The film that started of my love of cinema and ambition to one day make movies for a living was Inception, the mind-bending action flick from US-based Brit Christopher Nolan. Having watched nearly all of his films bar Insomnia, which I've heard is his worst, I'm pretty much settled on the fact
that Nolan is my favourite writer/director, and so it seems fitting that he'd be a perfect choice for my arts hero. His films are thrilling enough for mainstream appeal and box office success, yet still manage captivate the cult following he's had since warped thriller Memento. I love the fact that he strives to do most special effects in-camera, and that he's one of the few filmmakers to only work with film rather than succumb to the digital era.
Nolan's interest in film started when he was very young. At the SBIFF in 2011, he told of his first experience with a camera - like most, with his dad's Super 8mm. Christopher and his brother Jonathan (who he now co-writes with on most of his films) would make Lego stop-motion animations, inspired by 70s epics like Star Wars. Having created a few surrealist shorts during his time at UCL, a university that Nolan chose specifically for it's filmmaking equipment, he saved up enough money and had made enough contacts with actors to put life into a feature film project, called Following. Following is Nolan's first film and follows (no pun intended) the exploits of an aspiring writer as he meets a burglar and a mysterious woman after stalking strangers to gain
writing material. Nolan was inspired by ultra low-budget American films and shot Following on a shoestring of £3,000, filming at weekends over the course of a year. This philosophy of being frugal yet effective is something that I really admire about Nolan's entry into cinema, and is hopefully a model from which I can learn from.
The next step for Nolan was in the indie niche of NewmarketFilms, who would go on to release cult classics like Donnie Darko. At first, Nolan's second film Memento - based on a short story written by his brother - struggled to find distributers, but when it did, the memory-based thriller told in reverse chronology became very successful. It received two Oscar nominations, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay. It was also his first collaboration with Director of Photography Wally Pfister, whom he would go on to work with for all of his other films. On his next one, Insomnia, Chris and his DP worked hard on the way it was shot due to the location, Alaska, where the sun never sets. This was another triumph for Nolan, yet by far not his greatest.
Many people consider the reboot of the Batman franchise to be the director's best work yet. With a clear focus on Bruce Wayne's fractured psyche and the most realistic portrayal of any superhero yet, the 'Dark Knight Trilogy' was a phenomenal success. 2006's Batman Begins showed us the turmoils of coping with loss, finding out the meaning of justice and the most badass Batman audiences had ever seen. 2008's The Dark Knight was a delve into fast-paced city set action flicks like Heat, and is my personal favourite of the trilogy. Last year's The Dark Knight Rises proved how good a filmmaker Nolan really is - he can pull off an outstanding comic book trilogy without any faults.
In between these films, Nolan revealed The Prestige, a 19thCentury set mystery drama. It featured an eclectic cast from regulars Christian Bale and Michael Caine, plus newcomers Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Andy Serkis and David Bowie. It's a great, intriguing film with twists and turns along the way. Though (in my opinion), it isn't a patch on Inception. Released in July 2010, it's an out and out summer blockbuster, but one that has arthouse appeal and doesn't treat the audience patronisingly. Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, (you guessed it) Michael Caine and Tom Hardy (who would soon be Bane in Nolan's next feature) star in the action thriller based in the world of dreams. It attained 4 Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Picture. The King's Speech won that year, but I bet more than a few would have rather seen the Oscar go to this incredible piece of cinema.
Nolan's going to be writing and directing Interstellar, an epic sci-fi quest that's due to land some time in 2014. It sounds like it's going to be something special - but to be honest, even if he was doing a romantic comedy, I'd be the first in line to see it.
that Nolan is my favourite writer/director, and so it seems fitting that he'd be a perfect choice for my arts hero. His films are thrilling enough for mainstream appeal and box office success, yet still manage captivate the cult following he's had since warped thriller Memento. I love the fact that he strives to do most special effects in-camera, and that he's one of the few filmmakers to only work with film rather than succumb to the digital era.
Nolan's interest in film started when he was very young. At the SBIFF in 2011, he told of his first experience with a camera - like most, with his dad's Super 8mm. Christopher and his brother Jonathan (who he now co-writes with on most of his films) would make Lego stop-motion animations, inspired by 70s epics like Star Wars. Having created a few surrealist shorts during his time at UCL, a university that Nolan chose specifically for it's filmmaking equipment, he saved up enough money and had made enough contacts with actors to put life into a feature film project, called Following. Following is Nolan's first film and follows (no pun intended) the exploits of an aspiring writer as he meets a burglar and a mysterious woman after stalking strangers to gain
writing material. Nolan was inspired by ultra low-budget American films and shot Following on a shoestring of £3,000, filming at weekends over the course of a year. This philosophy of being frugal yet effective is something that I really admire about Nolan's entry into cinema, and is hopefully a model from which I can learn from.
The next step for Nolan was in the indie niche of NewmarketFilms, who would go on to release cult classics like Donnie Darko. At first, Nolan's second film Memento - based on a short story written by his brother - struggled to find distributers, but when it did, the memory-based thriller told in reverse chronology became very successful. It received two Oscar nominations, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay. It was also his first collaboration with Director of Photography Wally Pfister, whom he would go on to work with for all of his other films. On his next one, Insomnia, Chris and his DP worked hard on the way it was shot due to the location, Alaska, where the sun never sets. This was another triumph for Nolan, yet by far not his greatest.
Many people consider the reboot of the Batman franchise to be the director's best work yet. With a clear focus on Bruce Wayne's fractured psyche and the most realistic portrayal of any superhero yet, the 'Dark Knight Trilogy' was a phenomenal success. 2006's Batman Begins showed us the turmoils of coping with loss, finding out the meaning of justice and the most badass Batman audiences had ever seen. 2008's The Dark Knight was a delve into fast-paced city set action flicks like Heat, and is my personal favourite of the trilogy. Last year's The Dark Knight Rises proved how good a filmmaker Nolan really is - he can pull off an outstanding comic book trilogy without any faults.
In between these films, Nolan revealed The Prestige, a 19thCentury set mystery drama. It featured an eclectic cast from regulars Christian Bale and Michael Caine, plus newcomers Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Andy Serkis and David Bowie. It's a great, intriguing film with twists and turns along the way. Though (in my opinion), it isn't a patch on Inception. Released in July 2010, it's an out and out summer blockbuster, but one that has arthouse appeal and doesn't treat the audience patronisingly. Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, (you guessed it) Michael Caine and Tom Hardy (who would soon be Bane in Nolan's next feature) star in the action thriller based in the world of dreams. It attained 4 Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Picture. The King's Speech won that year, but I bet more than a few would have rather seen the Oscar go to this incredible piece of cinema.
Nolan's going to be writing and directing Interstellar, an epic sci-fi quest that's due to land some time in 2014. It sounds like it's going to be something special - but to be honest, even if he was doing a romantic comedy, I'd be the first in line to see it.
