Christopher Nolan
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Christopher Nolan (born July 30, 1970) is a British film director, writer and producer.
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Early life
Nolan began filmmaking at age of seven by using his father's super-8 camera and his toy action figures. His short film 'Tarantella' was shown on PBS 'image union' in 1989.
Nolan studied English Literature at University College London while filming several short films in the college film society. His short film 'Larceny' was shown during Cambridge Film Festival in 1996. He married Emma Thomas in 1997.
Professional career
Following
Nolan directed his first professional film, Following, in 1998. The film depicts the story of a writer who becomes obsessed with following random people. Scenes are shown out of chronological order, and as such the viewer becomes disorientated, having to piece together the elements of the story in the same way as the protagonist pieces together what is going on around him.
Nolan presented this film during the 1999 Hong Kong Film Festival and raised money to write and direct his most successful psychological thriller to date, Memento.
Memento
Memento, while not a box office hit, is a critically acclaimed cult classic which won a Golden Globe for best screenplay.
The movie follows a widower Leonard Shelby (played by English-Born Australian actor Guy Pearce) who, as a result of a head injury delivered by his wife's rapist and murderer, is unable to form new memories. What distinguishes this film within its genre is Nolan's technique in presenting events within the storyline in reverse chronological order. In using this technique, Nolan forces viewers to relate with the mentally impaired protagonist, since they encounter each event disorientated.
This same method of disorientating audiences is used in Following (above), which is very much a precursor to the production of Memento (Following, however, presents the viewers with chaotic time jumps, whereas Memento is linear).
Insomnia
In 2002, Nolan directed a remake of a 1997 film, Insomnia, a film involving two police detectives' search for a killer. The film stars Robin Williams and Al Pacino.
Mr. Hughes
Prior to the announcement by Martin Scorsese that he was planning to make The Aviator, Nolan had begun scripting his own biopic of Howard Hughes, to star Jim Carrey. Nolan, in an interview with Empire Magazine dated July 2005, stated "I guess I just didn't write quickly enough"[1] (http://www.empireonline.co.uk) - the project was abandoned.
Batman Begins
Nolan has said while he's content with his directing resume, he has always dreamed as a child to direct a big blockbuster film. He got his first opportunity to do so in 2003.
In 1997, Warner Brothers, owner of the Batman movie franchise, released Batman & Robin, which was directed by Joel Schumacher. The film received mostly negative reviews and earned the least box office revenue out of the series, forcing Warner Brothers to cancel any sequels and put the franchise on indefinite hiatus.
Six years later, Nolan, together with Blade screenwriter David Goyer pitched the idea of restarting the franchise with a serious origin story. Warner Brothers took the risk of hiring the relatively unknown director to direct the fifth installment of one their biggest franchises. Batman Begins was released on June 15 2005.
Upcoming Projects
The Exec
Based upon the comic of the same name, The Exec shows future business played out as war. The screenplay is to be written by Jonathan Nolan, Chris' brother.
The Prestige
An adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel about two rival magicians in the 19th century, The Prestige has been optioned for a while, and is allegedly high on Nolan's list of priorities post-Batman. It is reportedly to be another collaboration for Christopher with his brother.
The Keys To The Street
Nolan wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of the Ruth Rendell novel, however looks unlikely to direct it, reportedly since it "has a lot in common with the three films [he has] made"[2] (http://www.christophernolan.net).
Batman Sequels
Nolan and screenwriter David Goyer have plans to do a trilogy of Batman movies revolving around the characters of Two Face and The Joker.
Director Filmography
Short Films
- Tarantella (1989) (Also writer-producer)
- Larceny (1996) (Also writer-producer)
- Doodlebug (1997) (Also writer-producer)
Features
- Following (1998) (also writer-producer)
- Memento (2000) (also writer)
- Insomnia (2002)
- Batman Begins (2005) (also co-writer)
External links
- Template:Imdb name
- ChristopherNolan.net - Unofficial Website (http://www.christophernolan.net)de:Christopher Nolan
fr:Christopher Nolan fi:Christopher Nolan ja:クリストファー・ノーラン sv:Christopher Nolan