Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer is an biographical thriller film directed, written and co-produced by Christopher Nolan about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film stars Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer, with a supporting ensemble cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh.
The film was announced in September 2021. Filming began in late February 2022 and wrapped that May. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot the film in a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large-format film—including, for the first time, sections in IMAX black-and-white analog photography. As on his previous works, Nolan utilised extensive practical effects and minimal computer-generated imagery.
Oppenheimer was released in the United Kingdom and United States on July 21, 2023, by Universal Pictures. It is Nolan's first film not to be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures domestically or internationally since Memento (2000), as well as his first film to receive an R rating since Insomnia (2002).
==Cast==
==Production==
===Development===
In December 2020, Warner Bros. Pictures announced plans to give its 2021 films simultaneous releases in theaters and on HBO Max due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film industry. Christopher Nolan, who had partnered with the studio on each one of his films starting with Insomnia (2002), expressed his disbelief with the decision. In January 2021, media reports mentioned the possibility that Nolan's next film could be the first to not be financed or distributed by Warner Bros. Nolan had previously supported the studio's decision to give Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) a simultaneous release, stating that he perceived this situation to have been handled properly, but said he had been excluded from any discussions regarding the postponed release of his film Tenet (2020).
In September 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that Nolan would write and direct a biographical film set during World War II about J. Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb, with Cillian Murphy in negotiations to star. Nolan approached multiple studios for the project, including Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Apple Studios due to his strained relationship with Warner Bros. According to insiders, Paramount was out of the selection early on in the wake of the replacement of CEO and Chairman Jim Gianopulos with Brian Robbins, an advocate for increased streaming service releases. On September 14, it was confirmed that Universal would finance and distribute the film, with production set to begin in the first quarter of 2022. Some of Nolan's demands included a production budget of $100 million and an equal marketing budget, a theatrical window of at least 100 days, 20 percent of the film's first-dollar gross, and a three-week period before and after the film's release in which Universal could not release another new film.
===Casting===
Oppenheimer marks the sixth collaboration between Nolan and Murphy, and the first starring Murphy as the lead. To prepare for the role, the actor did what he summarized as "an awful lot of reading" on Oppenheimer's life. The casting process was so secretive that some of the actors did not know which role they were going to play until they signed on. Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt took pay cuts to work on the film, earning $4 million each in lieu of their usual $10–20 million salaries.
===Filming===
Pre-production was underway by January 2022 in New Mexico, where a two-day casting call took place in Santa Fe and Los Alamos for people to audition to play local residents, military personnel and scientists. Another casting call was held in February. Filming began in late February 2022, with Hoyte van Hoytema serving as cinematographer. Gary Oldman said he would be on set for a day in May for "one scene, a page and a half".
The film used a combination of IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large-format film. It is also the first film to shoot sections on IMAX black and white photographic film. In the second week of April, filming took place at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Filming also occurred in California, primarily around the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Filming was wrapped after four months in May 2022. 
Filming involved the use of real explosives to recreate the Trinity nuclear test, forgoing the use of computer generated graphics. While using miniatures for the practical effect, the movie's special effects supervisor Scott R. Fisher referred to them as "big-atures", as the team tried to make the models as large as possible.‘Oppenheimer’ Special Effects Supervisor Reveals How The Film Recreates The Trinity Nuclear Explosion A whole 1940s-style town was also built from scratch. Because Nolan wanted to make the movie as subjective as possible, telling everything from Oppenheimer’s point of view, they had to come up with a way to visualize his ideas and thoughts about the way he was imagining the quantum world and waves of energy.
===Post-production===
During post-production, editing was completed by Jennifer Lame, who previously edited Tenet. Visual effects were handled by DNEG, marking their eighth collaboration with Nolan. Andrew Jackson was the visual effects supervisor.
The film received an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association for "some sexuality, nudity, and language", making it Nolan's first film to receive that rating since Insomnia (2002).
==Music==
In October 2021, Ludwig Göransson was revealed to be composing the score for the film, after previously doing so for Nolan's previous film, Tenet.
==Release==
Oppenheimer was released theatrically on July 21, 2023, alongside Barbie, by Universal Pictures. In addition to standard cinemas, it was also released in various film formats including IMAX 70 mm (30 prints), standard 70 mm (113 prints) and 35 mm (around 80 prints).
===Marketing===
The film's teaser trailer was released on July 28, 2022, featuring a live countdown to 5:29 AM (MST) on July 16, 2023, the 78th anniversary of the first detonation of an atomic weapon; it premiered in screenings of Nope before being posted online on Universal's social media profiles. Empire commented that, "It looks like heady, brooding stuff with a real sense of weight—a Christopher Nolan film, in other words." In May 2023, an official trailer was debuted during preview screenings of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It was subsequently released to the public on May 8, 2023, alongside a theatrical release poster.
The film was released on the same day as Barbie, a romantic comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig based on the Barbie dolls by Mattel. Due to the tonal and genre contrast between the two films, many social media users have taken to making memes about how the two films represent different audiences,Frank, Jason. "Barbenheimer Memes Are Blowing Up". Vulture. Published June 29, 2023. Accessed July 1, 2023. and how they should be viewed as a double feature.Ankers-Range, Adele. "The Internet Embraces 'Barbenheimer' With Memes, Mashups, and More - IGN". IGN. Published June 30, 2023. Accessed July 1, 2023. The trend was dubbed "Barbenheimer".Moses, Claire. "Mark Your Calendars: ‘Barbenheimer’ Is Coming". The New York Times. Published June 28, 2023. Accessed July 2, 2023.
==Reception==
===Box office===
At the opening weekend, the film grossed $82.4 Million. As of 25/09/23, the film has grossed $925.9 Million worldwide, making it the highest grossing Biopic ever. 
It is the second highest grossing R-rated film ever, second to Joker (2019).
The film was praised by most critics, many calling it the 'best film of the year'. It is currently number 43 on IMDB's top 250 films list at 8.6.
===Accolades===
Oppenheimer received nominations for Best Thriller, Best Drama TV Spot (for a Feature Film), Best Sound Editing in a TV Spot (for a Feature Film), and Best Thriller TV Spot (for a Feature Film); and won Best Drama, Best Summer 2023 Blockbuster Trailer, and Best Sound Editing at the 2023 Golden Trailer Awards. It became a runner-up for Most Anticipated Film at the 6th Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards.
==References==
==External links==
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