Oppenheimer Endured An Awkward Mishap During An Intimate Scene
In Christopher Nolan's 2023 biopic "Oppenheimer" — recently nominated for 13 Academy Awards — actress Florence Pugh played Jean Tatlock, a Communist activist in the 1930s and 1940s who had a romantic relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). Because of Oppenheimer's station in the United States government, Tatlock was hounded by the FBI, and her phones were infamously tapped. As scandalously depicted in Nolan's film, Oppenheimer and Tatlock continued their affair even after he married his wife Kitty in 1940. The timing of the affair has, however, been disputed.
Nolan, a famously non-sexual director, filmed multiple sex scenes between Pugh and her co-star Cillian Murphy who played Oppenheimer. The most notable sex scene was a fantasy sequence wherein the nude Jean Tatlock appeared in the nude Oppenheimer's lap while he was in the middle of a security deposition, talking about his affair. This mirrored lovemaking scenes from earlier in the movie when the two characters bonded, nude, over their mutual political beliefs.
One of those earlier scenes, it seems, was incredibly awkward to film. Pugh, who appeared on a post-screening panel, was recently quoted in Variety, and she recalled that she and Murphy had to stay frozen in place during a camera mishap that took a long while to fix. Nolan famously works with many skilled photographers ("Oppenheimer" was shot by Hoyte van Hoytema) and just as famously likes shooting on film, so a technical error of this stripe was unexpected. Luckily, Pugh said, she was able to turn her awkward time on set to learn a little but about the way Nolan likes to shoot; it wasn't just an awkward afternoon of being entwined with Murphy.
What's going on with the shutter?
According to the website ShotOnWhat?, "Oppenheimer" was filmed using IMAX MKIII Reflex Cameras, IMAX MKIV Reflex Cameras, IMAX MSM 9802 Cameras, and Panavision System 65 Cameras. It used Kodak and Eastman film stock. These kinds of cameras are rare enough that if one breaks down, it cannot be easily replaced. A clever camera operator will simply have to open the machine and repair it on-site. This is what happened during the love scene between Pugh and Murphy.
Like with many love scenes, it was a closed set, but when the camera broke, an unnamed technician had to be brought in to make the necessary repairs. Pugh, to reduce awkwardness, addressed the new technician. She said:
"In the middle of our sex scene, the camera broke. No one knows this, but it did. [...] Our camera broke when we were both naked, and it was not ideal timing. [...] Cillian and I are in this room together. It's a closed set, so we're both holding our bodies like this [hugging herself]. [...] I'm like, well, this is my moment to learn. 'So tell me, what's wrong with this camera?' You just make your moments. I'm like, 'What's going on with the shutter here, buddy?'"
Pugh didn't reveal what she learned about camera operation at that moment, but doubtless, the technician gave her all the information she needed. More than anything, Pugh was impressed with how professional and ingenious the filmmakers all were:
"It was just crazy that every person on this set was so knowledgeable and was so ready to make this kind of a movie that there was no dull moment. It was all amazing. It felt like we were lucky to be there every second of the day."