20 years on from its premiere, Hasitha Fernando looks at the story behind Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige…
As a filmmaker Christopher Nolan has achieved what very few directors have been able to achieve in the modern age – to become a household name. Hailing from the world of indie and arthouse cinema, Nolan ushered in a new era for comic book superheroes with his Dark Knight trilogy. The Prestige saw the acclaimed director return to his indie film roots and deliver an intricately woven thought provoking cautionary tale about the art of deception and the price of obsession. On its 20th anniversary we look back at the behind-the-scenes story of this masterful mystery thriller, but before we start there’s one question that needs to be asked – “are you watching closely?”
Sam Mendes’ producer was eyeing the project before Christopher Nolan
Prior to Christopher Nolan’s involvement Sam Mendes’ producer approached Christopher Priest with the intention of adapting The Prestige. Whilst Priest was obviously interested in having Mendes adapt his property into a feature film he waited for a better opportunity. Priest meanwhile was impressed by the films Following and Memento directed by a lesser-known indie filmmaker called Christopher Nolan. When Priest’s book brought to Nolan’s attention he too was intrigued by what he read and shared the story with Jonathan Nolan, whilst they were publicizing Memento in London. As soon as the option rights were available the following year, Aaron Ryder of Newmarket Films purchased it and Priest was more than happy to sell the rights to Nolan as he was impressed with what Nolan had done in Following and Memento.
The script development process proved to be an arduous one
The Prestige’s script development process proved to be a lengthy one which took place over five years intermittently. The Nolans modified Priest’s original story in such a way that downplayed the visual depiction of magic and placing emphasis on a more narrative based approach to bring it to life. The three-acts of the screenplay the duo crafted intentionally mirrored the three-parts of a magician’s illusion: the pledge, the turn and the prestige. During a behind-the-scenes interview with Variety Nolan had this to say about this interesting creative choice: “It took a long time to figure out how to achieve cinematic versions of the very literary devices that drive the intrigue of the story. The shifting points of view, the idea of journals within journals and stories within stories. Finding the cinematic equivalents of those literary devices was very complex.” Although the script was thematically faithful to Priest’s source material the Nolan’s made two critical changes to their narrative for the film; the subplot centered around spiritualism was removed and the conclusion of the story also altered.
Jude Law and Guy Pierce were Christopher Nolan’s original choice for the leads
Whilst Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman went on to play the leads of The Prestige, the duo weren’t Nolan’s first choice for the leads. Jude Law and Guy Pierce have the honor of being the filmmaker’s first choice. Law dropped out of the project after the debacle involving David O. Russell, where the Three Kings director put Nolan in a headlock since he wanted to cast Law in I Heart Huckabees. Pearce was vetoed by an executive at Warner Bros. who disliked the performer but that actor was fine with the decision because he always felt that he delivered a subpar performance in Nolan’s breakout feature film Memento, “I realized I hate what I did. And so all this stuff about an exec at Warners being why I’ve not worked with Chris again? It came crashing down. I know why I didn’t work with Chris again – it’s because I’m no good in Memento.”
Christian Bale lobbied aggressively to get the part of Alfred Borden
Christian Bale is an actor who requires very little introduction – the guy was Batman for Christ’s sake! In fact, many agree he was ‘the’ Batman but whatever your thoughts on Bale’s take on the iconic comic book superhero there’s no denying he truly made it his own during his run as The Dark Knight. Apart from his dual role playing Bruce Wayne/Batman, Bale has turned in acclaimed performances in American Psycho, The Machinist, 3:10 to Yuma and American Hustle. In 2010 Bale received a much-deserved Oscar win for his manically energetic performance as boxer Dicky Ecklund in the critically lauded sports drama The Fighter. As written above, Nolan didn’t have Bale in mind for the role of Alfred Borden but somehow the gifted actor had gotten his hands on a copy of the script and lobbied aggressively for the part, convincing Nolan that he was the right man for the job. During a 2018 interview, when asked by Bale if he’d want to work with Nolan again, the actor responded he’d love to, if Nolan could see him as anything other than The Caped Crusader and his billionaire alter ego. As of writing The Prestige remains the only non-Batman performance played by Bale in a Christopher Nolan production.
Hugh Jackman’s background in theatre was the main reason for his casting
From relatively unknown Aussie actor, Hugh Jackman has gone on to become one of the most well-known actor in the world, all thanks to his career defining role of playing the Wolverine in Fox’s X-Men films. The performer had embodied the part for a whopping 26 years and is next poised to re-appear later this year in Avengers: Doomsday. Prior to his successful career in feature film Jackman hailed from an extensive background in theater and musicals, which became the main reason Nolan handpicked Jackman for Robert Angier’s role over Josh Hartnett, as he wanted an actor who understood working and interacting with a live audience. The year 2006 also proved to be a massive breakout year for Jackman with a diverse lineup of feature films which include mainstream box-office hits such as X-Men: The Last Stand and Happy Feet as well as movies with art-house sensibilities like The Prestige and The Fountain.
Scarlett Johansson was the top choice to play Olivia Wenscombe
In a career spanning over three decades Scarlett Johansson has transitioned from budding child star to one of the world’s highest-grossing actresses. Gaining early recognition in efforts like Manny & Lo and The Horse Whisperer, Johansson transitioned to more mature roles with Girl with a Pearl Earring and Lost in Translation, which both garnered Golden Globe Award nominations and a BAFTA win for Best Actress for the latter. The actress achieved global stardom as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), reprising the role across multiple films. Johansson was Nolan’s top choice to play Olivia Wenscombe, Alfred Borden’s alluring assistant Olivia Wenscombe because it was a part that required the performer to embody a unique sense of mystery and ambiguity. When the actress met with Nolan to discuss the part, she immediately loved the character and signed on shortly after.
The Prestige was the breakout role Rebecca Hall needed for her career
English actress Rebecca Hall had her start in the theatre, making classical and modern stage production, before making her feature film debut with the 2006 comedy-drama Starter for 10. However, it was with The Prestige where she played the emotionally conflicted Sarah Borden, that the aspiring performer finally caught her big break. She won further acclaim (and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress) starring in Woody Allen’s romantic comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona, alongside her co-star of The Prestige – Scarlett Johansson. From there, her resume grew to include major studio fares like Iron Man 3 and Godzilla vs. Kong and independent flicks such as Christine and The Gift.
Sleight-of-hand workshops were conducted for Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman
The late Ricky Jay, a stage magician cum magical historian, widely regarded as one of the most gifted sleight-of-hand artists in history, conducted a series of intensive workshops on sleight-of-hand techniques for both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman during the pre-production period. Apart from being technical advisory and lead magic consultant on the production, Jay also played a small but pivotal role as the retired magician who employs the services of Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) at the beginning of their careers.
Locations in Los Angeles stood in for Colorado and Victorian England in the movie
Only one set was built from scratch for the film and this was “the under-the-stage section that houses the machinery that make the larger illusions work”. The rest were locations, in and around Los Angeles and various sound stages dressed to stand in for Victorian England and Colorado. The production was fast-paced; therefore, handheld cameras and natural light were used in scenes as much as possible by cinematographer Wally Pfister. Production designer Nathan Crowley went the extra-mile to construct period accurate stage illusion mechanisms to minimize the usage of digital manipulation that would be done during post-production.
Box-office success, critical acclaim and an enduring legacy
Made on a production budget of $40 million The Prestige went on to make a respectable $109 million at the worldwide box-office by the conclusion of its theatrical run. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film continues to hold an approval rating of 77% based on 206 reviews. Its critics’ consensus reads as follows, “Full of twists and turns, The Prestige is a dazzling period piece that never stops challenging the audience.” The effort proved to be a hit with film critics as well, with Claudi Puig of USA Today describing the movies as, “one of the most innovative, twisting, turning art films of the past decade,” and Richard Roeper of At the movies with Ebert and Roeper giving it a “two thumbs up”. Come awards season the film received Academy Award nominations Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, for Nathan Crowley and Wally Pfister’s contributions respectively.
Following the resounding success of his first big budget Hollywood tentpole Batman Begins in 2005, The Prestige saw Christopher Nolan make a return to his indie film roots and embracing the many staples – non-linear narratives, moral compromise and broken identities – that define him as a unique filmmaker. The centerpiece of Nolan’s narrative is the bitter rivalry between the two highly-competitive magicians , and how they attempt to one-up each other to create the ultimate stage illusion and become the greatest magician of their generation. In a way, they both achieve their final objective but at great personal cost and in a lot of ways the film functions as a cautionary tale on the corrosive effect obsessions have on relationships and self. As we wrap up this write up, here’s hoping we’d get a few more efforts like these from Christopher Nolan that hark back to his humble beginnings as an indie filmmaker and showcase his gifts as a singular storyteller.
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Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
