Christopher Nolan - Directors Study

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is probably most well known for his work in reviving the Batman franchise. He is also well known for writing and directing the iconic thriller film 'Inception'.

Nolan was born in London in 1970, he spent his early years growing up between Chicago and London. He started showing an interest in making films at the age of 7, he used to borrow his fathers Super 8 camera and make short movies with his action figures. This shows he had a passion to pursue film making from a very young age. 

He was educated at an independent school in Hertfordshire and then went on to study English Literature at University College London, he chose to go here specifically for its film making facilities. Nolan became president of the Union's Film Society and began to screen 35 mm feature films during the school year, he put the money he made from these towards producing 16 mm films over the summers he was there. He also met Emma Thomas at his university who helped him produce these films and later on became the producer for many of the films he did (like the Batman trilogy) and his wife.  

The first feature Nolan made was 'Following' in 1998, it was made on a budget of around $6000. It was a noir thriller film and was shown at a number of international film festivals prior to its theatrical release. 

This gave Nolan enough credibility to gather substantial financing for his next film which was 'Memento' in 2000.He directed this from his own screenplay which was based on a short story his brother Jonathan wrote. It starred Guy Pearce and got Nolan nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Screenplay.

The main turning point in Nolan's career was when he given the chance to revive the Batman franchise in 2005. 'Batman Begins' was brought out in 2005 and was highly praised by critics and fans for his gritty and modern interpretation. 

In 2008, Nolan co-wrote and produced the sequel 'The Dark Knight'.This went on to gross more than a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Nolan was nominated for a Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America and Producers Guild of America award. The film also received 8 Academy Award nominations.

Nolan concluded Batman trilogy in 2012 with 'The Dark Knight Rises', this was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2012 and earned just over one billion dollars. 

In 2010 Nolan released the iconic film 'Inception' a sci-fi thriller that became one of the most debated and discussed films of the year. He directed this film from his own original screenplay,overall the film took in over $800 million and received four Academy Awards and eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay.

Nolan is an extremely good director in my opinion and has created some amazing thriller films over time.

Here is a list of films he has directed/produced:

• Following (1998)
• Memento (2000)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• The Prestige (2006)
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• Inception (2010)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Man of Steel (2013)

Nolan also has 2 new films waiting to come out; 'Interstellar' which is in the filming process and 'The Keys to the Street' which is at the pre-production stage.