Christopher Nolan 1

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan

Nolan in 2013

Born 30 July 1970London, England, UK

Education BA in English literature

Alma mater University College London

Occupation Film director, screenwriter, film producer

Spouse(s) Emma Thomas; 4 children

Awards See here

Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (/ˈnoʊlən/; born 30 July 1970) is a British film director, screenwriter andproducer. He co-founded the production company Syncopy Films with his wife and producer, Emma Thomas.Since his debut in 1998, Nolan has directed eight features, ranging from low budget independent films to large-scale,major studio-supported blockbusters. In total, they have grossed approximately $1.6 billion in North America and$3.5 billion worldwide. Nolan has been described as "one of the most innovative storytellers and image makers atwork in movies today".He has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Original Screenplay. In July 2012,Nolan became the youngest director to be honored with a hand-and-footprint ceremony at Grauman's ChineseTheatre in Los Angeles.

Christopher Nolan 2

Early life

Nolan read English Literature at UCL, and hasfilmed many scenes for his films there.

Nolan was born in London, England to Christina (a flight attendant)and Brendan Nolan (an advertising copywriter).[1] A dual citizen of theUnited Kingdom and the United States, Wikipedia:Please clarifyWikipedia:Please clarify he grew up splitting his time betweenChicago and London. Nolan began making films at age seven,borrowing his father's Super 8 camera and shooting short movies of hisaction figures.[2]

He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, anindependent school on Hertford Heath in Hertfordshire, and later readEnglish literature at University College London (UCL). He chose UCLspecifically for its filmmaking facilities, which comprised a Steenbeckediting suite and 16 mm film cameras.[3] Nolan was president of theUnion's Film Society, and with longtime film producer Emma Thomas he screened 35 mm feature films during theschool year and used the money earned to produce 16 mm films over the summers.

During his college years, Nolan made two short films. The first was the surreal 8 mm Tarantella (1989), which wasshown on Image Union (an independent film and video showcase on the Public Broadcasting Service). The secondwas Larceny (1995), filmed over a weekend in black-and-white with a limited cast, crew and equipment. Funded byNolan and shot with the society's equipment, it appeared at the Cambridge Film Festival in 1996 and is consideredone of UCL's best recent shorts. After graduation, Nolan directed corporate videos and industrial films. He beganwork on his third short, Doodlebug (1997), about a man chasing an insect around a flat with a shoe only to discoverwhen killing it that it is a miniature of himself. This short introduced ideas which Nolan would later incorporate intohis feature films. [citation needed]

Career

1990sIn 1998 Nolan directed his first feature film, Following. It depicts an unemployed young writer who trails strangersthrough London, hoping they will provide material for his first novel; however, he is drawn into a criminalunderworld when he fails to keep his distance. The film was inspired by Nolan's experience of living in London andhaving his flat burgled: "There is an interesting connection between a stranger going through your possessions andthe concept of following people at random through a crowd – both take you beyond the boundaries of ordinary socialrelations". Following was made on a modest budget of £3,000,[4] and was shot on weekends over the course of ayear. To conserve film stock, each scene in the film was rehearsed extensively to ensure that the first or second takecould be used in the final edit.[5] Nolan directed the film from his own script, photographing and editing it himself.Following won several awards during its festival run[6] and was well received by critics; on 11 December 2012, itwas released on DVD and Blu-ray as part of the Criterion Collection.

2000sNolan's second feature, Memento, premiered on 5 September 2000 at the Venice International Film Festival tocritical acclaim.[7] Based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Christopher's brother Jonathan, it follows LeonardShelby, who has anterograde amnesia and uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man who (he thinks) killed his wife.The film was a box-office success and received a number of accolades, including Academy Award nominations forBest Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.[8]

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Nolan followed Memento with the psychological thriller Insomnia (2002), a film about two Los Angeles detectivessent to a northern Alaskan town to investigate the methodical murder of a local teenager. Insomnia is a remake of the1997 Norwegian film of the same name. By providing a different backstory and personality for the protagonist(contrasting the character's sympathetic qualities with his actions) his version has different interpretations andanswers than the original film. It was well received by critics and did moderately well at the box office, earning$113 million worldwide. After Insomnia, Nolan planned a Howard Hughes biographical film starring Jim Carrey. Hehad written a screenplay, but when he learned that Martin Scorsese was making a Hughes biopic (2004's TheAviator) he reluctantly tabled his script and moved on to other projects.In early 2003 Nolan approached Warner Bros. with his ideas about a human Batman film, grounded in a "relatable"world more reminiscent of a classical drama than a comic-book fantasy. Batman Begins (2005) was released on 15June 2005 to critical acclaim and commercial success. The film revived the franchise, heralding a trend towardsdarker films which retold (or retooled) backstories. Batman Begins was the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2005 inthe United States and the year's ninth-highest-grossing film worldwide. It was nominated for the Academy Award forBest Cinematography and three BAFTA awards.Before returning to the Batman franchise Nolan directed, co-wrote and produced The Prestige (2006), an adaptationof the Christopher Priest novel about two rival 19th-century magicians. In 2001, when Nolan was in post-productionfor Insomnia, he asked his brother Jonathan to help write the script for the film. The screenplay was an intermittent,five-year collaboration between the brothers. Nolan initially intended to make the film as early as 2003, postponingthe project after agreeing to make Batman Begins. The Prestige received critical acclaim (including Oscarnominations for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction), and earned over $109 million worldwide.[9][10]

Nolan returned to the Batman franchise, announcing in late July 2006 that the sequel to Batman Begins would becalled The Dark Knight. Released in 2008, The Dark Knight is considered one of the best films of the 2000s and oneof the best superhero films ever made. It received good reviews, setting a number of box-office records during itstheatrical run. The film earned $534,858,444 in North America and $469,700,000 abroad, for a worldwide total of$1,004,558,444. It is the first feature film shot partially in the 15/70 mm IMAX format. At the 81st AcademyAwards the film was nominated for eight Oscars, winning two: the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing and aposthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger.[11]

2010sAfter The Dark Knight's success, Warner Bros. signed Nolan to direct Inception. Nolan also wrote and co-producedthe film, described as "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind". Before its release,several reports suggested that the film was too complex to appeal to a broad audience and would struggle at the boxoffice. In an article appearing in The Wall Street Journal, industry executives noted that the commercial prospects ofInception could influence the industry as a whole. Veteran producer John Davis said, "I can promise you that headsof studios are already going into production meetings saying we need fresh ideas for summer movies, we wantoriginal concepts like Inception that are big and bold enough to carry themselves". The film was released on 16 July2010, and was a critical and commercial success. It grossed over $800 million worldwide and was nominated foreight Oscars, winning four: Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.During post-production for Inception, Nolan was interviewed in These Amazing Shadows (2011), a documentaryspotlighting film appreciation and preservation by the National Film Registry. He agreed to the interview afterspeaking with producer Doug Blush at a piano recital featuring his son and Blush's daughter. He appeared in Side bySide (2012), a documentary about the history and process of digital and photochemical film creation.In 2012 Nolan directed his third (and final) Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. Although he was initially hesitant about returning to the series, he agreed to come back after developing a story with his brother and David S. Goyer which he felt would end the series on a high note. The Dark Knight Rises was released on 20 July 2012 to critical acclaim; like its predecessor it performed well at the box office, becoming the thirteenth film to cross the $1-billion

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mark.[12] During a midnight showing of the film at the Century16 cinema in Aurora, Colorado a gunman opened fireinside the theater, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.During story discussions for The Dark Knight Rises in 2010, Goyer told Nolan of his idea to present Superman in amodern context. Impressed with Goyer's concept, Nolan pitched the idea to the studio (who hired Nolan to produceand Goyer to write, based on the financial and critical success of The Dark Knight). The title of the film was revealedto be Man of Steel; while Nolan admired Bryan Singer's work on Superman Returns for its connection to RichardDonner's version, he said that the new film would have no relationship to the previous film series. Nolan offeredZack Snyder the director's chair, based on his stylized adaptations of 300 (2006) and Watchmen (2009) and his"innate aptitude for dealing with superheroes as real characters". Man of Steel grossed more than $660 million at theworldwide box office, but reviews were mixed.

Future projectsOn 13 June 2012 Nolan confirmed that he and Emma Thomas would be the executive producers of Wally Pfister'sdirectorial debut, Transcendence (2014). Jack Paglen wrote the screenplay, which revolves around two computerscientists who work toward a goal of technological singularity as a radical anti-technology organization tries toprevent them from creating a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain. Nolan's formerassistant (and frequent collaborator), Jordan Goldberg, reworked the script with Alex Paraskevas. Transcendence isscheduled to be released in theaters on 18 April 2014.In January 2013 it was announced that Nolan would direct, write and produce his next project: a science-fiction filmentitled Interstellar. The film's concept stems from a treatment written by theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, bestknown for his contributions to gravitation physics and astrophysics and for his LIGO project (Laser InterferometerGravitational Wave Observatory). The first drafts of the script were written by Jonathan Nolan, and it was originallyto be directed by Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. are co-financing and co-distributing theproject, scheduled for release on 7 November 2014.[13] The film will depict "a heroic interstellar voyage to thefarthest borders of our scientific understanding".Julius Sevcík will direct Nolan's and Michael Stokes adaptation of Ruth Rendell's psychological thriller The Keys tothe Street. The film is slated to being production in early 2014. Nolan first adapted the novel into a screenplaysometime in the late nineties and was developing the film as a possible project after Insomnia (the film was setup atFox Searchlight), but he felt it was too similar to the films he had already done.[14]

Nolan and Thomas will be executive producers for the Man of Steel sequel, which is scheduled for release in 2015.

Aesthetics

StyleNolan's visual style emphasizes urban settings, men in suits, muted colors (often monochrome), dialogue scenesframed in wide close-up with a shallow depth of field and modern locations and architecture. His films draw heavilyon film noir, with Nolan noting that he identifies all his films with that genre.The director is particularly known for his nonlinear storytelling and for merging the narrative and mise-en-scène with a psychological and philosophical subtext.[15] He often uses editing as a way to represent the characters' psychological states, merging their subjectivity with that of the audience. For example, in Memento the fragmented sequential order of scenes is to put the audience into a similar experience of Leonard's defective ability to create new long-term memories. Regarding point of view, Nolan has said: "Whether in the pure camera blocking or even the writing, it's all about point of view. I can't cut a scene if I haven't already figured out whose point of view I'm looking at, and I can't shoot the scene in a neutral way. I've tried to use more objective camera techniques - a longer lens, flattening things out, using multi-camera - but they don't work... I don't use zoom lenses, for example, so I don't reframe using the zoom. Instead, we always move the camera physically closer and put a different focal length on.

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Stylistically, something that runs through my films is the shot that walks into a room behind a character, because tome, that takes me inside the way that the character enters. I think those point-of-view issues are very important."Nolan's protagonists are usually psychologically damaged, obsessively seeking vengeance for the death of a lovedone. They are often driven by philosophical beliefs, and their fate is ambiguous. In many of his films the protagonistand antagonist are mirror images of each other, a point which is made to the protagonist by the antagonist. Nolan'sdialogue and writing style are cinematic, often using a number of storytelling techniques such as flashbacks, shiftingpoints of view and unreliable narrators. Scenes are often interrupted by the unconventional editing style of cuttingaway quickly from the money shot (or nearly cutting off characters' dialogue) and crosscutting several scenes ofparallel action to build to a climax.Nolan uses cinéma-vérité techniques (such as hand-held camera work) to convey realism. In an interview at the FilmSociety of Lincoln Center, Nolan explained his emphasis on realism in The Dark Knight trilogy: "You try and get theaudience to invest in cinematic reality. When I talk about reality in these films, it’s often misconstrued as a directreality, but it's really about a cinematic reality."

MethodNolan prefers shooting on film to digital video, and opposes the use of digital intermediates and digitalcinematography, which he feels are less reliable and offer inferior image quality to film. In particular, the directoradvocates for the use of higher-quality, larger-format film stock such as anamorphic 35 mm, VistaVision, 65 mmand IMAX. Nolan uses multi-camera for stunts and single-camera for all the dramatic action, from which he willthen watch dailies every night; "Shooting single-camera means I've already seen every frame as it's gone through thegate because my attention isn't divided to multi-cameras." When working with actors, Nolan prefers giving them thetime to perform as many takes of a given scene as they want. "I've come to realize that the lighting and camerasetups, the technical things, take all the time, but running another take generally only adds a couple of minutes. ... Ifan actor tells me they can do something more with a scene, I give them the chance, because it's not going to cost thatmuch time. It can't all be about the technical issues."Nolan chooses to minimize the amount of computer-generated imagery for special effects in his films, preferring touse practical effects whenever possible, only using CGI only to enhance elements which he has photographed incamera. For instance his films Batman Begins and Inception featured 620 and 500 visual-effects shots, respectively,which is considered minor when compared with contemporary visual-effects epics which may have upwards of1,500 to 2,000 VFX shots: "I believe in an absolute difference between animation and photography. Howeversophisticated your computer-generated imagery is, if it's been created from no physical elements and you haven'tshot anything, it's going to feel like animation. There are usually two different goals in a visual effects movie. One isto fool the audience into seeing something seamless, and that's how I try to use it. The other is to impress theaudience with the amount of money spent on the spectacle of the visual effect, and that, I have no interest in".Nolan shoots the entirety of his films with one unit, rather than using a second unit for action sequences. In that wayNolan keeps his personality and point of view in every aspect of the film. "If I don't need to be directing the shotsthat go in the movie, why do I need to be there at all? The screen is the same size for every shot. The little shot of,say, a watch on someone's wrist, will occupy the same screen size as the shot of a thousand people running down thestreet. Everything is equally weighted and needs to be considered with equal care, I really do believe that. I don’tunderstand the criteria for parceling things off. Many action films embrace a second unit taking on all of the action.For me, that’s odd because then why did you want to do an action film?"

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ThemesFilms are subjective – what you like, what you don't like, but the thing for me that is absolutely unifying is the idea that every time Igo to the cinema and pay my money and sit down and watch a film go up onscreen, I want to feel that the people who made that filmthink it's the best movie in the world, that they poured everything into it and they really love it. Whether or not I agree with whatthey've done, I want that effort there – I want that sincerity. And when you don't feel it, that's the only time I feel like I'm wasting mytime at the movies.

—Nolan, on sincerity and ambition in filmmaking.

Nolan's work explores existential and phenomenological themes such as subjective experience and construction ofidentity. "I'm fascinated by our subjective perception of reality, that we are all stuck in a very singular point of view,a singular perspective on what we all agree to be an objective reality, and movies are one of the ways in which wetry to see things from the same point of view".Self-deception and the complexity of truth versus falsehood are among Nolan’s most prevalent themes. According tofilm theorist Todd McGowan, Nolan's work reveals the ethical and political importance of creating fictions andfalsehoods. In The Fictional Christopher Nolan McGowan argues that Nolan is the first filmmaker to devote himselfentirely to the illusion of the medium, calling him a Hegelian filmmaker.[16] Other recurring themes includeobsession, sacrifice, betrayal, solitude, memory, revenge, violence, escalation, corruption, terrorism, surveillance,blackmail, alienation, self-incrimination, idealism versus realism, ghosts of the past, regret and conspiracy.Some have related Nolan's work to existential philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, particularly his 1883 book ThusSpoke Zarathustra. The resemblance is evident in The Dark Knight trilogy where the Batman arc, risingphilosophically from mere man to "more than just a man", is similar to the Nietzschian Übermensch. Others havedrawn parallels to Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and his philosophical glorification of a simpler,more-primitive way of life and his concept of general will.In Inception, Nolan was inspired by lucid dreaming and dream incubation. The film's characters try to embed an ideain a person's mind without their knowledge, similar to Freud's theories that the unconscious influences one's behaviorwithout their knowledge. Most of the film takes place in interconnected dream worlds; this creates a frameworkwhere actions in the real (or dream) worlds ripple across others. The dream is always in a state of emergence,shifting across levels as the characters navigate it.[17] In contrast, The Matrix (1999) takes place in an authoritarian,computer-controlled world, alluding to theories of social control developed by Michel Foucault and Jean Baudrillard.Nolan's world has more in common with the works of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.

InfluencesNolan has cited Stanley Kubrick, Terrence Malick, Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, Nicolas Roeg, Sidney Lumet, DavidLean, Ridley Scott, Terry Gilliam, and John Frankenheimer[18] as influences. Nolan's personal favorite films includeBlade Runner (1982), Star Wars (1977), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Lawrence of Arabia (1962),Chinatown (1974), and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The director has expressed his admiration for films such asOut of the Past (1947), Topkapi (1964), Performance (1968), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), The Man WhoFell to Earth (1976), The Black Hole (1979), The Wall (1982), The Hitcher (1986), and Pulp Fiction (1994). Otherinfluences include graphic artist M. C. Escher and authors James Ellroy, Jim Thompson, Jorge Luis Borges, CharlesDickens[19] and Graham Swift's magnum opus, Waterland.In 2013, Criterion Collection released a list of Nolan's ten favorite films from its catalog, which included The Hit(1984), 12 Angry Men (1957), The Thin Red Line (1998), The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), Bad Timing (1980),Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), For All Mankind (1989), Koyaanisqatsi (1982), Mr. Arkadin (1955), andErich von Stroheim's Greed (1924) (unavailable on Criterion).

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CollaborationsNolan's wife, Emma Thomas, has produced all of his films (including Memento, in which she is credited as anassociate producer). He frequently collaborates with his brother, screenwriter and producer Jonathan Nolan, whodescribes their working relationship in the production notes for The Prestige: "I've always suspected that it hassomething to do with the fact that he's left-handed and I'm right-handed, because he's somehow able to look at myideas and flip them around in a way that's just a little bit more twisted and interesting. It's great to be able to workwith him like that". Nolan's uncle, John, appeared as a police officer in Following and as Fredericks in BatmanBegins and The Dark Knight Rises, and a cousin, Miranda, was the flight attendant in Inception and a maid at WayneManor in The Dark Knight Rises.The director has worked with screenwriter David S. Goyer on all his comic-book adaptations. Nolan's formerassistant and frequent collaborator, Jordan Goldberg, has been a producer of every Nolan-directed film since ThePrestige and helped rework Wally Pfister's directorial debut, Transcendence. Pfister was the cinematographer for allof Nolan's films from Memento to The Dark Knight Rises. He spoke of his relationship with the director: "Mine andChris' working relationship is defined, quite simply, by the great respect we have for each other. I've learned so muchfrom him in terms of him pushing me to find beauty in a simpler method of photography. We're also verylike-minded, we share a sense of humor, and from the beginning I trust his judgement." Nolan and Thomas areexecutive producers of Transcendence.Lee Smith has been Nolan's editor since Batman Begins, with Dody Dorn editing Memento and Insomnia. DavidJulyan composed the music for Nolan's early shorts, Following, Memento, Insomnia and The Prestige, while HansZimmer and James Newton Howard provided the music for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Zimmer scoredThe Dark Knight Rises, and worked with Nolan on Inception and the upcoming Interstellar. The director has workedwith sound designer Richard King since The Prestige. Since Batman Begins, Nolan has collaborated withspecial-effects supervisor Chris Corbould, stunt coordinator Tom Struthers and visual effects supervisor Paul J.Franklin (from Double Negative). Production designer Nathan Crowley has worked with him since Insomnia (exceptfor Inception). As of 2012, casting director John Papsidera has worked on all of Nolan's films, except Following andInsomnia. [citation needed]

Nolan often casts veteran actors in supporting roles; examples include Rutger Hauer in Batman Begins, Eric Robertsand Anthony Michael Hall in The Dark Knight, Tom Berenger in Inception, and Matthew Modine in The DarkKnight Rises. Modine said of working with Nolan: "There are no chairs on a Nolan set, he gets out of his car andgoes to the set. And he stands up until lunchtime. And then he stands up until they say, 'Wrap.' He's fully engaged –in every aspect of the film."Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy have been frequent collaborators since Batman Begins. Inaddition to their appearances in The Dark Knight Trilogy, Caine and Bale had supporting roles in The Prestige andCaine and Murphy in Inception. Nolan has said he considers Caine his "good luck charm". Caine described him as"one of cinema's greatest directors", on a par with David Lean, John Huston and Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

Personal lifeNolan is married to Emma Thomas, his longtime producer and co-founder of Syncopy Inc. The name of theirproduction company derives from "syncope", the medical term for fainting or loss of consciousness. They have fourchildren and live in Los Angeles.Nolan does not have a cellphone or an email account; when Warner Bros. assigned him an office email account, hewas unaware of it until some time later. "There were thousands of e-mails in this account—some from quiteimportant people, actually," he said. "I had them take it down, so people didn't think they were getting in touch withme." On the topic of cellphones, he has said "It's not that I'm a luddite and don't like technology; I've just never beeninterested. When I moved to L.A. in 1997, nobody really had cellphones, and I just never went down that path."[20]

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RecognitionNolan has received worldwide acclaim for his work from audiences and critics. In 2007, Total Film named him the32nd greatest director of all time In 2012, The Guardian ranked him No. 14 on their list of "The 23 Best FilmDirectors in the World" The following year, Entertainment Weekly named him the 12th greatest working director,writing that "Nolan is the rare director determined to make you, the moviegoer, walk out of the theater after his filmand gasp, I've never seen anything like that before. His movies are full of twists and riddles, and even his popcornfare is stuffed with enough brain candy to fill up a graduate school syllabus." (He was ranked #2 on the same list in2011).The filmmaker has been praised by many of his contemporaries, and some have cited his work as influencing theirown. Rupert Wyatt, director of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), said in an interview that he thinks of Nolan as a"trailblazer ... he is to be hugely admired as a master filmmaker, but also someone who has given others behind hima stick to beat back the naysayers who never thought a modern mass audience would be willing to embrace story andcharacter as much as spectacle". Discussing the difference between art films and big-studio films, Steven Spielbergreferred to Nolan's Dark Knight series as an example of both; he has also described Memento and Inception as"masterworks". Nolan has also been commended by James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, Joseph Kosinski, KevinSmith, Danny Boyle, Brian De Palma, Joss Whedon, Wong Kar-Wai, Steven Soderbergh, Duncan Jones, DamonLindelof, Joe Carnahan, Ben Affleck, Sam Mendes, Werner Herzog, Atom Egoyan, Matthew Vaughn, Paul ThomasAnderson, Paul Greengrass, Brad Bird, Rian Johnson, and others.Nolan's work has been recognised as an influence on videogames. In 2013, the official Xbox magazine named Nolanamong the 100 most important people in games, writing that "videogames have started to look a bit like his films:gritty and complex".

Awards and honors

Year Film Academy Awardnominations

AcademyAward wins

Golden Globenominations

GoldenGlobe wins

BAFTAnominations

BAFTAwins

1998 Following

2000 Memento 2 1

2002 Insomnia

2005 Batman Begins 1 3

2006 The Prestige 2

2008 The DarkKnight

8 2 1 1 9 1

2010 Inception 8 4 4 9 3

2012 The DarkKnight Rises

1

2014 Interstellar - - - - - -

Total 21 6 6 1 22 4

• At the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, Nolan and his brother Jonathan won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Awardfor Memento. In 2013, Total Film ranked Memento the second-best film ever to have played at the festival.

• In 2003, Nolan received the Sonny Bono Visionary Award from the Palm Springs International Film Festival.Festival executive director Mitch Levine said, "Nolan had in his brief time as a feature film director, redefinedand advanced the very language of cinema".

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• He was named an Honorary Fellow of UCL in 2006; a title given out to individuals "who have attained distinctionin the arts, literature, science, business or public life".

• In 2009, the director received the Board of the Governors Award from the American Society ofCinematographers. ASC president Daryn Okada said, "Chris Nolan is infused with talent with which hemasterfully uses to collaboratively create memorable motion pictures ... his quest for superlative images to tellstories has earned the admiration of our members".

• In 2011, Nolan received the Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing from the British Academy ofFilm and Television Arts and the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award from American CinemaEditors. That year he also received the Modern Master Award, the highest honor presented by the Santa BarbaraInternational Film Festival. "Every one of Nolan's films has set a new standard for the film community, withInception being the latest example", said festival executive director Roger Durling; in addition, Nolan was therecipient of the inaugural VES Visionary Award from the Visual Effects Society.

• In July 2012, the director was honored with a hand-and-footprint ceremony at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in LosAngeles.[21]

Filmography

Feature films

Year Film Credited as Distribution Box office

Director Producer Writer

1998 Following Yes Yes Yes Momentum PicturesZeitgeist Films

$240,495 [22]

2000 Memento Yes Yes Summit Entertainment $39,723,096 [23]

2002 Insomnia Yes Warner Bros. $113,714,830 [24]

2005 Batman Begins Yes Yes $374,218,673 [25]

2006 The Prestige Yes Yes Yes Buena Vista PicturesWarner Bros.

$109,676,311 [26]

2008 The Dark Knight Yes Yes Yes Warner Bros. $1,004,558,444 [27]

2010 Inception Yes Yes Yes $825,532,764 [28]

2012 The Dark Knight Rises Yes Yes Yes $1,084,439,099 [29]

2013 Man of Steel Yes Yes $662,833,976 [30]

2014 Transcendence Yes

Interstellar Yes Yes Yes Paramount PicturesWarner Bros.

Short films

Christopher Nolan 10

Year Film Credited as

Director Producer Writer

1989 Tarantella Yes Yes Yes

1995 Larceny Yes Yes Yes

1997 Doodlebug Yes Yes Yes

References[1] "Can't get him out of our heads" (http:/ / www. theage. com. au/ articles/ 2002/ 09/ 07/ 1031115958092. html). The Age. Retrieved 10 April

2011.[2] "Nolan's move from Highgate to Hollywood" (http:/ / www. thisislondon. co. uk/ film/

review-1260075-nolans-move-from-highgate-to-hollywood. do). Evening Standard (London). Retrieved 10 April 2011.[3] Tempest, M. I was there at the Inception of Christopher Nolan's film career (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ film/ filmblog/ 2011/ feb/ 24/

inception-christopher-nolan-film-oscar-director) The Guardian film blog, 24 February 2011; retrieved 21 September 2011.[4] "Interview with Christopher Nolan" (http:/ / www. metro. co. uk/ showbiz/ interviews/ 39-christopher-nolan). Metro; retrieved 10 April 2011.[5] Tobias, S. Interview:Christopher Nolan (http:/ / www. avclub. com/ articles/ christopher-nolan,13769/ ), avclub.com, 5 June 2002; retrieved

13 September 2011.[6] "Awards for Following" (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0154506/ awards?ref_=tt_awd). IMDB; retrieved 25 June 2013.[7] Mottram, p. 62–4.[8] Session Timeout – Academy Awards® Database – AMPAS (http:/ / awardsdatabase. oscars. org/ ampas_awards/ DisplayMain.

jsp;jsessionid=85089250F8C40E42B36D0F921E3F7860?curTime=1295947194337). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.org (29January 2010); retrieved 26 November 2011.

[9] "The Prestige (2006)" (http:/ / www. bo/ Volumes/ Untitled/ PSP/ Photo/ Photo10/ xofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=prestige. htm). Box OfficeMojo; retrieved 10 April 2011.

[10] Murray, Noel. (3 December 2009) The best films of the '00s|Best of the Decade (http:/ / www. avclub. com/ articles/the-best-films-of-the-00s,35931). The A.V. Club; retrieved 26 January 2011.

[11] "The Oscars 2009" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ entertainment/ oscars/ 7842438. stm). BBC News.[12] Box Office Mojo: Index Christopher Nolan; retrieved 13 September 2012 (http:/ / www. boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=batman3. htm)[13] Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' To Be Paramount–Warner Bros Co-Production And Joint Distribution (http:/ / www. deadline. com/ 2013/

03/ christopher-nolans-interstellar-to-be-paramount-warner-bros-co-production-and-joint-distribution/ )[14] Gemma Arterton to star in Christopher Nolan-penned thriller 'The Keys to the Street', Meeting with Ridley Scott for 'Alien' prequels' (http:/ /

theplaylist. blogspot. com/ 2010/ 09/ gemma-arterton-to-star-in-christopher. html) The Playlist, 9 June 2011[15][15] Fischer, p. 37.[16][16] McGowan, 2012.[17] Paul, I.A. Desiring-Machines in American Cinema: What Inception tells us about our experience of reality and film (http:/ / sensesofcinema.

com/ 2010/ feature-articles/ desiring-machines-in-american-cinema-what-inception-tells-us-about-our-experience-of-reality-and-film/ ) Sensesof Cinema, Issue 56; retrieved 4 October 2011

[18] "The Unofficial Christopher Nolan Website/Biography" (http:/ / www. christophernolan. net/ biography. php). christophernolan.net;retrieved 15 June 2013.

[19][19] Jesser, Pourroy (2012), p. 51.[20] 'Dark Knight Rises' Director Christopher Nolan's Shocking Admission: No Cell Phone, Email Address (http:/ / www. hollywoodreporter.

com/ news/ dark-knight-rises-christopher-nolan-batman-352120)[21] Christopher Nolan Hand and Footprint Ceremony, EW Magazine (http:/ / insidemovies. ew. com/ 2012/ 07/ 07/

christopher-nolan-hand-and-footprint-ceremony/ )[22] http:/ / www. the-numbers. com/ movies/ 1999/ 00161. php[23] http:/ / www. boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=memento. htm[24] http:/ / www. boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=insomnia. htm[25] http:/ / www. boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=batmanbegins. htm[26] http:/ / www. boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=prestige. htm[27] http:/ / www. boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=darkknight. htm[28] http:/ / boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=inception. htm[29] http:/ / boxofficemojo. com/ movies?id=batman3. htm[30] http:/ / boxofficemojo. com/ movies/ ?id=superman2012. htm

Sources

Christopher Nolan 11

• Mottram, James (2002). The Making of Memento. New York: Faber. ISBN 0-571-21488-6.• Duncan Jesser, Jody; Pourroy, Janine (2012). The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy. Abrams.

ISBN 978-1419703690.• Fischer, Mark (2011). The Lost Unconscious: Delusions and Dreams in Inception. Film Quarterly , Volume 64

(3) University of California Press.• McGowan, Todd (2012). The Fictional Christopher Nolan. Texas: the University of Texas Press.

ISBN 978-0-292-73782-2.

Further reading• Nolan, Christopher "Charisma as Natural as Gravity" (http:/ / www. newsweek. com/ id/ 105580). Christopher

Nolan. Newsweek. 2008-01-26. A memoir of Heath Ledger.• Nolan, C. (Author); Nolan, Jonah (Preface) (2010), Inception: The Shooting Script, Insight Editions,

ISBN 1-60887-015-4• Nolan, C. (2001), Memento & Following, Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-571-22994-8• Nolan, C.; Goyer, David, S. (2005), Batman Begins: The Screenplay, Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-571-21047-3

External links• Christopher Nolan (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ name/ nm634240/ ) at the Internet Movie Database• Christopher Nolan (http:/ / www. rottentomatoes. com/ celebrity/ christopher_nolan) at Rotten Tomatoes• Christopher Nolan (http:/ / www. allrovi. com/ name/ p240025) at AllRovi• Christopher Nolan (http:/ / movies. yahoo. com/ movie/ contributor/ 1800021821) at Yahoo! Movies• Christopher Nolan Biography (http:/ / www. tribute. ca/ people/ christopher-nolan/ 6453/ 35045/ ) at Tribute.ca

(http:/ / www. tribute. ca)• NolanFans.com (http:/ / www. nolanfans. com) Fansite and community for Christopher Nolan.

Preceded byJoel Schumacher

Batman filmdirector

2005–2012

Succeeded by –

Article Sources and Contributors 12

Article Sources and ContributorsChristopher Nolan  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=575814416  Contributors: -5-, 2602:306:C5C3:A920:48C5:827D:A8FC:6BDC,2605:E000:1306:C03D:BC70:4E0F:E49A:7CB3, 34waystolickhoney, 6afraidof7, A R Buschert, AP526, Aboalbiss, AbsenceWiki, Abtinb, Acetaminophen, Addyman11, Ahecht, Aia94,Ailemadrah, Aircorn, Ajplmr, Ajraddatz, Alaric Deschain, Alex Middleton, Alex Weitzman, AlexanderHaas, Alexey2244, Alientraveller, Alienwatcher, Alisoni, AlistairMcMillan, All Hallow'sWraith, Amijeet, Amithshs, Ampz123, Analoguedragon, Anbu121, And Rew, Andrewpmk, Andrzejbanas, Angryapathy, Anir1uph, Annoynmous, Ant, Antti29, Arbero, Arbor to SJ, ArdClose,Arkham11, Armegon, Arnoldo96, Arstraky1, Artist125, Ashliveslove, Astarf, Asylum 0, Auntof6, Auric, Australian Matt, Ayushbisaria, BD2412, BK DC, Bacteria, Bad Graphics Ghost,Bagohammers, Baldursgate, Ballstein1997, Barachel001, BarqSimpson, Bartallen2, Barts1a, Baville, Bay2c, Bbgahan, BdaC, Beardo, Beerest355, Behnam Lot, Ben Ben, Ben.wedin, Bencey,Bender235, Benjiross1, Bevo74, Bgwhite, Bignole, Bkkbrad, Blagflagnlag, Blend1100, Bluescarred, Blurred Lines, Bob rulz, Bobak, Boleyn2, Bongwarrior, Bovineboy2008, Boyakacsha,Boycool42, Branstrom, Brboyle.jayhawk, Brighterorange, Browndog72, Brucewayne18, Burnunit, Buster7, Byelf2007, Bysmuth, CAMGUYNUM1, CGTraveler, CTF83!, Calmer Waters, Calvin1998, CambridgeBayWeather, Candent shlimazel, Cantacle, Canthusus, CapitalLetterBeginning, Capt. 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Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Christopher Nolan, London, 2013 (crop).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Christopher_Nolan,_London,_2013_(crop).jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution 3.0  Contributors: User:KeraunoscopiaFile:University College London -quadrant-11Sept2006 (1).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:University_College_London_-quadrant-11Sept2006_(1).jpg  License:Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors: Steve Cadman from London, U.K.

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