Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker who loves the art of filmmaking. He’ll go to no end to make his art form the truest it can be, like creating the first nuclear weapon detonation with no computer graphics, for example.
The Oppenheimer director opened up about his upcoming film, which follows J. Robert Oppenheimer, a key figure behind the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II.
As a director known for preferring practical effects over digital effects, it is no surprise that Nolan pulled no punches to make Oppenheimer as accurate as possible. This man blew up a real Boeing 747 for a masterful set piece in his 2020 film, Tenet, so you can expect nothing less than something wild.
In an interview with Total Film, Nolan says this upcoming Cillian Murphy-led film had a pretty challenging set piece to conquer: he brought to life the first nuclear weapon detonation for Oppenheimer.
“I think recreating the Trinity test [the first nuclear weapon detonation in New Mexico] without computer graphics was a huge challenge to take on,” Nolan said to Total Film.
He adds, “Andrew Jackson – my visual effects supervisor, I got him on board early on – was looking at how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself to recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather, a lot of which was needed for the film, in terms of the very harsh conditions out there – there were huge practical challenges.”
The insanity doesn’t stop there, as Christopher Nolan even had IMAX create an entirely new film stock for this movie. Yes, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and Nolan helped make a new type of film stock to capture the look they wanted
“We challenged the people at Kodak Photochem to make this work for us. And they stepped up,” says Nolan. “For the first time ever, we were able to shoot IMAX film in black and white. And the results were thrilling and extraordinary. As soon as Hoyte and I saw the first tests come in, we just knew that this was a format that we were immediately in love with.”
The new film stock with the news that the film will switch between black-and-white and color, much like Nolan did with Memento. The director says, “the way in which we tell this story, it’s very subjectively [told], but also with a more objective story strand that intertwines with that. It was really the perfect time to go back to that [color-switching] device”.
SEE ALSO: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. featured in new Oppenheimer images
Nolan returns to cinemas with Oppenheimer coming July 2023.
“The IMAX-shot epic thriller thrusts audiences into the pulse-pounding paradox of the enigmatic man who must risk destroying the world in order to save it.”
Featuring alongside Cillian Murphy in the cast of Oppenheimer are Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Dane DeHaan, Casey Affleck, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, Dylan Arnold, David Krumholtz, Alden Ehrenreich, David Dastmalchian, Olli Haaskivi, Jason Clarke, James D’Arcy, Michael Angarano, Guy Burnet, Danny Deferrari, Matthias Schweighöfer, Gary Oldman, Harrison Gilbertson, Emma Dumont, Devon Bostick, Trond Fausa, Christopher Denham and Josh Zuckerman.
Oppenheimer is set for release on July 21st, 2023.
