Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan’s second movie after the war thriller Dunkirk (2017) which earned him the Best Director Oscar nomination. But this year, it’s a high chance that he could finally win the award as well. He has been a standout director for using trademark non-linear storytelling and noirish visual aesthetics. And Oppenheimer which has been nominated in 13 categories at this year’s Oscars is just another addition to his already flourished career.
However, it seems Oppenheimer‘s success has affected Nolan. Robert Downey Jr. who has been a part of the movie and is a frontrunner to win Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission in an interview spilled the beans on Christopher Nolan’s distaste for public recognition.
Oppenheimer’s Success Has Been “Terrible” Tor Introvert Christopher Nolan
Oppenheimer is definitely a critically hit earning a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was also one of the most successful movies of 2023. The movie grossed $960 million at the worldwide box office, (per The Numbers) and became the third-highest-grossing film of the year and the second-highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
However, the runaway success of Oppenheimer has become “a terrible tragedy” for its introverted director Christopher Nolan, claimed Robert Downey Jr.
“Confidentially, he needs his spirits lifted,” Downey Jr. joked when speaking about Nolan. “He’s a bit blue because a terrible tragedy has befallen him. I don’t mean to bring this up, and I know it’s very personal: He has become recognizable on the street. He recoils as though from a hot flame from this new and most unwelcome reality,” (Via Variety).
Nolan, the man behind Oppenheimer, is now a victim of his success. Downey Jr. made the comments while presenting Nolan with the inaugural Trailblazer Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, an honor that recognizes the director’s contributions to independent filmmaking.
While accepting the award, Nolan thanked the festival, acknowledging how it helped him in his career, and cited his second film Memento.
“It’s two weeks or so in which independent filmmaking doesn’t just mean a business model,” Nolan said of the festival. “It means an aspiration for filmmakers. It means that as directors and writers and actors, you’re treated as artists. You are given pride of authorship in what you’ve done.”
Oppenheimer is sweeping awards at various award ceremonies and is a sure serious contender at the Oscars as well. Alongside Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr, the film features an ensemble cast including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, and Kenneth Branagh.
Christopher Nolan Will Never Direct an Indie Film
The famed filmmaker will not be going back to his old days when he made films like Memento or Following. In a recent interview, Nolan stated that he’s more likely never going to make such movies again. He is now getting used to making bigger-than-life movies.
While sitting with with Time, the Inception filmmaker said that though he has a great admiration for such movies, he is not going back to making small-scale movies for now.
“I’m drawn to working at a large scale because I know how fragile the opportunity to marshal those resources is,” Nolan told the publication about sticking with big productions.
“I know that there are so many filmmakers out there in the world who would give their eye teeth to have the resources I put together, and I feel I have the responsibility to use them in the most productive and interesting way.”
In the interview, Nolan mentioned small-budget indies like Past Lives and Aftersun, as “beautiful” movies. It’s noteworthy that while his latest movie Oppenheimer was made at a budget of $100 million, his debut feature film Following (1998) was made at a budget of just $6000, per The Numbers, grossing $240 million worldwide. The movie was the door to his introduction to cinema.
Oppenheimer is available to stream on Peacock.
