In a twist worthy of one of his own plots, Christopher Nolan has decided to park his latest cinematic creation at Universal, leaving Warner Bros. to ponder what went wrong despite a hefty seven-figure offer to bring him back. Remember back in 2020 when Tenet was at risk of being indefinitely delayed due to the COVID pandemic? Well, Nolan, a true champion of the big-screen experience, had other ideas. He was determined to have his espionage thriller lead the charge back into theatres, but it came with a catch: Warner Bros. had to convince him to forgo certain fees.
Fast forward to 2022, when WarnerMedia merged with Discovery, and the landscape shifted dramatically. Newly appointed film execs Michael DeLuca and Pamela Abdy were chomping at the bit to woo Nolan back after he’d jumped ship to Universal to create Oppenheimer. As a sweetener, Warner Bros. sent him a seven-figure check, returning the fees he had previously waived. A nice gesture, right? But Nolan, the man who famously lives in a modest Hollywood Hills home and drives a two-decade-old Honda, wasn’t swayed by a few extra million bucks, reported Variety.
Instead, he and his producing partner and wife, Emma Thomas, opted to work with Universal and its powerhouse leader, Donna Langley. And why not? Nolan knows what he wants. As Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, pointed out, “What matters to Nolan is are you going to release this right? Are you going to have the correct marketing strategy? Are you going to get the IMAX screens? Are you going to leave me alone to make the movie I want to make?”
What Nolan achieved with Oppenheimer is nothing short of miraculous. This best picture winner raked in an astonishing $976 million (approx. Rs 82,000 crore) worldwide, despite being R-rated, clocking in at three hours and featuring a historical figure who, as Galloway aptly stated, is “the least likely subject to make money in the history of the entertainment business.” “Christopher Nolan is an IP unto himself,” said box office analyst Jeff Bock. “Only a handful of directors are well known to the general public, and he is currently at the top of that list,” he added while talking to Variety.
So, what’s next for this creative powerhouse? That remains a mystery. According to the publication, while whispers suggest it won’t be The Prisoner, a long-gestating project at Universal, there are speculations that his upcoming film could dive into the espionage genre, which would be a natural fit given his past ideas with a Bond film.
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