Chris Nolan Q&A
Posted by Ian Fayon 07. 01. 2011in News Chat
In an interview with Deadline, Christopher Nolan spoke in detail about Inception’s long gestation period, why it wasn’t shot in 3D and the possibility of sequels.
A very interesting read, heres a quick sample:
DEADLINE: Why didn’t you shoot in 3D which studios like Warner Bros have made a priority?
NOLAN: We looked at shooting Inception in 3D and decided we’d be too restricted by the technology. We wouldn’t have been able to shoot on film the way we’d like to. We looked at post-converting it, actually did some tests, and they were very good. But we didn’t have time to do the conversion that we would have been satisfied with. Inception deals with subjectivity, quite intimate associations between the audience and the perceived state of reality of the characters. In the case of Batman, I view those as iconic, operatic movies, dealing with larger-than-life characters. The intimacy that the 3D parallax illusion imposes isn’t really compatible with that. We are finishing our story on the next Batman, and we want to be consistent to the look of the previous films. There was more of an argument for a film like Inception. I’ve seen work in 3D like Avatar that’s exciting. But, for me, what was most exciting about Avatar was the creation of a world, the use of visual effects, motion capture, performance capture, these kinds of things. I don’t think Avatar can be reduced to its 3D component, it had so much more innovation going on that’s extremely exciting. 3D has always been an interesting technical format, a way of showing something to the audience. But you have to look at the story you’re telling: is it right?
He goes on to say, regarding sequels, that he never intended to make a 2nd Batman film, and “I’ve always liked the potential of the world. It’s an infinite, or perhaps I should say an infinitesimal world that fascinates me. At the moment, we’re exploring a video game, which is something I’ve been very interested in doing for a number of years.” I think he’s a fantastic director, but to be honest, I’d like to see more original movies from him, so he can really shine. If he’s going to do another Inception movie, I hope he waits a while. What about you lot? What do you think?
I believe what Chris Nolan said hits the world of 3-D right on the nose. I think a movie that has complete spot on writing and visual motifs and other factors should stay away from 3-D. I feel like the 3-D aspect would take away from the story. Avatar is a fantastic reference, in that it lacked in story but made up for it in visual value. I’m going to see Tron tomorrow in Imax 3-D based on it’s visual value, or so I have heard. Past movies that Nolan has done (i.e. Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception) have all stunned me with their hidden messages, visual motifs, dynamic and complex story tellings. Nolan’s right in saying that 3-D is constricting and steps on the toes of “larger than life” characters. Congrats to him on making the right decision.
He said he never intended to do a 2nd Batman but then why the cliff hanger with the joker card at the end? Was Nolan leaving it for another director to lead off with? Maybe he thought the studio would only give him that one shot. He probably had ideas for a 2nd Batman but didn’t really think they’d see the light of day. I also think he had plans for the Joker in the 3rd movie.
Inception the video game? I think my head may explode with excitment.
Because most video games based on movies have been really good?
Is he working on an Inception video game or is he helping with the Gotham City Batman game? I’ve been wondering if WB isn’t using that game to introduce Hugo Strange to the masses before Nolan uses him as the main villain in his final Batman movie. If WB is doing that, it would make sense if Nolan was involved in some way
I think the joker card at the end, if he didn’t plan the second movie, was just his showing us that Batman really only just began. I mean, Batman had a long run of villains for years of his life. If he ended it differently, more Hollywood, it would be too concluded instead of installing the sense that the threat will always be imminent. Felt great to watch, even though i didn’t expect a sequel.
Also, inception the video game? ..
a game within a game within a game?
I love to read posts like this. You can tell Chris Nolan really understands the art of movie making. He was not willing to sacrifice the power of story telling for the, in my opinion, overrated “power” of visual 3-D.
hasnt pretty much all of his movies been original? what do you mean you want him to do more original work yet contradict yourself when you say you hope he waits a while before doing another piece of original work?
huh?
Was my wording that difficult to understand? Clearly I said I wanted to see Nolan explore more of the seperate original stories in his head, and I said he hopes a while to do more inception for the same reason I prefer when Pixar release a new original film rather then a sequel. I did not contradict myself.