Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born July 30, 1970) is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer. He received serious notice after his second feature Memento (2000), which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went on to co-write later scripts with him, including the Dark Knight Trilogy and The Prestige. This is also where he first collaborated with Wally Pfister, who shot the entire trilogy with him.
After directing the American remake of Insomnia (2002), Nolan pitched an idea for a reboot of the Batman film franchise to Warner Brothers, eventually making a successful trilogy. Inception (2010) was an original screenplay by Nolan, a heist film set in the world of "shared dreaming." Nolan co-founded Syncopy Films with his wife, Emma Thomas, and they have produced all his films since The Prestige (2006).
Batman Trilogy
Batman Begins
Nolan had stated that while he was content with his directing résumé, he had always dreamed as a child to direct a big blockbuster film, and he got his first opportunity to do so in 2003.
In 1997, Warner Bros, owner of the Batman movie franchise, released Batman and Robin, directed by Joel Schumacher. The film received mostly negative reviews and earned the least box office revenue out of the series, forcing Warner Bros. to cancel any sequels and put the franchise on indefinite hiatus.
Six years later, Nolan, together with Blade screenwriter David S. Goyer, pitched the idea of restarting the franchise with a serious origin story. Warner Bros. took the risk of hiring the relatively unknown director to direct the new installment of one of their biggest franchises. Nolan and production designer Nathan Crowley began preproduction work in his garage in LA, with the tank-like reimaging of the Batmobile being one the first things developed.
In an interview in 2012, he described his intentions with the franchise. “While I admired what Tim (Burton) was able to accomplish, and while he did do a definitive version of the character, it was still more a Tim Burton vision, rather than the comic. The movie landscape had obviously changed in the time since then. So, my viewpoint was to create a world that was relatable, not necessarily realistic, but relatable enough to where you could believe that this could happen.”
The actor selected to play the leading role, Christian Bale, was already a favorite choice among Batman fans long before he actually got the part, due to his work in movies such as American Psycho and Equilibrium. Batman Begins was released on June 15, 2005 and has become a solid box office hit, ranking as the third biggest blockbuster of the summer. It received a very positive critical and public reception, with notable critics, such as Ebert and Roeper proclaiming it was superior to the original 1989 "Batman". Batman Begins was also seen as having a dark but intelligent storyline and strong emphasis on character, two aspects that many summer blockbusters are known to lack.
Batman Begins was a major winner at the 32nd annual Saturn Awards, considered the most important awards devoted to genre fans. The film won for Best Fantasy Film, Best Actor for Christian Bale and Best Writing for Nolan and Goyer.
The Dark Knight
In the months following the film's release, Nolan made numerous comments suggesting that he would return to direct the sequel to Batman Begins. In late July 2006, the sequel was officially confirmed as The Dark Knight with Nolan at the helm and the late Heath Ledger joining the cast as The Joker, Batman's arch-nemesis. The first image of Ledger as The Joker was released in a viral marketing campaign that included putting Joker cards in several comic shops and also a website with fake advertisement for Gotham's attorney Harvey Dent campaigning for District Attorney. The advertisement was "vandalized" in a different site that included a game in which people could post codes that would reveal the image one pixel at a time. Another viral campaign was made as the first teaser trailer was released, including several fans putting on Joker make-up and participating in a scavenger hunt during the 2007 San Diego Comics Convention.
Since then, several other viral sites, including an online edition of the fictional newspaper Gotham Times, with different information about the movie's storyline and games were released, including a contest for fans to dress up as Joker and take pictures in front of landmarks from their cities. Part of the viral marketing also focused on Harvey Dent´s campaign for District Attorney, including a call for fans to take campaign banners and pictures from his site and making pictures, videos, etc., as well as following a mobile unit known as the "dentmobile". The first full theatrical trailer, which largely features Heath Ledger as The Joker, was released on December 14 with the movie I Am Legend. In IMAX theaters, I Am Legend was preceded by a short prologue from The Dark Knight also featuring The Joker, entirely shot in the IMAX format.
The Dark Knight is the first Hollywood movie that has entire sequences shot in that format. Actress Katie Holmes, who played the hero's romantic interest in Begins, has been replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, whose brother Jake Gyllenhaal auditioned for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in 2003. Aaron Eckhart, who turned down the leading role in Memento, is going to play Harvey Dent, who in the comics becomes the villain Two-Face. Nolan and Eckhart have both confirmed that Dent will become Two-Face during the running time of this movie. Eric Roberts is going to portray Gotham mafia boss Sal Maroni, who in the comics is responsible for Harvey Dent's disfigurement by acid that makes him become Two-Face. Jonathan Nolan has written a script, based on a treatment written by Christopher and David S. Goyer. The film began production in early 2007 with a scheduled July 2008 release.
The Dark Knight Rises
Nolan was initially hesistant to make a third entry but was later convinced to conclude the Batman story. He reasoned "how many good third movies in a franchise can people name?".
Personal life
Christopher Nolan (born July 30, 1970) is an Academy Award nominated film director, writer and producer. The son of an English father and American mother, Nolan is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and United States. He is married to Emma Thomas, his longtime producer. They have three children together and reside in Los Angeles. Nolan is best known for directing the psychological thriller Memento and for resurrecting the Batman film franchise with the critically acclaimed Batman Begins.