Cows in the Field 🐄

One thing I've noticed about Christopher Nolan's interviews in China compared to those with the Hollywood press is that he often gets the opportunity to speak at much greater length in China. The conversations tend to be more philosophical and centered on history, literature, storytelling, and the ideas behind his films. By contrast, many interviews with the American press are largely promotional. The questions often revolve around IMAX, practical effects, shooting on real locations, film stock, or the scale of the production. Nolan ends up telling the same stories repeatedly, like how a friend took him to watch an IMAX documentary in Chicago when he was sixteen, how he fell in love with the format, and how he eventually fulfilled his ambition of making an entire feature in IMAX. The same happens with the cast, who are repeatedly asked about shooting on real locations, practical effects, and working in IMAX. I don't think that's a reflection on Nolan himself. It's largely a consequence of the questions being asked. When interviewers move beyond the promotional talking points, Nolan almost always has fascinating things to say about philosophy, history, narrative structure, and filmmaking. That's exactly why I've created a playlist of interviews like this one. They offer genuine insight into how Nolan thinks, rather than repeating the same promotional questions over and over.

Nolan had to go to China for someone to do an actually great interview with him about The Odyssey youtube.com/watch?v=wa4I8Ch2…