Christopher Nolan

British-American filmmaker (born 1970)Template:SHORTDESC:British-American filmmaker (born 1970)

* film producer
* Jonathan Nolan (brother)
* John Nolan (uncle)

**Christopher Edward Nolan** CBE (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $4.9 billion worldwide. The recipient of many accolades, he has been nominated for five Academy Awards, five British Academy Film Awards and six Golden Globe Awards. In 2015, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by *Time*, and in 2019, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to film.

Nolan developed an interest in filmmaking from a young age. After studying English literature at University College London, he made several short films before his feature film debut with *Following* (1998). Nolan gained international recognition with his second film, *Memento* (2000), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He transitioned from independent to studio filmmaking with *Insomnia* (2002), and found further critical and commercial success with *The Dark Knight Trilogy* (2005–2012), *The Prestige* (2006), and *Inception* (2010); the last of these earned Nolan two Oscar nominations—Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. This was followed by *Interstellar* (2014), *Dunkirk* (2017), and *Tenet* (2020). For *Dunkirk,* he earned two Academy Award nominations, including his first for Best Director.

Nolan's work regularly feature in listings of the best films of their respective decades. They are typically characterised by existentialism and epistemology. Infused with a metaphysical outlook, they explore human ethics, the construction of time, and the malleable nature of memory and personal identity. His work is permeated with mathematically inspired images and concepts, unconventional narrative structures, practical special effects, experimental soundscapes, large-format film photography and materialistic perspectives. He has co-written several of his films with his brother Jonathan, and runs the production company Syncopy Inc. with his wife Emma Thomas.

## Early life

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Christopher Edward Nolan was born on 30 July 1970, in Westminster, London, and grew up in Highgate. His father, Brendan, was a British advertising executive who worked as a creative director. His mother, Christina, was an American flight attendant who would later work as an English teacher. Nolan's childhood was split between London and Evanston, Illinois, and he has both British and US citizenship. He has an elder brother, Matthew, and a younger brother, Jonathan, also a filmmaker.

Growing up, Nolan was particularly influenced by the work of Ridley Scott, and the science fiction films *2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968) and *Star Wars* (1977). He would repeatedly watch the latter film and extensively research its making. Nolan began making films at the age of seven, borrowing his father's Super 8 camera and shooting short films with his action figures. These films included a stop motion animation homage to *Star Wars* called *Space Wars*. He cast his brother Jonathan and built sets from "clay, flour, egg boxes and toilet rolls". His uncle, who worked at NASA building guidance systems for the Apollo rockets, sent him some launch footage: "I re-filmed them off the screen and cut them in, thinking no-one would notice", Nolan later remarked. From the age of 11, he aspired to be a professional filmmaker. Between 1981 and 1983, Nolan enrolled at Barrow Hills, a Catholic prep school in Weybridge, Surrey, run by Josephite priests. In his teenage years, Nolan started making films with Adrien and Roko Belic. Nolan and Roko co–directed the surreal 8 mm *Tarantella* (1989), which was shown on *Image Union*, an independent film and video showcase on the Public Broadcasting Service.

Nolan was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, an independent school in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, and later studied English literature at University College London (UCL). Opting out of a traditional film education, he pursued "a degree in something unrelated", which his father suggested "gives a different take on things". He chose UCL specifically for its filmmaking facilities, which comprised a Steenbeck editing suite and 16 mm film cameras. Nolan was president of the Union's Film Society, and with Emma Thomas (his girlfriend and future wife) he screened 35 mm feature films during the school year and used the money earned to produce 16 mm films over the summers.

## Career

### 1993–2003: Early career and breakthrough

After earning his bachelor's degree in English literature in 1993, Nolan worked as a script reader, camera operator, and director of corporate videos and industrial films. He directed, wrote and edited the short film *Larceny* (1996), which was filmed over a weekend in black and white with limited equipment and a small cast and crew. Funded by Nolan and shot with the UCLU Film society's equipment, it appeared at the Cambridge Film Festival in 1996 and is considered one of UCL's best shorts. For unknown reasons, the film has since been removed from public view. Nolan filmed a third short, *Doodlebug* (1997), about a man seemingly chasing an insect with his shoe, only to discover that it is a miniature of himself. Nolan and Thomas first attempted to make a feature in the mid-1990s with *Larry Mahoney*, an unreleased project that was scrapped. During this period in his career, Nolan had little to no success getting his projects off the ground, facing several rejections; he added, "[T]here's a very limited pool of finance in the UK. To be honest, it's a very clubby kind of place ... Never had any support whatsoever from the British film industry."

Shortly after abandoning *Larry Mahoney*, Nolan conceived the idea for his first feature, *Following* (1998), which he wrote, directed, photographed and edited. The film depicts an unemployed young writer (Jeremy Theobald) who trails strangers through London, hoping they will provide material for his first novel, but is drawn into a criminal underworld when he fails to keep his distance. It was inspired by Nolan's experience of living in London and having his apartment burgled; he observed that the common attribute between larceny and pursuing someone through a crowd was that they both cross social boundaries. Co-produced by Nolan with Thomas and Theobald, it was made on a budget of around £3,000. Most of the cast and crew were friends of the director, and shooting took place on weekends over the course of a year. To conserve film stock, each scene was rehearsed extensively to ensure that the first or second take could be used in the final edit. *Following* won several awards during its festival run and was well received by critics who labelled Nolan a majorly talented debutant. Scott Timberg of *New Times LA* wrote that it "echoed Hitchcock classics", but was "leaner and meaner". Janet Maslin of *The New York Times* was impressed with its "spare look" and "agile hand-held camerawork", saying, "As a result, the actors convincingly carry off the before, during and after modes that the film eventually, and artfully, weaves together."

"[T]he difference between shooting *Following* with a group of friends wearing our own clothes and my mum making sandwiches to spending $4 million of somebody else's money on *Memento* and having a crew of a hundred people is, to this day, by far the biggest leap I've ever made."

—Nolan on the jump from his first film to his second (2012)

*Following*'s success afforded Nolan the opportunity to make *Memento* (2000), which became his breakthrough film. His brother Jonathan pitched the idea to him, about a man with anterograde amnesia who uses notes and tattoos to hunt for his wife's murderer. Jonathan worked the idea into a short story, "Memento Mori" (2001), and Nolan developed it into a screenplay that told the story in reverse. Aaron Ryder, an executive for Newmarket Films, said it was "perhaps the most innovative script I had ever seen". The film was optioned and given a budget of $4.5 million, with Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss in the starring roles. Newmarket also distributed the film after it was rejected by studios who feared that it would not attract a wide audience. Following a positive word of mouth and screenings in 500 theatres, it earned $40 million. *Memento* premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2000 to critical acclaim. Joe Morgenstern of *The Wall Street Journal* wrote in his review, "I can't remember when a movie has seemed so clever, strangely affecting and slyly funny at the very same time." In the book *The Philosophy of Neo-Noir*, Basil Smith drew a comparison with John Locke's *An Essay Concerning Human Understanding*, which argues that conscious memories constitute our identities – a theme Nolan explores in the film. *Memento* earned Nolan many accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, as well as two Independent Spirit Awards: Best Director and Best Screenplay. Six critics listed it as one of the best films of the 2000s. In 2001, Nolan and Emma Thomas founded the production company Syncopy Inc.

Impressed by his work on *Memento*, filmmaker Steven Soderbergh recommended Nolan to Warner Bros. to direct the psychological thriller *Insomnia* (2002), although the studio initially wanted a more seasoned director. A remake of the 1997 Norwegian thriller of the same name, the film is viewed as "the outlier of Nolan's filmography" due to its perceived lack of unconventionality he is known for. Starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank, *Insomnia* follows two Los Angeles detectives sent to a northern Alaskan town to investigate the murder of a local teenager. It received positive reviews from critics and earned $113 million against a budget of $46 million. Film critic Roger Ebert praised the film for introducing new perspectives and ideas on the issues of morality and guilt, adding, "Unlike most remakes, the Nolan *Insomnia* is not a pale retread, but a re-examination of the material, like a new production of a good play." Richard Schickel of *Time* deemed *Insomnia* a "worthy successor" to *Memento* and "a triumph of atmosphere over a none-too-mysterious mystery". *Following*, *Memento* and *Insomnia* established Nolan's image as an "auteur". After the lattermost, he wrote a screenplay for a biopic based on Howard Hughes's life. Nolan reluctantly tabled his script after learning that Martin Scorsese was already making one such film: *The Aviator* (2004). He turned down an offer to direct the historical epic *Troy* (2004).

### 2003–2013: Widespread recognition

In early 2003, Nolan approached Warner Bros. with the idea of making a new Batman film, based on the character's origin story. Nolan was fascinated by the notion of grounding it in a more realistic world than a comic-book fantasy. He relied heavily on traditional stunts and miniature effects during filming, with minimal use of computer-generated imagery (CGI). *Batman Begins* (2005), the biggest project Nolan had undertaken to that point, was released to critical acclaim and commercial success. Starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman—along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson—*Batman Begins* revived the franchise, heralding a trend towards darker films that rebooted backstories. *Batman Begins* was 2005's ninth-highest-grossing film and was praised for its psychological depth and contemporary relevance; it is cited as one of the most influential films of the 2000s. Film author Ian Nathan wrote that within five years of his career, Nolan "[went] from unknown to indie darling to gaining creative control over one of the biggest properties in Hollywood, and (perhaps unwittingly) fomenting the genre that would redefine the entire industry".

Nolan directed, co-wrote, and produced *The Prestige* (2006), an adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel about two rival 19th-century magicians. The screenplay was the result of an intermittent, five-year collaboration between him and his brother Jonathan, who had begun writing it already in 2001. Nolan initially intended to make the film as early as 2003, but had postponed the project after agreeing to make *Batman Begins*. Starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in the lead roles of rival magicians, *The Prestige* received critical acclaim and received two Academy Award nominations. Roger Ebert described it as "quite a movie – atmospheric, obsessive, almost satanic", and Kenneth Turan of the *Los Angeles Times* called it an "ambitious, unnerving melodrama". *The Guardian*'s Philip French wrote: "In addition to the intellectual or philosophical excitement it engenders, *The Prestige* is gripping, suspenseful, mysterious, moving and often darkly funny." Despite a negative box-office prognosis, the film earned over $109 million against a budget of $40 million.

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*The Dark Knight* (2008), the follow-up to *Batman Begins*, was Nolan's next venture. Initially reluctant to make a sequel, he agreed some time after Warner Bros. insisted. Nolan wanted to expand on the noir quality of the first film by broadening the canvas and taking on "the dynamic of a story of the city, a large crime story ... where you're looking at the police, the justice system, the vigilante, the poor people, the rich people, the criminals". Continuing to minimalise the use of CGI, Nolan employed high-resolution IMAX cameras, making it the first major motion picture to utilise this technology. *The Dark Knight* has been ranked as one of the best films of the 2000s and one of the best superhero films ever made. Many critics cite *The Dark Knight* as "the most successful comic book film ever made". Manohla Dargis of *The New York Times* found the film to be of higher artistic merit than many Hollywood blockbusters: "Pitched at the divide between art and industry, poetry and entertainment, it goes darker and deeper than any Hollywood movie of its comic-book kind." Ebert expressed a similar point of view, describing it as a "haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy". *The Dark Knight* set many box-office records during its theatrical run, earning over $1 billion worldwide. At the 81st Academy Awards, the film was nominated in eight categories, winning two: Best Sound Editing for Richard King and a posthumous Best Supporting Actor award for Heath Ledger. The film's failure to garner a Best Picture nomination was criticised by the media. Beginning in 2010, the Academy increased their Best Picture nominees from five to ten, a change known as "The Dark Knight Rule". Nolan received many awards and nominations for his work on the film.

The success of *The Dark Knight* allowed Warner Bros. to sign Nolan to write, direct and co-produce *Inception* (2010) – a film for which he had the idea around nine years before its release. Nolan described the film as "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind". Starring a large ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, the film became a critical and commercial success upon its release. Film critic Mark Kermode named it the best film of 2010, stating "*Inception* is proof that people are not stupid, that cinema is not trash, and that it is possible for blockbusters and art to be the same thing." Philosophy professor David Kyle Johnson wrote that "*Inception* became a classic almost as soon as it was projected on silver screens", praising its exploration of philosophical ideas, including leap of faith and allegory of the cave. The film grossed over $836 million worldwide. Nominated for eight Academy Awards—including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay—it won Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. Nolan was also nominated for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Director, among other accolades.

In 2012, Nolan directed his third and final Batman film, *The Dark Knight Rises*, in which Christian Bale reprised the title role. After initial hesitation, he agreed to return to direct and worked with his brother and David S. Goyer to develop a story that he felt would end the trilogy on a high note. The film was released to positive reviews; Kenneth Turan found the film "potent, persuasive and hypnotic" and "more than an exceptional superhero movie, it is masterful filmmaking by any standard". Christy Lemire of *HuffPost* wrote in her review that Nolan concluded his trilogy in a "typically spectacular, ambitious fashion", but disliked the "overloaded" story and excessive grimness. *The Dark Knight Rises* was a box office success, becoming the thirteenth film to gross $1 billion. During a midnight showing of the film in Aurora, Colorado, a gunman opened fire inside the theatre, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. Nolan released a statement to the press expressing his condolences for the victims of what he described as a "senseless tragedy".

*The Dark Knight* trilogy inspired a trend in future superhero films seeking to replicate its gritty, realistic tone to little success. The second installment revitalised the genre at a time when recent superhero films had failed to meet expectations. Ben Child of *The Guardian* wrote that the three films "will remain thrilling totems of the genre for decades to come". During story discussions for *The Dark Knight Rises* in 2010, Goyer told Nolan of his idea to present Superman in a modern context. Impressed with Goyer's first contact concept, Nolan pitched the idea for *Man of Steel* (2013) to Warner Bros, who hired Nolan to produce and Zack Snyder to direct. Starring Henry Cavill as Clark Kent who learns that he is a powerful alien, *Man of Steel* grossed more than $660 million at the worldwide box office and received mixed reviews.

### 2014–2019: *Interstellar*, *Dunkirk* and other activities

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Nolan next directed, wrote, and produced the science-fiction film *Interstellar* (2014). The first drafts of the script were written by Jonathan Nolan, and it was originally to be directed by Steven Spielberg. Based on the scientific theories of theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole in search of a new home for humanity. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, *Interstellar* was released to positive reviews and strong box office results, grossing $773 million worldwide. Observing its "visual dazzle, thematic ambition", *The New York Times*'s A. O. Scott wrote that *Interstellar* is a "sweeping, futuristic adventure driven by grief, dread and regret". Documentary filmmaker Toni Myers called the film "a real work of art" and praised it for exploring a story spanning multiple generations. *Interstellar* was particularly praised for its scientific accuracy, which led to the publication of two academic papers. The American Journal of Physics called for it to be shown in school science lessons. At the 87th Academy Awards, the film won Best Visual Effects and received four other nominations. Also in 2014, Nolan and Emma Thomas served as executive producers on *Transcendence*, the directorial debut of his longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister.

In the mid-2010s, Nolan took part in several ventures for film preservation and distribution of the work of lesser-known filmmakers. His production company, Syncopy, formed a joint venture with Zeitgeist Films to release Blu-ray editions of Zeitgeist's films. As part of the Blu-ray release of the animation films of the Brothers Quay, Nolan directed the documentary short *Quay* (2015). He also initiated a theatrical tour, showcasing the Quays' *In Absentia*, *The Comb*, and *Street of Crocodiles*. IndieWire wrote that the brothers "will undoubtedly have hundreds, if not thousands more fans because of Nolan, and for that *The Quay Brothers in 35mm* will always be one of latter's most important contributions to cinema". An advocate for the survival of the analogue medium, Nolan and visual artist Tacita Dean invited representatives from leading American film archives, laboratories and presenting institutions to participate in an informal summit entitled *Reframing the Future of Film* at the Getty Museum in March 2015. Subsequent events were held at Tate Modern in London, Museo Tamayo in Mexico City and Tata Theatre in Mumbai. In April 2015, Nolan joined the board of directors of The Film Foundation, a non-profitable organisation dedicated to film preservation, and was appointed, along with Martin Scorsese, by the Library of Congress to serve on the National Film Preservation Board as DGA representatives.

After serving as an executive producer on Zack Snyder's *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice* (2016) and *Justice League* (2017), Nolan returned to directing with *Dunkirk* (2017). Based on his own original screenplay and co-produced with Thomas, the film is set amid World War II in 1940 and the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, France. Describing the film as a survival tale with a triptych structure, Nolan wanted to make a "sensory, almost experimental movie" with minimal dialogue. He said he waited to make *Dunkirk* until he had earned the trust of a major studio to let him make it as a British film but with an American budget. Before filming, Nolan sought advice from Spielberg, who later said in an interview with *Variety*, "knowing and respecting that Chris [Nolan] is one of the world's most imaginative filmmakers, my advice to him was to leave his imagination, as I did on *Ryan*, in second position to the research he was doing to authentically acquit this historical drama". Starring an ensemble cast, *Dunkirk* was released to widespread critical acclaim and strong box office results. It grossed over $526 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing World War II film of all time. In his review, Mick LaSalle of the *San Francisco Chronicle* wrote: "It's one of the best war films ever made, distinct in its look, in its approach and in the effect it has on viewers. There are movies—they are rare—that lift you out of your present circumstances and immerse you so fully in another experience that you watch in a state of jaw-dropped awe. *Dunkirk* is that kind of movie." The film received many accolades, including Nolan's first Oscar nomination for Best Director.

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In 2018, Nolan supervised a new 70mm print of Stanley Kubrick's *2001: A Space Odyssey* (1968), made from the original camera negative; he presented it at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. *USA Today* observed that festival-goers greeted the director "like a rock star with a standing ovation". A year later, Nolan and Thomas received executive producer credits on *The Doll's Breath* (2019), an animated short directed by the Quay brothers.

### 2020–present: *Tenet* and *Oppenheimer*

Nolan's next directorial effort was the science fiction film *Tenet* (2020), a project Tom Shone of *The Sunday Times* described as "a globe-spinning riff on all things Nolanesque". Nolan had worked on the screenplay for more than five years after deliberating about its central ideas for over a decade. Delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, *Tenet* was the first Hollywood tent-pole to open in theatres after the pandemic shutdown. The film tells the story of a CIA agent who travels through time to stop a world-threatening attack. It grossed $363 million worldwide against a production budget of $200 million, becoming Nolan's first to underperform at the box-office. *Tenet* was described as the most polarising effort of his career; critics praised the direction but found its story confusing. Peter Bradshaw of *The Guardian* awarded the film a full five stars, calling it "a cerebral cadenza, a deadpan flourish of crazy implausibility—but supercharged with steroidal energy and imagination". Leslie Felperin of *The Hollywood Reporter* described it as "a chilly, cerebral film—easy to admire, especially since it's so rich in audacity and originality, but almost impossible to love, lacking as it is in a certain humanity". At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film won Best Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Production Design. Following the release of *Tenet*, Nolan joined the Advisory Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. He served as an executive producer on *Zack Snyder's Justice League* (2021), a director's cut of 2017's *Justice League*.

Nolan's twelfth directorial venture will be *Oppenheimer* (2023), a biopic based on J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy) and his role in the development of the atom bomb. The film will be financed and distributed by Universal Pictures, making it Nolan's first since *Memento* that was not made for Warner Bros. Nolan secured the deal with Universal after he was promised a production budget of around $100 million with an equal marketing budget, total creative control, 20 per cent of first-dollar gross, a 100-day theatrical window and a blackout period from the studio wherein the company would not release another film three weeks before or after *Oppenheimer*'s release.

## Personal life and image

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Nolan is married to Emma Thomas, whom he met at University College London when he was 19. She has worked as a producer on all of his films. The couple have four children and reside in Los Angeles, California.

Nolan rarely grants promotional interviews about his films and prefers to maintain a certain level of mystery about his work. Refusing to discuss his personal life, he feels that too much biographical information about a filmmaker detracts from the experience of his audiences. "I actually don't want people to have me in mind at all when they're watching the films." Author Stuart Joy felt that Nolan's unwillingness to talk about his personal life shows a desire for control, one of the recurring themes in his work.

Nolan has publicly shared some of his socio-political concerns for the future, such as the current conditions of nuclear weapons and environmental issues that he says need to be addressed. He has expressed his admiration for scientific objectivity, wishing it were applied "in every aspect of our civilisation". Nolan serves on the Motion Picture & Television Fund Board of Governors.

## Cinematic sensibility

Nolan's films are majorly centred in metaphysical themes, exploring the concepts of time, memory, and personal identity. His work is characterised by mathematically inspired ideas and images, unconventional narrative structures, materialistic perspectives, and evocative use of music and sound. Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro called Nolan "an emotional mathematician". BBC's arts editor Will Gompertz described him as "an art house auteur making intellectually ambitious blockbuster movies that can leave your pulse racing and your head spinning". Nolan views himself as "an indie filmmaker working inside the studio system".

"Christopher Nolan doesn't make sense. And that is exactly how he likes it. In twenty-three years and through twelve films, he has defied the laws of Hollywood by creating startling, original genre pieces that have revelled in their own complexity, confounding every maxim by which the studios hope to appeal to the widest audience. And yet he does that too. Cinemas fill on the possibility of the next Nolan film. Whatever form it might take."

—Film author Ian Nathan on Nolan as a filmmaker (2022)

In the sixteen-essay book *The Philosophy of Christopher Nolan*, professional philosophers and writers analysed Nolan's work; they identified themes of self-destruction, the truth's nature and value, and the political mindset of the hero and villain, among others. Robbie B. H. Goh, a professor of English literature, described Nolan as a "philosophical filmmaker" who includes philosophical ideas—existentialism, morality, epistemology and the distinction between appearance and reality—in films that frequently portray suspense, action and violence. Goh appreciated his ability to incorporate such themes in films that possess "elements of the Hollywood blockbuster"—which help keep the audiences engaged—but simultaneously remain "more thoughtful and self-reflexive than the typical consumerist action film". He further wrote that Nolan's body of work reflect "a heterogeneity of conditions of products" extending from low-budget films to lucrative blockbusters, "a wide range of genres and settings" and "a diversity of styles that trumpet his versatility".

Film theorist David Bordwell opined that Nolan has been able to blend his "experimental impulses" with the demands of mainstream entertainment, further describing his oeuvre as, "experiments with cinematic time by means of techniques of subjective viewpoint and crosscutting." Nolan's use of practical, in-camera effects, miniatures and models, as well as shooting on celluloid film, has been highly influential in early 21st century cinema. *IndieWire* wrote in 2019 that the director "kept a viable alternate model of big-budget filmmaking alive" in an era where blockbuster filmmaking has become "a largely computer-generated art form". Because of Nolan's deep involvement in the technical facet of his films, Stuart Joy described him as a "complete filmmaker" who "oversees all aspects of production while also managing cultural and industrial factors outside of the text".

## Recognition

Nolan has made some of the most influential and popular films of his time. His work has been as "intensely embraced, analysed and debated by ordinary film fans as by critics and film academics". Many of his films have been regarded by critics as among the best of their respective decades, and according to *The Wall Street Journal*, his "ability to combine box-office success with artistic ambition has given him an extraordinary amount of clout in the industry". His films have earned $4.9 billion, making him the most commercially successful filmmaker from the British Isles since Alfred Hitchcock. Two of his films—*Memento* and *The Dark Knight*—have been selected by the US Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". These films and *Inception* appeared in BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century and *The Hollywood Reporter*'s poll of best films ever made. In 2017, *The Dark Knight*, *Inception* and *Interstellar* featured in *Empire* magazine's poll of "The 100 Greatest Movies". Nolan has been described as "American cinema's most experimental blockbuster auteur" and a "franchise unto himself". In 2022, *Parade* ranked Nolan number eight in its list of 75 Best Movie Directors of All Time.

Calling him "a persuasively inventive storyteller", Geoff Andrew of the British Film Institute named Nolan one of the few contemporary filmmakers producing highly personal films within the Hollywood mainstream. Andrew wrote that Nolan's films are "not so much [notable] for their considerable technical virtuosity and visual flair as for their brilliant narrative ingenuity and their unusually adult interest in complex philosophical questions". David Bordwell observed that Nolan is "considered one of the most accomplished living filmmakers", citing his ability to turn genre movies into both art and event films, as well as his box office numbers, critical acclaim, and popularity among cinemagoers. In 2008, Philip French deemed Nolan "the first major talent to emerge this [21st] century". Mark Kermode complimented Nolan for bringing "the discipline and ethics of art-house independent moviemaking and apply[ing] them to Hollywood blockbusters. He's living proof that you don't have to appeal to the lowest common denominator to be profitable". *The Observer*'s Ryan Gilbey described Nolan as a "skillful, stylish storyteller, capable of combining the spectacle of Spielberg with the intellectual intricacy of Nicolas Roeg or Alain Resnais". Mark Cousins applauded Nolan for embracing big ideas, "Hollywood filmmakers generally shy away from ideas—but not Christopher Nolan". Scott Foundas of *Variety* declared Nolan "the premier big-canvas storyteller of his generation", and Justin Chang of the *Los Angeles Times* called him "the great proceduralist of 21st century blockbuster filmmaking, a lover of nuts-and-bolts minutiae".

Nolan has been praised by many of his contemporaries, and his work has influenced them. Kenneth Branagh called Nolan's approach to large-scale filmmaking "unique in modern cinema", adding, "regardless of how popular his movies become, he remains an artist and an auteur. I think for that reason he has become a heroic figure for both the audience and the people working behind the camera." Michael Mann complimented Nolan for his "singular vision" and credited with "invent[ing] the post-heroic superhero". Nicolas Roeg said of Nolan, "People talk about 'commercial art' and the term is usually self-negating; Nolan works in the commercial arena and yet there's something very poetic about his work." Martin Scorsese identified Nolan as a filmmaker creating "beautifully made films on a big scale".

Damien Chazelle lauded Nolan for his ability "to make the most seemingly impersonal projects—superhero epics, deep-space mind-benders—feel deeply personal". Discussing the difference between art films and big studio blockbusters, Steven Spielberg referred to Nolan's *Dark Knight* series as an example of both; he has described *Memento* and *Inception* as "masterworks". Denis Villeneuve was impressed by Nolan's ability "to keep his identity and create his own universe in that large scope ... To bring intellectual concepts and to bring them in that scope to the screen right now—it's very rare. Every movie that he comes out with, I have more admiration for his work." James Cameron expressed disappointment that Nolan was not Academy Award-nominated as Best Director for *Inception*, calling it "the most astounding piece of film creation and direction of the year, hands down".

## Filmography

* *Following* (1998)
* *Memento* (2000)
* *Insomnia* (2002)
* *Batman Begins* (2005)
* *The Prestige* (2006)
* *The Dark Knight* (2008)
* *Inception* (2010)
* *The Dark Knight Rises* (2012)
* *Interstellar* (2014)
* *Dunkirk* (2017)
* *Tenet* (2020)
* *Oppenheimer* (2023)

## Awards and honours

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Nolan has been nominated for five Academy Awards, five British Academy Film Awards and six Golden Globe Awards. Nolan was named an Honorary Fellow of UCL in 2006, and conferred an honorary doctorate in literature (DLit) in 2017. From 2011 to 2014, he appeared in *Forbes* Celebrity 100 list based on his income and popularity. In 2012, he became the youngest director to receive a hand-and-footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Nolan appeared in *Time*'s 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to film.

## Notes

1. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Nolan's Mind Games". Film London. 14 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
2. ↑ Nathan 2022, p. 12.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mooney 2018, p. 4.
4. ↑ Nathan 2022, pp. 116, 159.
5. ↑ Nathan 2022, p. 159.
6. ↑ Nathan 2022, pp. 11, 16.
7. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Purcell, Andrew (4 November 2014). "Christopher Nolan's Interstellar brings back the Spielberg-style family blockbuster". *The Sydney Morning Herald*. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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196. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"The Hollywood Reporter 100: The Most Powerful People in Entertainment 2018". *The Hollywood Reporter*. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
197. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Reinstein, Mara (2 November 2022). "The 75 Best Movie Directors of All Time". *Parade*. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
198. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Christopher Nolan". British Film Institute. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
199. ↑ Bordwell, David (9 August 2017). *Dunkirk* Part 2: The art film as event movie. DavidBordwell.net.
200. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>French, Philip (13 April 2008). "The top 50". *The Guardian*. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
201. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Newsmaker: Christopher Nolan is a different kind of storyteller". *The National*. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
202. ↑ Gilbey, Ryan (23 July 2017). Christopher Nolan: from superheroes to *Dunkirk*'s small tales of heroism. *The Guardian*.
203. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Widescreen: Hollywood's big ideas". *Prospect*. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
204. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
205. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Ten years after it changed Hollywood, *The Dark Knight* is back in theaters. Accept no substitutes". *Los Angeles Times*. 22 August 2018. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
206. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Erbland, Kate (2 June 2017). "Duncan Jones on How He Models His Career After Christopher Nolan – Q&A". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
207. ↑ Exclusive: Sam Mendes Says He Was 'Not at All' Interested In Bond At First, Took Direct Inspiration From Nolan's *Dark Knight* Films. IndieWire (18 October 2012).
208. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
209. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Kenneth Branagh must evacuate soldiers trapped in *Dunkirk*". *Philippine Daily Inquirer*. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
210. ↑ Shone 2020, p. 19–20.
211. ↑ Shone 2020, p. 20.
212. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Martin Scorsese: There's always the budget, but I am more concerned about the creative freedom". Filmtalk. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
213. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
214. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
215. ↑ 215.0 215.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Christopher Nolan turns 49: Here is what Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and other directors say about him". *The Indian Express*. 30 July 2019. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
216. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Denis Villenueve Aspires to Be Like Christopher Nolan, and Why He Wants to Make *Dune*". IndieWire. 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
217. ↑ Nathan 2022, p. 197.
218. ↑ Christopher Nolan. AllMovie.
219. ↑ Winners & Nominees. Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
220. ↑ Honorary Fellows of UCL. University College London (2006).
221. ↑ Back to where it all began: Christopher Nolan awarded honorary doctorate at UCL. University College London (2017).
222. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Christopher Nolan". *Forbes*. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Christopher Nolan". *Forbes*. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Christopher Nolan". *Forbes*. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Christopher Nolan". *Forbes*. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
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225. ↑ Template:London Gazette

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* Blouin, Michael J. (2013). "Difference and Doubt in Christopher Nolan's *Inception*". *Japan and the Cosmopolitan Gothic: Specters of Modernity*. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 143–160. ISBN 978-1-137-30522-0.
* Elsaesser, Thomas (2020). "Stanley Kubrick's Prototypes: The Author as World-Maker". In Szaniawski, Jeremi. *After Kubrick: A Filmmaker's Legacy*. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 29–51. ISBN 978-1-501-34765-8.
* deWaard, Andrew; Tait, R. Colin (2013). *The Cinema of Steven Soderbergh: Indie Sex, Corporate Lies, and Digital Videotape*. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-16551-8.
* *The Philosophy of Christopher Nolan*. Lexington Books. 2017. ISBN 978-1-498-51352-4.
* Furby, Jacqueline; Joy, Stuart, eds (2015). *The Cinema of Christopher Nolan: Imagining the Impossible*. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-85076-6.
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* Goh, Robbie B. H. (2022). *Christopher Nolan: Filmmaker and Philosopher*. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-3501-3996-1.
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* Koole, Sander L.; Fockenberg, Daniel; Tops, Mattie; Schneider, Iris K. (2013). "The Birth and Death of the Superhero Film". In Sullivan, Daniel; Greenberg, Jeff. *Death in Classic and Contemporary Film*. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 135-150. ISBN 978-1-137-27688-9.
* McGowan, Todd (2012). "A Plea for the Abandonment of Reality in *Inception*". *The Fictional Christopher Nolan*. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-73782-2.
* Mooney, Darren (2018). *Christopher Nolan: A Critical Study of the Films*. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-14-766-7480-3.
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* Mottram, James (2002). *The Making of Memento*. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-21488-6. https://archive.org/details/makingofmemento00mott.
* Nathan, Ian (2022). *Christopher Nolan: the Iconic Filmmaker and His Work*. Quarto Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7112-7713-7.
* Shone, Tom (2020). *The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan*. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-5713-4800-8.
* Smith, Basil (2007). "John Locke, Personal Identity and *Memento*". In Conard, Mark. *The Philosophy of Neo-Noir*. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-7230-9.
* Zornado, Joseph L.; Reilly, Sara (2021). "Superhero Fantasy in Crisis". *The Cinematic Superhero as Social Practice*. Springer Nature. pp. 155-189. ISBN 978-3-030-85458-4.

## Further reading

* Belluomini, Lance (2020). "*Tenet* as Philosophy: Fatalism Isn't an Excuse to Do Nothing". In Johnson, David Kyle. *The Palgrave Handbook of Popular Culture as Philosophy*. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1–21. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97134-6\_99-1. ISBN 978-3-319-97134-6.
* Duncan Jesser, Jody; Pourroy, Janine (2012). *The Art and Making of* The Dark Knight *Trilogy*. Abrams Books. ISBN 978-1-4197-0369-0.
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* Kellner, Douglas M (2009). *Cinema Wars: Hollywood Film and Politics in the Bush-Cheney Era* (1st ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1405198240.
* Rabiger, Michael; Hurbis-Cherrier, Mick (2013). *Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics*. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-135-09921-3.

## External links

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* Christopher Nolan at IMDb
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* Christopher Nolan Biography at Tribute.ca
* Christopher Nolan – How to Direct Your First Feature Film

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