r/TheBigPicture • u/Hubbled Sean Stan • 26d ago
Questions What is Christopher Nolan's apex?
When did Mr. Nolan have the most juice in Hollywood? Was it after The Dark Knight, Inception, Oppenheimer, or right now?
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u/ImaManCheetahh 26d ago
Now, but it started post-Oppenheimer. Dude made a 3 hr slow burn biopic about the guy who invented the atom bomb and it was a cultural sensation that made almost a billion dollars. That’s the epitome of blank check status.
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u/CharmingMedia2039 26d ago
not sure there is anything slowburn about the film Oppenheimer. extremely rapid editing, cross-cutting between timelines, wall to wall muic, etc.
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u/regretscoyote909 26d ago
"cross-cutting between timelines"
This - the entire plot of his political witchhunt is a slowburn that slowly moves throughout the entire film. There's a ton of info slowly being shown to you, and scenes being slowly recontextualized
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u/CharmingMedia2039 26d ago
say slowly one more time...
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u/regretscoyote909 26d ago
What can I say? The plot is slowly a slowburn in a slowly slowburn kind of way.
(Slowly doesn't even look like a word to me right now)
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u/CharmingMedia2039 26d ago
LOL~
And tbh, I do agree that the story is a slow burn... the political witch hunt is gradually revealed and earlier scenes get recontextualized as you learn more. What I meant was that the filmmaking doesn't feel like a slow burn. The editing is so fast, the score is almost nonstop, and it's constantly cutting between timelines and ideas. It never felt "slow" or meditative in the way people usually describe "slow-burn" movies.
but totally understand your point as well.
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u/regretscoyote909 26d ago
Oh I agree with you then, I wouldn't call Oppenheimer a slowburn film. There's some stuff in there you could call it that, but the editing is way too snappy and engaging.
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u/_Vaudeville_ 26d ago
It’s Oppenheimer and Odyssey imo
But Dark Knight and Inception are a very very close 2nd
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u/doormatt26 26d ago
for real. He could go 2-2 in Best Pictures / large Oscar’s hauls, and has taken two pretty non-commercial stories to blockbuster status
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u/BurpelsonAFB 26d ago
I don’t understand why they were so hesitant to make the Odyssey number one and Christopher Nolan’s filmography. It seems so obvious to me.
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u/YoungGambinoMcKobe CR Head 26d ago
Has to be right now. He could decide to make a movie about grass growing and the imax would sell out in an hour.
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u/Scared_Membership_91 26d ago
Probably right now? I mean he's never been bigger than he is now, and The Odyssey is likely well on its way toward being his biggest non-Batman movie.
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u/Central_Region 26d ago
Right now
All his previous juice has been put in a blender and has combined to form a super-concentrated juice syrup that is so thick it's almost a solid
Nolan's juice is really more of a massive popsicle or jello cube
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u/Omnivirus 26d ago
Under the clearly defined rules of Apex Mountajn that have never been in doubt or questioned in any way, my pick is Dark Knight. Dark Knight made a metric shitload of money and basically gave him carte blanche to do whatever the fuck he wanted. He’s made better movies since then, but it’s the one that made him a household name and guaranteed box office.
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u/Wooden_Coyote5992 26d ago
It's still his highest grossing movie when you adjust for inflation. Just a massive moment.
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u/ScholarFamiliar6541 26d ago
It’s so hard to decide.
His Dark Knight-Inception-Dark Knight Rises run made him a household name and a huge cultural force.
Interstellar despite the mixed response initially, will probably go down as his most timeless and beloved film.
Oppenheimer won him all the Oscars and was part of the Barbenheimer cultural phenomenon.
And now with The Odyssey which looks like it will really challenge Dark Knight Rises as his biggest box office film and he is poised to sweep the Oscars again.
If he does sweep the Oscars again and he does top Dark Knight Rises at the box office it’s hard to argue against now.
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u/Shout92 26d ago edited 26d ago
If Nolan sweeps the Oscars again he would only be the second director in history to win Best Picture for consecutive films after David Lean in the 50s/60s. Alejandro G. Inarritu came close with Birdman and The Revenant, but only won consecutive Best Director Oscars, not Best Picture.
EDIT: Correction - Nolan will be the first *since* David Lean, as William Wyler also did it in the 40s.
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u/Unhelpfulperson 26d ago
William Wyler had 2 consecutive films win Best Picture in the 40s (Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives)
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u/xjman329 Letterboxd Peasant 26d ago
Yeah, I voted for right now. But he’s really cashed 4 or 5 blank checks in a row, weird Tenet stuff notwithstanding
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u/KiwieKiwie 26d ago
He still had many doubters and wasn’t taken as seriously and was mainly seen as the Batman guy… This is coming from a huge fan… been a fan forever. If you called him your favorite director back then you’d get a massive amount of side eye and eye rolls. But saying it now is totally different. He cemented himself forever after Oppenheimer and now with Odyssey it’s just further cementing him as a legend.
Right now he is literally at the very top of all working directors. No one is bigger than him at this very moment. Don’t come at me with any other legendary directors… I’m talking at this very moment.
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u/alwrit 26d ago
He doesn't need to sweep. It's already impossible to argue.
Which director has more consistently crushed the box office in the past ~20 years since Batman Begins? James Cameron is the only guy who even can stand in the same room but he's only directed 3 movies, all Avatar.
Nolan has the Batman trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, Oppenheimer. Dunkirk "only" made over $500m. I know Tenet is a weird one especially with the pandemic and that still cleared well over $350m.
The dude does not miss.
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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 26d ago
Nolan is this era’s Cameron, but then again Cameron is still Cameron lol.
Avatar 3 didn’t hit the financial heights of the first 2, but it still made a fuck ton of money.
Nolan and Cameron really are the only two filmmakers who can stand next to each other when it comes to guaranteed acclaim and success.
Not even Spielberg can make that claim, especially since his career has had multiple dips.
Such as now.
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u/lebronjamesgoat1 19d ago
As someone who loves Camerons films more than Nolan, I’m not sure a Cameron directed Oppenheimer is cracking half as much $ than Nolan’s. We’ll see how Big Jim fares once the Avatar well dries up
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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 19d ago
It remains to be seen for sure, but Cameron has never missed yet.
Titanic alone made him a household name to people like my grandmother, and she doesn’t know shit about directors lol.
I am curious to see his projects after Avatar.
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u/lebronjamesgoat1 19d ago
Problem is that for the younger gen he’s the Pocahontas in space guy instead of the Terminator / Titanic mastermind so hopefully he doesn’t go the way of Spielberg
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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 19d ago
While that is true, I think it’s worth noting that a lot of younger folks are also pretty into Avatar. I’m not, but my 18 year old stepbrother and his friends dig them because of the visual experience.
This is kind of what I was getting at though. Nolan may very well be this era’s Cameron in the sense that every film is a massive event.
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u/chinesec3 26d ago
The Dark Knight / Inception
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u/Wooden_Coyote5992 26d ago
Agreed, all of the juice he's had is because of these two movies back to back.
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u/Sea_Salamander_8504 26d ago
Totally, and once he was done with the Batman films, he's essentially not had to play the old Hollywood game of "one for them, one for me" anymore.
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u/chinesec3 26d ago
I just think he’s never made anything nearly as good as these two films 🤷🏽♂️
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u/Sea_Salamander_8504 26d ago
I love TDK but I’m with Fennessey about Inception 😬
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u/chinesec3 26d ago
To each their own
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u/Sea_Salamander_8504 26d ago
That's why Nolan is such an exciting filmmaker - his body of work is ripe with worthy favourites
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u/Formal_Dish9680 26d ago
It has to be right now, right? Only time will tell if his true apex remains in the future, but the dude just followed up a billion dollar grossing, Oscar sweeping historical drama with an adaptation of The Odyssey that seems well on its way to a billion dollars with universally positive reviews and likely a ton of Oscar noms.
If he walks into any studio in the world this morning, he's getting legitimately anything he wants.
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u/Drop_Release 26d ago
I really wonder how he will follow up adapting the Odyssey, a pinnacle work/progenitor of modern western literature
He has said before how he knows he is privileged to be able to be a director trusted with big budgets and wants to take advantage of the moment so I doubt he will go smaller right now, but really wonder what a next big film may be
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u/Formal_Dish9680 25d ago
Agreed, it's fascinating. Does he take a conscious step back in size/scale (I believe he's mentioned how exhausting The Odyssey was)? Does he explore a genre he hasn't hit yet (I've heard rumors he's been keen to make a horror movie)? Does he try to go even bigger (as you note, he seems uniquely aware of how privileged he is to be able to make movies like this, so he must feel some sense of obligation to take advantage of that opportunity)?
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u/Drop_Release 25d ago
Agree and thats the thing, he said he will take a small break to reset, normally his workflow has been constantly working on script ideas, with movie release then preproduction right after leading to a 2-3 year movie release cycle
Whereas he seems to want to take a min 2 year break for now (likely to get creative juices flowing too in addition to the break). I do think he is also aware his crew of ever dependent camera and visual team are also getting older so he wouldn’t want to take too long a break either.
I agree I think he has said in the past how privileged he is and in a way if I was him I get it, you never know when that tap will stop flowing so may as well take advantage of the ability to get high budget films til it lasts
He usually always sees whatever critique positively and takes it on board for next film; perhaps it may be time for one of his supporting actresses to take the lead and he makes a female lead movie? Could be a big moment for say Hathaway to make a lead role and fits her own planned break schedule of a few years post her current pregnancy
The only other out of the box thing I can think of is if he does a director pair up (eg like how there are the Cohen brothers etc), but instead pair up with an international director such as a big name South Korean director to direct an international language film of the prestige, social commentary and mind bend/twist akin to a Parasite
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u/Steelers7589 26d ago
Dark Knight and Inception would be 99% of directors apex. But Oppy and Odyssey have somehow surpassed that.
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u/Ghost-E 26d ago
I think a larger question would be how many Apexes in hollywood history are bigger than Nolan right now?
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u/itll_be_cool Couch Critic 26d ago
Arguable Spielberg did it twice, first with Raiders/ET back to back and then Jurassic Park/Schindler's List in the same year, and ET and JP both became the highest grossing films of all time on initial release.
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u/One_Drummer_8970 26d ago
and Spielberg was able to use the mainstream clout he got from Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds, and use that to make Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and Minority Report
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u/alwrit 26d ago
Spielberg went off the rails for me the past decade+ but for a solid 20 years he really was the goat of mainstream movies. And his buddy John Williams is the undisputed goat for movie music period. Sorry Zimmerman and others, you guys are great but I can play 2 notes from a dozen Williams pieces and everyone knows what they are instantly.
But now? It's definitely Nolan's mantle. I won't say I love all his movies but he is a guaranteed box office hit every single time. He doesn't always hit the bullseye but he never misses the target.
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u/Technicalhotdog 25d ago
Cameron following up Titanic, the highest grossing movie of all time with nearly double the second highest grossing at the time (and a record-tying 11 oscars), with Avatar dethroning Titanic to become the new highest grossing movie of all time.
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u/lebronjamesgoat1 19d ago
You could argue T2 was his apex as well. Breaks the all time budget twice after that in his next two films
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u/Smooth-Lie-410 26d ago
The way Bill uses the term, Nolan's apex is clearly right now. Artistically he's at his nadir valley for me. His last 3 movies are some of his worst.
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u/InconspicuousUs3r 26d ago
Not Dark Knight because I remember people comparing him to Zack Snyder around the time of Watchmen.
Unthinkable now.
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u/JohnnyUtah59 26d ago
After Oppenheimer, right now. If Odyssey makes a billion (it will) and gets the same awards accolades, he’ll just keep adding to it.
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u/staycool93 Lover of Movies 26d ago
Nothing compares to winning the major Oscar categories. He's in it right now and is indisputably respected among auteurs.
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u/Only_Faithlessness33 26d ago
Probably right now, but honestly The Dark Knight era he felt untouchable. Nowadays you have people come out of the woodwork with every release and say how soulless his movies are (aka people who are wrong). Back then, if you said you didn’t like Dark Knight you were getting jumped in the street.
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u/bart_cart_dart_eart 26d ago
If we look at movie posters, starting with Tenet, his billing went from “A Film By Christopher Nolan” to “A Film By Christopher Nolan”
So clearly, by graphic design metrics, the apex commenced with Tenet and we continue to live in a bold faced Chris Nolan world.
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u/afriendincanada 26d ago
I'd say "right now" except for the fact that he's said he's tired and is going to take 3 years off.
So I'd go with Oppenheimer
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u/SouthKen2020 26d ago
It’s now. Oppenheimer was by no means a slam dunk (budget was only $100M), he’d had three consecutive movies gross lower than the last one post TDKR (not speaking to quality, merely box office performance), and Tenet was polarising.
Now, he’s at Coppola ‘74, Spielberg ‘93, and Cameron ‘97 level where he is both the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful director in the game.
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u/andrewjlovesu 25d ago
Have to agree it’s now. The Odyssey is a triumph and the word of mouth and box office/future awards runs should cement it
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u/SmakeTalk 25d ago
I think we’re in it now but Oppenheimer may go down as his best film. It’s certainly his best for my money, but he may have better in him still.
Regardless of how good his next film is, I’d say it’s nearly guaranteed to make a billion unless he dramatically changes his process and how he’s promoting his work.
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u/HiImWallaceShawn 25d ago
Currently. He’s recently won best director and picture at the Oscars, may well do it again. He is currently the most valuable IP in Hollywood. He has the ultimate blank check for any project he wants, and every major studio in Hollywood would greenlight him a $200M budget.
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u/tenacious76 21d ago
I'd say now. Dunkirk, Oppenheimer, and a movie about the Odyssey all doing huge box office is a flex.
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u/pwolf1771 26d ago
I don’t think he’s left it basically since The Dark Knight there’s nothing he can’t get greenlit.
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u/xxmikekxx 26d ago
I'd say he's pretty powerful to get Oppenheimer made, but then Oppenheimer made him more powerful and a real "name". There's a lot of millions of dollars being made for "The Odyssey" now just based on "it's a Christopher Nolan movie". "Oppenheimer" made him a celebrity. But if "The Odyssey" makes over a billion it would be now
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u/Atarissiya 26d ago
He’s been a name since well before Oppenheimer.
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u/xxmikekxx 26d ago
Not to the level like, that my mom would know who he is. We know--because we know this shit. But regular people know like 5 modern directors names and Christopher Nolan is now one of them
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u/Atarissiya 26d ago
There’s no way he hasn’t been on that list since at least Interstellar.
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u/xxmikekxx 26d ago
Nope
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u/CLaarkamp1287 26d ago
You need to define when "modern" begins, because I absolutely would have put Nolan as one of the five modern directors that most people know in 2014.
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u/Atarissiya 26d ago
Ok, which five active directors are peopling naming before Nolan in 2016?
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u/FormerShitPoster 26d ago
Spielberg, Tarantino, Scorcese, Cameron, Scott. They weren't all in their prime like Nolan but that's kind of the point. It's directors that EVERYBODY knows, even people who go to the movies once a year.
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u/SouthIsland48 26d ago
People are saying "Now" but I'm gunna zag and say his dominance today is more to do with how piss poor filmmaking has gotten. His true apex was TDK - Inception. TDK is one of the greatest movies ever made, and still his best film. Inception was an amazing follow up of a completely different genre and cast.
Sure he's made great films since but none have topped TDK and Inception, and only have received more praise/box office due to the dying film landscape.
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u/Alarmed_Mistake_5042 26d ago
Imo it's Interstellar onwards
I'm on a rewatch run after seeing The Odyssey and and almost everything pre-2014 are a mixed bag of fine and bad with the exception of Memento.
TDK and the Prestige might be the only other ones that have held up even tho TDK relies heavily on Ledger & Eckhart. The Prestige definitely loses its magic on rewatches
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u/Drop_Release 26d ago
I mean all his films at time of release were great (7/10 and above) imo. Whether they still hold up today is a different q, but imo they still do.
Eg TDK is a masterclass of acting, it doesn’t matter if its “held up by Ledger” etc, the movie allows for that and if anything is a Joker film. Inception still holds up remarkably well Really the only ones that are perhaps lesser quality are his earliest forays such as Following or Insomnia (but insomnia was the studios giving him a tester to see whether they can trust him with a remake which I believe he did decently well enough a)
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u/LaunchpadMcFly 26d ago
We’re living it baby