Christopher Nolan Quotes

For me, as a film goer, I like nothing more than to sit in the cinema, have the lights go down and not know what I'm about to see or unfold on-screen. Every time we go to make a film, we do everything we can to try to systematise things so we're able to make the film in private, so that when it's finished it's up to the audience to make of it what they will. ~ Christopher Nolan

The problem with big films is they snowball very rapidly and you can never pull back. It's a pipeline that needs to be fed. ~ Christopher Nolan

I think there's a vague sense out there that movies are becoming more and more unreal. I know I've felt it. ~ Christopher Nolan

I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world's still there. (Leonard Shelby, Memento) ~ Christopher Nolan

mankind was born on earth but was never meant to die here ~ Christopher Nolan

I will miss the Batman. I like to think that he'll miss me, but he's never been particularly sentimental. ~ Christopher Nolan

I think for me when you look at the idea of being able to create a limitless world and use it almost as a playground for action and adventure and so forth, I naturally gravitate towards cinematic worlds, whether it's the Bond films and things like that. ~ Christopher Nolan

Such is the great nature of man, it resides the true face beneath a glittering masquerade. ~ K. Hari Kumar

The most stressful and difficult part of steering a large movie is that you are taking on the responsibility of communicating with a very wide audience. You can't ever hide behind the notion of, 'Okay, they just don't get it,' or, 'Certain people just don't get it.' You have to be mindful of the size of your audience, and you have to communicate in a way that lets them in. ~ Christopher Nolan

How could you understand? Do you know what it is to be a lover? To be half of a whole? ~ Christopher Nolan

The best actors instinctively feel out what the other actors need, and they just accommodate it. ~ Christopher Nolan

I like films that don't have that unonimity of a response; that don't have consensus in the audience. What it is essentially for me is that if you go back and watch the film a second time, do you feel that you've been played fair with? Are all the clues in place? Indeed, sometimes these things are even overstated. Specifically, for that reason. ~ Christopher Nolan

Chris [ Nolan] and I have a strange way of working from the non-movie process, where after all these conversations and reading the script and more conversations, Chris went out and shot the films and the first thing he did, he wouldn't show it to me until I had written the music - not out of meanness, or anything, it just sort of seemed an interesting idea to see if there was some synchronicity and letting me use my imagination to the fullest instead of being constricted by cuts and images. ~ Christopher Nolan

Heist movies tend to be a bit superficial, glamorous, and fun. They don't tend to be emotionally engaging. ~ Christopher Nolan

I'm taking a bit of a wait-and-see attitude towards 3D. ~ Christopher Nolan

A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat on a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hadn't ended. ~ Christopher Nolan

A camera is a camera, a shot is a shot, how you tell the story is the main thing. ~ Christopher Nolan

The term 'genre' eventually becomes pejorative because you're referring to something that's so codified and ritualised that it ceases to have the power and meaning it had when it first started. ~ Christopher Nolan

The film's title star, Christian Bale, told me in June that he'd signed a multi-picture contract. When I caught up with Batman Begins ... All I can tell you is, we're talking. There was quite an air of secrecy around the development of 'Batman Begins,' and there will be even more around the development of another film, if they move forward. ~ Christopher Nolan

My approach with actors is to try and give them whatever it is they need from me. Direction to me is about listening and responding and realizing how much they need to know from me and how much they have figured out for themselves, really. ~ Christopher Nolan

I want to be surprised and entertained by a movie, so that's what we're trying to do for the audience. Obviously, we also have to sell the film. ~ Christopher Nolan

I always thought the joy of reading a book is not knowing what happens next. (Leonard Shelby, Memento) ~ Christopher Nolan

For the last 10 years, I've felt increasing pressure to stop shooting film and start shooting video, but I've never understood why. It's cheaper to work on film, it's far better looking, it's the technology that's been known and understood for a hundred years, and it's extremely reliable. ~ Christopher Nolan

We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars, now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt. - Cooper, Interstellar ~ Christopher Nolan

There are points where you worry that you might be putting too much in and alienating the audience. But, funnily enough, some of those fears aren't correct. ~ Christopher Nolan

George Lazenby is no one's favorite James Bond, but for me the anonymity at the center of this lavish production only serves to reveal the Bond machine firing on all cylinders: superb editing and photography, incredible score, great setpieces. The most romantic in the series, and it actually has, of all things, a tragic ending. ~ Christopher Nolan

I'm very happy where 3-D is going, which is that it's becoming a choice - and thankfully, most people are still choosing 2-D. ~ Christopher Nolan

I don't particularly enjoy watching films in 3D because I think that a well-shot and well-projected film has a very three-dimensional quality to it, so I'm somewhat sceptical of the technology. ~ Christopher Nolan

I have been interested in dreams, really since I was a kid. I have always been fascinated by the idea that your mind, when you are asleep, can create a world in a dream and you are perceiving it as though it really existed. ~ Christopher Nolan

There's so much technology [in the Batman movies] that's unbelievable and seems unreal, so it's hard trying to get the audience to believe that it all exists. So we got Morgan Freeman to tell them that it's real. And that is why Christopher Nolan is a genius. ~ Michael Uslan

The truth is at Legendary we really make movies that we want to see, and someday I'm sure that won't work but - I remember, it's obviously a completely different thing, but our first movie was Batman Begins, and there was a lot of things about Batman back then, and there was this guy named Christopher Nolan, that seemed to have worked out okay with him at the helm. ~ Thomas Tull

I like films where the music and the sound design, at times, are almost indistinguishable. ~ Christopher Nolan

But, in each case, as a filmmaker who's been given sizable budgets with which to work, I feel a responsibility to the audience to be shooting with the absolute highest quality technology that I can and make the film in a way that I want. ~ Christopher Nolan

I've never read Joseph Campbell, and I don't know all that much about story archetypes. ~ Christopher Nolan

I've always believed that if you want to really try and make a great film, not a good film, but a great film, you have to take a lot of risks. ~ Christopher Nolan

Yes, to me that's one of the most compelling fears in film noir and the psychological thriller genre - that fear of conspiracy. It's definitely something that I have a fear of - not being in control of your own life. I think that's something people can relate to, and those genres are most successful when they derive the material from genuine fears that people have. ~ Christopher Nolan

Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts. (Leonard Shelby, Memento) ~ Christopher Nolan

Films are subjective - what you like, what you don't like. But the thing for me that is absolutely unifying is the idea that every time I go to the cinema and pay my money and sit down and watch a film go up on-screen, I want to feel that the people who made that film think it's the best movie in the world, that they poured everything into it and they really love it. Whether or not I agree with what they've done, I want that effort there - I want that sincerity. And when you don't feel it, that's the only time I feel like I'm wasting my time at the movies. ~ Christopher Nolan

What I react against in other people's work, as a filmgoer, is when I see something in a movie that I feel is supposed to make me feel emotional, but I don't believe the filmmaker shares that emotion. They just think the audience will. And I think you can feel that separation. So any time I find myself writing something that I don't really respond to, but I'm telling myself, 'Oh yes, but the audience is going to like this,' then I know I'm on the wrong track and I just throw it out. ~ Christopher Nolan

We shouldn't be chasing other movies, but stay true to the tone of Man of Steel. ~ Christopher Nolan

I've been interested in dreams since I as a kid and I've wanted to do a film about them for a long time. ~ Christopher Nolan

I don't ever like to feel myself in the position to demand of an actor that they trust I'm going to do something worthwhile. I feel a responsibility to articulate what it is I'm going to do. Whether that's showing them a full script or sitting down with them and describing my ideas in detail. It's a very healthy burden on me as a film director to be able to articulate what I want to do, to inspire actors, rather than just saying, take it on trust I'll be able to do something worthwhile. ~ Christopher Nolan

But I know the rage that drives you. That impossible anger strangling the grief, until the memory of your loved ones is just poison in your veins. And one day you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed, so you'd be spared your pain. ~ Christopher Nolan

Writing, for me, is a combination of objective and subjective approach. You take an objective approach at times to get you through things, and you take a subjective approach at other times, and that allows you to find an emotional experience for the audience. ~ Christopher Nolan

When you play a videogame, you could be a completely different person than you are in the real world, certain aspects of the way your brain works can be leveraged for something you could never do in the real world. ~ Christopher Nolan

It's certainly difficult to balance marketing a film and putting it out there to everybody with wanting to keep it fresh for the audience. ~ Christopher Nolan

Restfully reassured by his new friends, Joseph now nominated God in a new light, 'Man is God hesitant and God is Man hesitantly trying to help. ~ Christopher Nolan

I've been fascinated by dreams my whole life, since I was a kid, and I think the relationship between movies and dreams is something that's always interested me. ~ Christopher Nolan

By the time I was 10 or 11, I knew I wanted to make films. ~ Christopher Nolan

I have always been a huge fan of Ridley Scott and certainly when I was a kid. 'Alien', 'Blade Runner' just blew me away because they created these extraordinary worlds that were just completely immersive. I was also an enormous Stanley Kubrick fan for similar reasons. ~ Christopher Nolan

I never considered myself a lucky person. I'm the most extraordinary pessimist. I truly am. ~ Christopher Nolan

I've done really well so far in my career by trusting the audience to be as dissatisfied with convention as I am, as a film-goer. You want to go see a film that surprises you in some way. ~ Christopher Nolan

What I try to do is write from the inside out. I really try to jump into the world of the film and the characters, try to imagine myself in that world rather than imagining it as a film I'm watching onscreen. Sometimes, that means I'm discovering things the way the audience will, with character and story. ~ Christopher Nolan

Every Great Story deserves a Great Ending and
'The Dark Knight Rises' is our Attempt to give that GREAT story, a GREAT ENDING. ~ Christopher Nolan

There's very few directors I think in this industry that would pitch to a studio that they wanted to do a multi-layered almost at times existential high action, high drama surreal film that's sort of locked in his mind. And then have an opportunity to do that. ~ Christopher Nolan

Particularly, the actors, to have analyzed the script in great detail from the point of view of their specific character. So that they have a handle on exactly where the character is in the chronology of things. In that sense the actors become your best check on the logic of the piece, and the way in which it all fits together. They become essential collaborators. The main thing is you have to work with very smart actors. ~ Christopher Nolan

You're never going to learn something as profoundly as when it's purely out of curiosity ~ Christopher Nolan

Before you now it, you're in high school, wondering if you're the only one who actually read Brave New World, rather than it's summary on Wikipedia. Or you're sitting in the cafeteria, pondering the complexities of the latest Christopher Nolan film while the nearest table of cheerleaders discusses whatever reality TV show is popular that week, then argues over who gives the most efficient blow job. Surely, the real world would be different. But I'm beginning to wonder if the whole damn planet hasn't been Wikipedia'd ~ David Arnold

It's always a fun collaboration with my brother. I'm very fortunate to be able to work with him. There's an honesty to collaboration. There's a lack of a gender or ego in our conversations. And so you can really throw anything around. ~ Christopher Nolan

[Director Christopher] Nolan has not only crafted the best Batman movie, but arguably the second-best motion picture superhero narrative (topped only by the linked duo of Superman and Superman II ). For those who thought Spider-Man and X-Men had a lot to offer, wait till you see where this film goes ... Batman Begins is a strong re-start to a franchise that deserves better than it has often been accorded. ~ James Berardinelli

I think there are advantages to different scales of filmmaking. You wouldn't want to do just one thing. ~ Christopher Nolan

I just love photographing things and putting them together to tell a story. ~ Christopher Nolan

Well, you always discover a lot in the editing room. Particularly the action, because you have to over-shoot a lot and shoot an enormous amount of material because many of the sequences have to be discovered in the editing and manipulation of it. ~ Christopher Nolan

You musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling. ~ Christopher Nolan

It's almost inherent, but I'm a massive [Stanley] Kubrick fan. I'm a big admirer of what guys like Christopher Nolan have been able to do. For me, to be able to try to make big films that reach a lot of people, and that hopefully have something to say, is a lofty goal, but that's my goal. ~ David Brooks

It's very important that a film that intends to play tricks on the audience ... has to play fair with the audience. For me, any time you're going to have a reveal in the film, it's essential that it have been shown to the audience as much as possible. What that means is that some people are going to figure it out very early on. Other people not til the end. Everybody watches the film differently. ~ Christopher Nolan

When I look at a digitally acquired and projected image, it looks inferior against an original negative anamorphic print or an IMAX one. ~ Christopher Nolan

No, I've only ever done one film at a time. ~ Christopher Nolan

To be honest, I don't enjoy watching movies much when I'm working. They tend to fall apart on me a bit. ~ Christopher Nolan

The only job that was ever of interest to me other than filmmaking is architecture. ~ Christopher Nolan

For me, Batman is the one that can most clearly be taken seriously. He's not from another planet, or filled with radioactive gunk. I mean, Superman is essentially a god, but Batman is more like Hercules: he's a human being, very flawed, and bridges the divide. ~ Christopher Nolan

I was obsessed with Batman as a kid. I did the film in part just to be near the Batmobile. But I also think [director] Christopher Nolan made a very fine, intelligent film. ~ Cillian Murphy

I made 'Batman' the way I made every other film, and I've done it to my own satisfaction - because the film, truly, is exactly the way I wanted it to be. ~ Christopher Nolan

People want to see something that shows them you can do what you say. That's the trick. ~ Christopher Nolan

I always find myself gravitating to the analogy of a maze. Think of film noir and if you picture the story as a maze, you don't want to be hanging above the maze watching the characters make the wrong choices because it's frustrating. You actually want to be in the maze with them, making the turns at their side, that keeps it more exciting ... I quite like to be in that maze. ~ Christopher Nolan

Batman and Superman are very different characters but they're both iconic and elemental. Finding the right story for them both is the key. ~ Christopher Nolan

As soon as television became the only secondary way in which films were watched, films had to adhere to a pretty linear system, whereby you can drift off for ten minutes and go and answer the phone and not really lose your place. ~ Christopher Nolan

In the case of Leo, however, Beatrix assured Christopher that in spite of his sharp tongue, Leo was a caring and loyal brother. "You'll come to like him very well," she said. "But it's no surprise that you feel more comfortable around Cam- you're both foxes."
"Foxes?" Christopher had repeated, amused.
"Yes. I can always tell what kind of animal a person would be. Foxes are hunters, but they don't rely on brute strength. They're subtle and clever. Fond of outwitting others. And although they sometimes travel far, they always like to come back to a snug, safe home."
"I suppose Leo is a lion," Christopher said dryly.
"Oh, yes. Dramatic, demonstrative, and he hates being ignored. And sometimes he'll take a swipe at you. But beneath the sharp claws and the growls, he's still a cat."
"What animal are you?"
"A ferret. We can't help collecting things. When we're awake, we're very busy, but we also like to be still for long periods." She grinned at him. "And ferrets are very affectionate. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Buddha had said to make a light of yourself, and if Laurie had anything to say about it, one day he'd glow. ~ Christopher Barzak

Veep is the best and most realistic political TV show out there. ~ Christopher Michael Cillizza

You can't just go around blurting out the truth like a prophet with Tourette's syndrome. ~ Christopher Moore

As Ernest Hemingway wrote, 'Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. Ask the infantry and ask the dead ... ' ~ Christopher Flynn

Whatever you do, protect those you care for. Without them, life is more miserable than you can imagine. ~ Christopher Paolini

Three years later, Mr. Turley has received no reply to his letter. Nor can anybody account for the missing money: saints, it seems, are immune to audit. ~ Christopher Hitchens

Does a broken heart know from a different location? ~ Christopher Moore

After a pretty man breaks your heart, you're happy for a plain man. ~ Christopher Buehlman

Little in his brief life was lost on him; there are premonitions of Nineteen Eighty-Four even in his memoir of schooldays 'Such, Such Were the Joys'. Experiences in the colonies and the BBC can be seen to have furnished raw materials; so indeed can his reading of Evgeny Zamyatin's We and other dystopian literature from the early days of Stalinism. But the transcendent or crystallising moment undoubtedly occurred in Spain, or at any rate in Catalonia. This was where Orwell suffered the premonitory pangs of a man living under a police regime: a police regime ruling in the name of socialism and the people. For a Westerner, at least, this epiphany was a relatively novel thing; it brushed the sleeves of many thoughtful and humane people, who barely allowed it to interrupt their preoccupation with the 'main enemy', fascism. But on Orwell it made a permanent impression. ~ Christopher Hitchens

This is a small episode in an unending argument between those who know they are right and therefore claim the mandate of heaven, and those who suspect that the human race has nothing but the poor candle of reason by which to light its way. ~ Christopher Hitchens

I grew up in a community of theatre, and I always loved musicals. From a young age, the first present I ever wanted was a video camera. For me it was a great outlet to be creative. ~ Christopher Egan

I think that the mere fact that I'm doing it ought to inspire someone. In junior high school the counselor suggested that I focus on wood shop and metal shop. ~ Christopher Darden

Glances were exchanged around the table. There were some uneasy winces, a couple of ambivalent shrugs, a few determined nods, and one delighted giggle (but only because Duncan had spotted another funny caterpillar). ~ Christopher Healy

Accepting death folds the soul, tempers and layers it like a Damascus blade. When I'd thrown myself into the canal in grief, only to be pulled out by the Moor, I'd become colder, more durable. ~ Christopher Moore

Nothing makes a person desire improvement like failure ~ Christopher Stocking

A collective insanity seemed to have seized the nation and turned them into something worse than beasts. The princess de Lamballe, Marie Antoinette's intimate friend, was literally torn to pieces; her head, breasts, and pudenda were paraded on pikes before the windows of the Temple, where the royal family was imprisoned, while a man boasted drunkenly at a cafe that he had eaten the princess' heart, which he probably had. ~ J. Christopher Herold

Just for a while": Death's opening chat-up line in His great seduction, before he drugged you with soporific comforts, distracted you with minor luxuries and ensnared you with long-term payment plans.
Join the Rat Race "just for a while."
Concentrate on your career "just for a while."
Move in with your girlfriend "just for a while."
Find a bigger place, out in the burbs "just for a while."
Lie down in that wooden box "just for a while. ~ Christopher Brookmyre

It was the sound of a thousand hungry children crying, ten thousand widows tearing their hair over their husband's graves, a chorus of angels singing the last dirge on the day of God's death. ~ Christopher Moore

I had been going out to Orient for several years. ~ Christopher Bollen

Is it colour?'
'Oh yes.'
'You don't let me down.You are my ambassador to pr0n, man. ~ Christopher Brookmyre

[I]n a place with absolutely no private or personal life, with the incessant worship of a mediocre career-sadist as the only culture, where all citizens are the permanent property of the state, the highest form of pointlessness has been achieved. ~ Christopher Hitchens

Accidents happen. I will, um ... I will pay to have your house rebuilt."
"And my barn?" a woman called out.
Liam sighed. "Yes, and your barn, too."
"And my golden carousel?" shouted another man. "Will you pay for that?"
Liam raised an eyebrow. "The giant smashed your golden carousel?"
"No," said the man. "I'd just like to have a golden carousel. ~ Christopher Healy