Christopher Nolan At CinemaCon: 'Interstellar,' Matthew McConaughey, Film Projection And Attendance
Christopher Nolan spoke at CinemaCon Wednesday, and when Christopher Nolan talks people listen. Being as The Dark Knight director was at a theater owners conference, he advocated film projection as the best delivery of the moving image. He also said not enough filmmakers go to the movies anymore, urged theater owners to show more old movies, then dropped a bunch of cryptic hints about his latest film, Interstellar, which he shot on film and in IMAX. It'll be released November 7, 2014.
Below, read Christopher Nolan's CinemaCon quotes.
Nolan on the tone and aim of Interstellar:
I grew up in an era that was a golden age of the blockbuster when something we might call a family film could have universal appeal. That's something I want to see again. In terms of the tone of the film, it looks where we are as a people and has a universality about human experience.
On casting Matthew McConaughey and his performance in the film:
I needed someone who is very much an everyman, someone the audience could experience the story with. He's just a phenomenal, charismatic presence in the movie. His performance is shaping up to be extraordinary.
On how the practical sets of space ships helped the film:
It paid huge dividends for the actors in terms of performance....It allows cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema and myself to shoot like a documentary.
On why he continues to shoot film:
Film is the best way to capture an image and project that image. It just is, hands down. That's based on my assessment of what I'm seeing as a filmmaker....As far as innovation and experimentation, I'm in favor any any technological innovation but it will always have to exceed what came before. None of the new technologies have done that.
Why doesn't he do 3D?
My resistance to 3D is purely based on what I feel is right for the films I want to make.
On going to the theater:
Not enough filmmakers [go to movie theaters]. And not enough people in our industry spend enough time in theaters and see the end result.
On why he continues to cast Michael Caine:
He comes so prepared and he is just so good that, with such a minimal effort. I cast him in every film just as an example to everyone else. He's just a lovely guy to be around. He jokes that he's my lucky charm. It was a very good strategy on his part.
Would he ever do TV?
I would never say never, but I just really like movies. There's a lot of great stuff happening in TV but we're not hear to talk about TV.
As you can tell, Nolan spoke passionately about a bunch of topics but offered very little in terms of big news. Still, he talks to the press so infrequently, it's always interesting. What's your biggest take away from this?
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Badass Digest