The Nolan Variations
The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
An in-depth look at Christopher Nolan, considered to be the most profound, commercially successful director at work today, written with his full cooperation. A rare, revelatory portrait, "as close as you're ever going to get to the Escher drawing that is Christopher Nolan's remarkable brain" (Sam Mendes).
In chapters structured by themes and motifs ("Time"; "Chaos"; "Dreams"), Shone offers an unprecedented intimate view of the director. Shone explores Nolan's thoughts on his influences, his vision, his enigmatic childhood past--and his movies, from plots and emotion to identity and perception, including his latest blockbuster, the action-thriller/spy-fi Tenet ("Big, brashly beautiful, grandiosely enjoyable"--Variety).
Filled with the director's never-before-seen photographs, storyboards, and scene sketches, here is Nolan on the evolution of his pictures, and the writers, artists, directors, and thinkers who have inspired and informed his films.
"Fabulous: intelligent, illuminating, rigorous, and highly readable. The very model of what a filmmaking study should be. Essential reading for anyone who cares about Nolan or about film for that matter."--Neal Gabler, author of An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood and Walt Disney, The Biography
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drawing on interviews conducted over three years, film critic Shone (The Irishman: The Making of the Movie) shines a light on Christopher Nolan, who has "long perfected the art of talking about his films while giving away nothing about himself." Shone devotes a chapter to each of Nolan's films, from his 1998 debut, Following, to the forthcoming Tenet, while tracing a few common themes. These include what the Anglo-American Nolan gained from his teenage years attending a "really establishment, old-fashioned" U.K. boarding school (principally, "how to relate to an establishment you're inherently rebelling against but can't push too far"). Another is the counterpoint between his exacting planning while scripting and shooting ("rules are very important" in giving a fantastical story credibility) and his openness to experimentation and "surprise," as when he unexpectedly discovered the perfect last shot for The Dark Knight in unedited stunt footage. Shone also emphasizes the importance of collaboration for Nolan, including with composer Hans Zimmer (who "teaches me a new musical term with each film") and Inception's star Leonardo DiCaprio, whom Nolan credits with pushing the project from a genre heist film toward a "more character-based direction." Shone provides thoughtful context for Nolan's commentary, but readers will most value Nolan's own words about his work.
