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The Intersection of Comedy & Drama
Christopher Nolan is now a verb.
The director of gritty, epic dramas that are grounded in realism and groundbreaking science-fiction, yet elevated with labyrinths of mind-bending plot twists, has carved out a space of his own in the cinematic world. His style is definitive. Nolan’s innovative take on movies (honoring the past while reaching for new dimensions) has resulted in a strong following (pardon the pun).
Nolan’s latest film, Interstellar, was an operatic space epic that took adventures into the stars to another level because of its gravity in scientific theory. Along with the brilliant soundtrack by composing collaborator Hans Zimmer, Interstellar will inspire future filmmakers, composers, actors and storytellers.
And this, surprisingly, includes fans of comedy.
We’ll never look at Mel Brooks and his movie Spaceballs the same way again…
I love it.
Is it Determined To Be (DTB) a Mind-Bender?
(Photo by Stephen Vaughan, on an elaborately built set for Inception)
“Warner Bros. will release an untitled Christopher Nolan movie on July 21, 2017”
—Dave McNary, Variety
This enticing news broke last night. Because of Nolan’s insistence on working on one film at a time, the drip-drip nature of his top-secret reveals is a genuine thrill to his countless fans around the world. And yes, I’m one of them.
As of right now, we know three things:
- The summer of 2017 will be epic!
- Hans Zimmer will orchestrate yet another brilliant film score
- Michael Caine will be in the movie
As of right now, here are five predictions for the type of movie Mr. Nolan has written and will ultimately direct and produce with his family and team at Syncopy and Warner Bros.:
- The Afterlife, exploring elements of faith and science
- A post-apocalyptic thriller, akin to Blade Runner
- A mind-bender (wait for it…) with a mid-20th century/Hitchcock/Twilight Zone aesthetic with a female lead character
- The origin story for a new trilogy of a science-fiction favorite that’s not superhero-related
- James Bond (More of a hope, really, even with Sam Mendes likely done after this year’s Spectre. The summer release date indicates it won’t be 007, this time)
Aside from James Bond, the one franchise he might get his IMAX camera on in the future is Star Wars. He’s publicly stated his love and eye-opening movie-going experience of Star Wars. Creatively, what he would add with his deftness at epic storytelling with gritty realism on the biggest scale with dynamic characters on practical sets elevated by astonishing twists and turns with lightsabers in the ultimate battle of good v. evil, wow.
Imagine that trilogy!
At this point, we simply don’t know. One thing we do know is this movie just became the hottest audition/interview to land in Hollywood.
Although, without a cell phone or email account, Christopher Nolan finds you…and he only looks on the top-shelf.
Do You Have a Never Ending Story?
(Christopher Nolan, /FILM)
We don’t know what the story is, we don’t know when the movie will be released and we don’t know who will star, but fans of Christopher Nolan are excited.
Cinematographer Will McCrabb started this buzz-worthy news on his Twitter account, citing that the famed-director has completed a “comprehensive draft” for his next movie. There are no other details. Why does this matter? Aside from the joy this brings to Nolan’s dedicated fan base, it highlights the uniquely relentless attraction to all things involving the practicality-rooted, epically staged director. There are dozens of talented movie directors and celebrities in Hollywood, but the man who directed The Dark Knight trilogy and the mind-benders Memento, Inception and Interstellar has achieved what Apple has earned in the technology sector.
A rumor of simply starting something new (a movie or phone) is equivalent to interest gained from an extensive, tightly-orchestrated marketing campaign.
That’s incredible.
Reaching this point wasn’t easy or quick, but paving this reserved express lane in the bustling, chaotic age of information is a remarkable accomplishment. While endless speculation will follow about what story Nolan’s next project will focus on (stay tuned here), an intriguing tangent to briefly venture off into is how Christopher Nolan and Apple reached this level of fandom and mystery.
In their own way, Nolan and Apple make high-quality, original products with substantial investments that take their consumers seriously. In short, they reward their followers and, in return, their followers reward them. A lasting relationship is built. And this type of bond is transferable in any industry. Once this relationship develops, the benefits are wonderfully powerful.
Apple’s story was and is driven by the personality and mysterious genius of its co-founder Steve Jobs. Christopher Nolan and his cinematic family (wife Emma Thomas and brother Jonathan) write, produce and visually project their genius on the silver screen. At the heart of all this is imaginative storytelling. They present things in ways that make us want to voluntarily escape into their worlds and explore their visions. We immerse ourselves and become part of their story and reality.
Sorry MasterCard, but that’s priceless marketing.
The Spinning Top Generation
(Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite)
What did forthcoming Princeton University graduates want to hear this week as they prepare to enter the overwhelmingly expansive real world that’s full of twists and turns and unlimited pathways that are equal part linear and non-linear?
A speech from today’s cinematic and storytelling expert on grit, epic realities and dreams: Christopher Nolan.
“In the great tradition of these speeches, generally someone says something along the lines of ‘Chase your dreams,’ but I don’t want to tell you that because I don’t believe that,” he told the students at Class Day. “I want you to chase your reality.”
One of the constants in movies by Nolan is that regardless of the setting, everything is realistic (and yes, this applies to those astonishing dream sequences). He proposed a novel idea in his speech: aspiring to our desired reality. This certainly includes, Inception, which he referenced to and added just a little context to that excruciatingly famous ending.
Instead of floating off onto a cloud above our reach towards the bright light of our dreams, he wants us to pick a reality and do anything we have to do to reach it. Like his movies, the main protagonist(s) are thrown into extraordinary situations, yet they choose to battle whatever barriers stand in their way. However psychologically draining or physically dominating their enemy/wave/tumbling hallway is, we must feel the bumps in the road on our feet, the rain on our faces and feel terrified by the surrounding thunder and lightning.
Why?
Because we have the knowledge to achieve a lot, but it’s only by testing and adjusting this knowledge through life’s unsuspecting experiences that we will ultimately learn how to reach and become our coveted reality. In essence, Nolan’s message is to add practicality to our journey and future, no matter the environment:
A dream is above us, but reality is in front of us.
I think the students listening were just glad that he adjusted the mind-bending element of his speech down from 90% to 70%.
You could say that was a bit of a dream come true.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 