Oppenheimer: 6 Lesser-known facts about the Christopher Nolan film

The hype and excitement surrounding the release of Oppenheimer is almost palpable. The Christopher Nolan film is expected to be one of the biggest releases this year as it goes head-to-head with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie on July 21st. On today’s Now You Know, we take a look at lesser-known facts about the film headlined by Cillian Murphy.

1. Christopher Nolan is a stickler when it comes to using traditional Kodak film instead of digital technology for his blockbusters. In Oppenheimer, some sequences are shot in black and white. So in order to maintain the IMAX aspect ratio with the rest of the film, Kodak developed the first-ever Black & White film stock for IMAX. Additionally, did you know that Nolan also shared his personal preference for seats to watch Oppenheimer?  In an interview, he revealed that for IMAX, he prefers to sit behind the centre line, exactly in the middle seat. So if we’re planning to catch this onscreen spectacle, you now know the most ideal vantage point.
2. The initial idea to create Oppenheimer was conceptualised when producer Charles Roven pitched a film adaption of Robert J Oppenhiemer’s biography, American Prometheus, to Nolan and his wife and producer Emma Thomas. But what proved to be a decisive factor to convince Nolan to direct the film was when actor Robert Pattinson gifted the filmmaker with a book on Oppenheimer’s speeches at the wrap party of Nolan’s previous film, Tenet. Even though The Batman star, Pattinson, does not feature in the upcoming biographical film, he was instrumental in its making.
3. Actor Josh Hartnett, who recently starred in the Black Mirror Season 6 episode, Beyond the Sea, plays a pivotal role in Oppenheimer. And this happens to be the actor’s first collaboration with Nolan. However, things could’ve gone very differently in the early 2000s when Hartnett was offered to play Batman in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Hartnett reportedly ‘respectfully declined’ the offer and Christian Bale was eventually cast as the Caped Crusader. Hartnett was expected to be the next big star of Hollywood at the time but his career took a slump for several years before making a comeback recently. The actor admitted that declining the role was a mistake as he would have preferred to work with Nolan on more projects. Coincidentally, Oppenheimer’s release on the 21st of July happens to be the actor’s birthday.
4. Matt Damon, who plays one of the prominent characters in Oppenheimer, promised his wife that he was taking a break from his acting career. However, he did stipulate that he would jump right back in if Christopher Nolan came calling. And that’s just what happened when Nolan offered him the role of Leslie Groves, compelling the actor to postpone his sabbatical plans.
5. There is an interesting story behind the casting of Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Damon and Blunt revealed in an interview that Nolan visited Damon at his home to offer him the role in Oppenheimer. It is here that the director ran into Blunt’s husband John Krasinski while visiting Damon as Blunt and Krasinski happen to live in the same apartment complex as Damon. Damon and Blunt added that Nolan could have taken the easier route and visited Blunt on the same day. However, Nolan felt that would be impolite and waited five days before meeting with Blunt to offer her the role. And did you also know that Blunt and lead star Cillian Murphy played the lead roles in Krasinski’s film A Quiet Place Part II?
6. Oppenheimer features an impressive ensemble of actors, and it also features stars who are collaborating with Nolan for the first time, such as Robert Downey Jr and Florence Pugh. Other actors such as Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Kenneth Branagh, James D’Arcy, David Dastmalchian, and Matthew Modine have all worked with Nolan in previous films. Lead star Cillian Murphy has now appeared in six Nolan films including The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk. The one notable absentee from Oppenheimer is Sir Michael Caine, who has starred in eight Christopher Nolan films, including Tenet.

Well that's the Now you know episode for today, until the next time its your host Nikhil signing out.

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• Written by Ryan Gomez

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