister,” added another person who knows Mr. Nolan and Ms. Thomas, “and he’s royalty.”
For a big-ticket movie, the science-fiction epic “Interstellar” is highly unusual. It cost a hefty $165 million budget to make, but is also wholly original—that is, not based on a comic book, TV show, or young-adult novel. Amid much hoopla, it opens across the country on Nov. 7, after two days of special showings in 250 theaters.
The last time a studio made a movie that cost so much and wasn’t part of a “franchise” was 2010’s “Inception.” Like “Interstellar,” it was directed by Christopher Nolan, one of the very few directors to whom Hollywood issues a virtual carte blanche—along with extreme veneration.
Director Christopher Nolan enjoys unheard-of clout in Hollywood. As his film 'Interstellar' debuts,
Mr. Nolan’s ability to combine box-office success with artistic ambition has given him an extraordinary amount of clout in the industry. Studios pay him as much as they do elite stars. Warner Bros. provides him with all the benefits of a studio deal with no strings attached. They indulge his personal passions—his love for traditional celluloid over digital technology, his fondness for IMAX big screens, his penchant for extreme secrecy. And they leave him alone, letting him go away and make his movies with little interference.
Christopher Nolan’s Mindbending Movies
‘Interstellar’ isn’t Christopher Nolan’s first attempt to warp reality. Over his eight prior movies, the director has played with time and perception in both his stories and his storytelling techniques.
For a director to wield such power flies in the face of the current movie-business model, built upon superheroes, cartoon characters and wizards cycled in and out of multiplexes. Increasingly, studios occupy the driver’s seat on these massively expensive “event” films: Directors are hired hands. In recent decades, few besides Steven Spielberg and James Cameron have been entrusted with near-total control.
Mr. Nolan, 44 years old, is known for his well-regarded trio of “Batman” movies, which together grossed $2.5 billion at the global box office. Even though his latest picture has little prospect of spawning sequels, toys and theme-park attractions, everyone wants to work with him.
“Interstellar” is being promoted with all the hype of the latest “Fast & Furious” or “X-Men,” from the immersive website created with Google to a surprise, debut appearance by Mr. Nolan at the Comic Con pop-culture convention, where the crowd of 6,000 went wild.
“Interstellar” is far from a slam dunk. The film, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway , clocks in at nearly three hours, mixes emotional drama with complex science and high-minded philosophy, and has far less fast-paced action than “Inception” or the director’s Batman movies. Surveys indicate pre-release audience interest is similar to that of “Inception,” although some early reviews have been less than enthusiastic.
Critical response aside, the box-office numbers don’t need to be record-breaking for Mr. Nolan to continue his reign.
Hollywood is still a business where the people who wear suits are eager to be associated with the most respected artists. While he hasn’t won an Academy Award, the director is revered by fanboys and cineastes alike. His rejection of many modern trends—he doesn’t shoot with digital cameras, own a cellphone or have an email address—only adds to the mystique.
At a recent screening of the movie in New York, Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey chose his words carefully as he introduced Mr. Nolan. After comparing the director to Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra, he said: “I am deeply grateful to have worked for Chris on this film.”
Mr. Nolan, through a spokeswoman, declined to be interviewed. Paramount executives wouldn’t comment for this article.
Paramount and Warner Bros., which backed “Interstellar,” were prepared to spend close to $200 million to make the movie, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. Mr. Nolan responded that he didn’t need that much money, despite the picture’s extensive use of digital and physical effects to create robots, dust storms, and mile-high waves.
The movie was for many years set up at Paramount, where Mr. Nolan’s brother Jonah had written it with the idea that Steven Spielberg would direct. When Christopher Nolan came on board, Warner, which had long been the filmmaker’s home base, offered its rival a set of sweeteners to become involved. For the opportunity to co-finance “Interstellar” and release it overseas, Warner gave Paramount rights it controlled to make future “Friday the 13th” sequels and a new “South Park” film.
Mr. Nolan is being paid the greater of more than $10 million or more than 10% of revenue, minus certain deductions, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. That’s comparable to not just the highest-paid filmmakers in Hollywood, but many A-list actors.
Paramount agreed to cater to Mr. Nolan’s love of old-fashioned film rather than digital projection, persuading movie theaters around the country to retrain workers and dust off film projectors just for “Interstellar.” Theaters that want to make extra money by showing the movie for two days before the planned Nov. 7 opening can do so, but only if they put away their usual digital projectors.
That applied to IMAX screens as well, which Mr. Nolan has long championed and for which he specially shot a little more than an hour of the film in extra-large proportions.
IMAX Corp. spent $600,000 at one of its flagship locations, the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, to replace its digital projector for the film’s premiere and subsequent run, according to a knowledgeable person. Then the venue will switch back to digital.
The last two directors who enjoyed such clout and independence with the studios were Messrs. Spielberg and Cameron. Mr. Spielberg’s “Jaws” was released in 1975; Mr. Cameron’s “The Terminator” in 1984. Mr. Nolan’s first studio movie, “Insomnia,” came out in 2002.
Mr. Nolan is so revered at Warner, which released five of his six movies before “Interstellar,” that the studio pays for his office suite, assistants, and other expenses without any obligation in return. Typically, producers and filmmakers receive such “overhead” deals only in exchange for giving a studio the first chance to make any movie of theirs. Contractually, Mr. Nolan owes them nothing.
Hollywood also accommodates Mr. Nolan’s passion for secrecy. In early 2012, just after the holidays ended, a group of Warner’s top movie executives gathered for an emergency meeting because Mr. Nolan was upset.
The filmmaker had told executives he wanted them to find and punish the person who had talked to the Hollywood Reporter magazine about his plans to alter the sound mix on “The Dark Knight Rises” after audiences had a difficult time understanding actor Tom Hardy’s Bane character in a preview, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.
The executives, who had already traded frantic phone calls while the studio was closed between Christmas and New Year’s, concluded it would be impossible to find the source. It took weeks until the issue was resolved with Mr. Nolan and his wife and producing partner, Emma Thomas, recalled the knowledgeable people.
“Anything touching Chris Nolan is treated at the most heightened level,” said one Warner Bros. employee.
Retaining Mr. Nolan for its key franchises has been a top priority at Warner. One of the reasons its slate of DC superhero films have rolled out more slowly than rival Marvel’s comic-book movies was the studio’s lengthy pursuit of him to produce a “Justice League” film and “Batman” reboot. He declined, though he did produce last year’s Superman movie “Man of Steel.”
While some uber-directors run rampantly over budget or construct their own mini-empires in Hollywood, Mr. Nolan has a reputation for focusing on his filmmaking. Ms. Thomas handles much of the business dealings for their production company, Syncopy, leaving her husband free to focus on writing, directing or editing.
And in contrast to the frantic last-minute reshoots of so many big-budget movies, Mr. Nolan’s work is reliable. He delivers films that are remarkably close to what he originally pitched to his backers. They come in ahead of schedule and under budget. Last April, a time when many summer releases were still far from complete, studio executives saw Mr. Nolan’s first cut of “Interstellar”—nearly identical to the one hitting theaters now.
“It’s like Hitchcock—he tells you what he’s going to deliver and you decide whether to be his collaborator,” said one studio executive involved in the movie.
Mr. Nolan, who comes off as a brainy introvert, grew up in England and Chicago. He speaks with a British accent, giving him an air of sophistication accentuated by his habit of wearing suits—and often scarves—at a time when many directors prefer T-shirts and baseball caps. Some who have worked with the director describe him as cold and aloof, though none say he is arrogant. But he’s also clear about what he wants.
“I’m continually impressed by his self-deprecation and humility, but with that comes supreme confidence,” said Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios and former president of Warner Bros.
Mr. Nolan won the job of rebooting Warner’s most famous superhero in 2004’s “Batman Begins” with a 90-minute pitch, without a script or any experience making big-budget films.
“I don’t think we ever made a leap like that with any other filmmaker,” said Jeff Robinov, the former film group chief of Warner Bros. who now runs the independent company Studio 8. “I consider it a blessing to work with him as long as I did, forget about the economic success of the films.”
Studios realize that Mr. Nolan and his wife of 14 years, whom he met in college in England, are a two-for-one package. And though the pair have worked with experienced, activist producers in the past, they are now essentially an independent operation. This is rare, given the immense management challenges of a production like “Interstellar.”
“She speaks for him much more than he speaks for himself,” said one longtime associate of the duo.
“It’s like she’s the prime minister,” added another person who knows Mr. Nolan and Ms. Thomas, “and he’s royalty.”
